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๐ Good morning to all, but especially to …
THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS AND THE REST OF THE GAME 1 WINNERS
There will be a day when “impossible” actually means, you know, “not possible.”
But until that day, Stephen Curry will continue to make the supposed “impossible” possible, and there’s no defense for that. The Warriors superstar poured in 31 points on 12 for 19 shooting (including 5 for 9 from 3) to lead the Warriors to a 95-85 win over the Rockets.
- It’s Curry’s 41st career playoff game with at least 30 points and five 3s, most all-time. James Harden is second … with 19.
- In his Warriors playoff debut, Jimmy Butler had 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. It’s the first 25/5/5/5 game by a Warrior in the playoffs since Curry in 2016.
- The Rockets shot 39.1% from the field, 20.7% from 3 and 55% from the free throw line. The last team to have splits that bad in a playoff game was the 2003 Mavericks.
- Houston’s 85 points were a season low.
Colin Ward-Henninger has winners and losers from Game 1s across the playoffs, and Curry, Butler and Golden State as a whole are among the former.
- Ward-Henninger: “The 37-year-old Curry, who in this series is particularly reminded of his age because he coached both Jalen Green and [Amen] Thompson at his camp several summers ago, also did all of this with a wrap on his thumb roughly the size of a catcher’s mitt.”
Also catching our eye over the weekend …
- The No. 1 seeds impressed: Theย Thunderย beat theย Grizzlies,ย 131-80, the 51-point margin theย largest ever in a Game 1, and Ty Jerome sparked the Cavaliers‘ 121-100 win over the Heat.
- The Knicks used a 21-0 run in the fourth quarter to beat the Pistons,ย 123-112. After a slow start, Jalen Brunson came up big in the biggest moments, and this gameย shows how dangerous the playoff Knicks can be, Brad Botkin writes.
- Kyle Kuzma‘s historically awful Game 1 in the Bucks‘ 117-98 loss to the Pacersย illustratesย how little help Giannis Antetokounmpo has. He could be getting some help in the form of a Damian Lillard return soon, though.
- The Celtics cruised past the Magic,ย 103-86, and Jayson Tatum doesn’t seem too worried about his wrist injury.
- The Nuggets beat the Clippers,ย 112-110, in overtime, and we got the full Russell Westbrook experience.
๐ Honorable mentions
๐ And not such a good morning for …
THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Well, that certainly wasn’t the playoff opener the Lakersย had in mind. The Timberwolves throttled Los Angeles,ย 117-95, behind a remarkable three-headed monster of Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Anthony Edwards combining for 70 points on 13 for 21 (62%) shooting from 3.
That was one major theme of the night: Minnesota made a playoff franchise-record 21 3-pointers. The other? The Timberwolves overwhelmed the Lakers, who weren’t remotely ready for their level of physicality.ย LeBron James and JJ Redick even admitted as much.
A big issue for that is the Lakers’ lack of a center. Luka Donฤiฤ had 37 points but, tellingly, only one assist, and Minnesota dominated on the glass. That flaw isn’t something they can fix, Sam writes.
- Quinn: “They aren’t built to win slugfests. Their goal is to use their star ball-handlers to find and torture your weakest defenders. That’s not going to be easy without a center to force those impossible choices. … Saturday was a reminder of just how hastily this team was put together. The Lakers didn’t plan to go into the playoffs this way. Circumstances demanded it.”
๐ง Not so honorable mentions
๐ Nico Iamaleava transfers to UCLA
The wildest transfer saga of the NIL era of college sports has come to a close. Nico Iamaleavaย signed with UCLA, just over a week after his tumultuous exit from Tennessee.
- On April 11, Iamaleava missed the Volunteers’ final practice before their spring game, reportedly as his camp sought $4 million annually in NIL, nearly double his original deal.
- Tennessee quickly moved on, with Josh Heupel saying, “No one is bigger than the program.”
- Iamaleava was immediately the No. 1 player in our transfer portal rankings. After all, he was the No. 2 overall high school recruit in the 2023 class, and even in an up-and-down 2024 season, he helped Tennessee make the College Football Playoff and showed a tantalizing upside.
- UCLA quickly emerged as a potential suitor — Iamaleava is from Southern California — and now the Bruins have their new quarterback.
It’s very much worth the risk, Cameron Salerno writes.
- Salerno: “Despite the Tennessee baggage, players like Iamaleava don’t grow on trees. He was one of the top recruits coming out of Southern California in 2023, and the upside is still there for him to be an elite quarterback at this level. … The Bruins ranked 15th in yards per game (328.8) and No. 16 in points per game (18.4) among all Big Ten teams.”
๐คผ John Cena wins 17th world title at WrestleMania 41ย
John Cena was already a legend, but on Sunday he added yet another line to his incredible resume. Cena broke the professional wrestling record with his 17th world championship, defeatingย Cody Rhodes to win the undisputed WWE championship.
Cena got some help fromย Travis Scott, and used a kick to the groin and a huge shot to the head — with the championship belt, no less — to beat Rhodes. Cena’s 17 world championships are nowย one moreย thanย Ric Flairย on the all-time list. Our Brent Brookhouse weighed in withย grades on every match.
- Brookhouse: “The match was not great and was always going to come down to how WWE put together the finish. Scott interfering followed by a very obvious low blow and belt shot finish was just a disappointing way for things to end, especially considering the expectations for an appearance from The Rock.”
Here are our thoughts from Night 1 and Night 2.
โพ MLB Power Rankings, weekend roundup
For the first time this season, we have a repeat atop Matt Snyder’s Power Rankings. Here’s the top five:
- Padres (previous: 1)
- Dodgers (6)
- Mets (2)
- Cubs (3)
- Yankees (10)
The Yankees’ jump was the second-largest in MLB, only behind the Braves, who have gone 8-6 since a dreadful 0-7 start to the season. Still, all is not well in Atlanta: Ronald Acuรฑa Jr.ย called outย Brian Snitker‘sย double standardย after Snitker defendedย Jarred Kelenic‘s lack of hustle.
Here’s more from the weekend.
๐บ What we’re watching Monday
โพ White Sox at Red Sox, 11:10 a.m. on MLB Network
โพ Padres at Tigers, 6:40 p.m. on FS1
๐ Canadiens at Capitals, 7 p.m. on ESPN
๐ Pistons at Knicks (Knicks lead 1-0), 7:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV
๐ Blues at Jets (Jets lead 1-0), 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2
๐ Avalanche at Stars (Avalanche lead 1-0), 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
โพ Brewers at Giants, 9:45 p.m. on MLB Network
๐ Clippers at Nuggets (Nuggets lead 1-0), 10 p.m. on TNT/truTV
๐ Oilers at Kings, 10 p.m. on ESPN2ย
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Author: Zachary Pereles
April 21, 2025 | 9:10 am
