One of the big talking points after Game 1 of the Warriors-Rockets series was criticism of Jalen Green. People were calling him a disaster after his 3-of-15 shooting night. And to be fair, he was.
But he was the opposite in Game 2. He was incendiary, as he lit up the Warriors for 38 points on 13-of-25 from the field and 8-of-18 from deep. Green couldn’t really make a mistake in his attack, and it felt like complete redemption.
As for the Warriors, while they have to be concerned on some level about a 109-94 loss to the Rockets, the bigger concern comes with the other loss in this game. Late in the first quarter, a collision under the basket between Jimmy Butler and Amen Thompson led to a painful fall for the newest Warrior.
Butler left the game with what the Warriors called a pelvic contusion (remember Steph Curry had something similar when he fell on his tailbone earlier this season), and did not return. He’s getting an MRI for further evaluation. This is a potentially series- and playoff-changing moment, though. Not to take anything away from the Rockets, but Butler being out is what really opens the door for Houston to win this series. The uphill battle of taking down a Warriors team without Butler now becomes a treadmill with, like, a nine incline. Sure, you’re breathing hard, but you can manage it. The Rockets more than managed it and weathered the few pushes the Warriors tried to make last night.
Kerr dusted off Jonathan Kuminga after the fliers, posters and milk cartons were able to locate him at the end of the Warriors bench. He had 11 points on four of 12 shots in 26 minutes off the bench. The Rockets were just too much. There are two days off between Game 2 and Game 3, so we’ll see if that helps get Butler back into the mix. Playoff Panic Meter: 🚨🚨🚨 for the Warriors. The Butler injury matters big-time.
Celtics go up 2-0 without Tatum in the lineup
The wrist injury that kept Jayson Tatum out of Game 2 definitely put a hiccup in the attack and approach of the Celtics against the Magic last night. It’s a good thing Jaylen Brown is still on the team. There’s been a lot of concern about Brown’s knee the last month or so, but it looked pretty good while he dropped 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while shooting 12-of-19 from the field. Not just that, but the whole Celtics team was able to grind out a win against a tough Orlando performance.
While the game was close most of the night, the most dramatic parts were the shots of Kristaps Porziņģis bleeding all over his head from an errant Goga Bitadze shot to the forehead in the third quarter.
They sent him back out like this to take free throws
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero.bsky.social) April 23, 2025 at 8:59 PM
This is the Flagrant 1 by Bitadze that led to the channels of blood. The crowd ate it up once he was OK, and coach Joe Mazzulla made sure to put out a forced, weird quote about saying he liked seeing Porziņģis bleed and thinks it’s important. Why? Because this is the personality Mazzulla thinks is interesting for people to think he has.
Orlando can still take a game, maybe two, here in this series, especially if Tatum misses more time. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner need help, though. Otherwise, we might be done after the next two. Playoff Panic Meter: 🚨🚨 for Orlando. If the Magic are going to take a game, it’s probably Game 3.
Cavs go up 2-0, but Heat show they could make the next two tough
The Cavaliers hit 11 3-pointers in the second quarter. Eleven! In one quarter! It set an NBA playoff record as they built a big lead against the Heat in Game 2. But to the Heat’s credit, they kept fighting back and showed they won’t just go away in this series. We’re not in a Grizzlies-Thunder situation for the 1-8 in the East. However, finding that final piece of the puzzle to take a game from Cleveland may prove to be difficult for Miami to avoid the sweep.
The Cavs won 121-112 behind 30 points from Donovan Mitchell, who had seven of the Cavs’ 22 made 3-pointers on the night. The Heat outplayed Cleveland in the second half, and Tyler Herro had another great game with 33 points. But they just can’t keep up with the outside shooting. We’ll see if they can find the formula to take a game in Miami. They’re fighting, at least. Playoff Panic Meter: 🚨🚨🚨 for Miami. Halfway to being swept.
What are we looking for tonight?
Knicks at Pistons, 7 p.m. ET on TNT: Series tied 1-1
The Knicks really need to get Karl-Anthony Towns going, like we saw in Game 1. Coaches are working the refs.
Thunder at Grizzlies, 9:30 p.m. ET on TNT: Thunder lead series 2-0
We saw a big Chet Holmgren game in Game 2. I’d actually like to see him take charge again to attempt to bury the Grizzlies.
Nuggets at Clippers, 10 p.m. ET on NBA TV: Series tied 1-1
If we’re lucky, this one is going seven. Kawhi Leonard and Nikola Jokić are going to give us a great duel.
The Last 24
NBA players likewise couldn’t believe Luka trade
🗣️ Player poll. As part of our anonymous player poll, we asked players about the Luka Dončić trade. They called it “blasphemy.”
🏀 No worries. Tyrese Haliburton was named most overrated player by our anonymous player poll. He’s “not worried” about it.
🏀 Declared! Rutgers freshman and projected top-three pick Ace Bailey has declared for the draft. Super enticing but disappointing season.
🦌 Changes coming? The Bucks are starting slow. They’re getting beat by Indiana. Maybe Doc Rivers will make some lineup changes.
🏀 Is this true? Nico Harrison believes in the cliché that defense wins championships. Are we sure this is correct? Speaking yet again of Nico
More Mavs
Harrison’s official news conference was incredible
The Mavericks had a real news conference on Monday with GM Harrison and Dallas media.
You may remember there was a bit of an exclusive roundtable discussion held last week. Well, Harrison was always going to have to do a season-ending presser, right? After the Mavs were eliminated? That happened this week, so let’s dive into my favorite highlights:
An incredible question: A podcaster from Locked On Mavs began a question by talking about the experience of fans chanting that Nico should be fired, then phrased his question this way: “Why shouldn’t you be fired?”
I can’t even stress enough what a funny way to phrase a question this is. I audibly laugh every time I watch that part of the news conference. I don’t know if this podcaster was winning a bet by asking this. I don’t know if he got caught up in the air. But it was hilarious. Nico said he’s done a good job and can’t be judged by the injuries.
So much of this business and covering this league has been media sucking up and trying to curry favor with players and coaches and executives in order to further their access. It would be much more interesting if we asked people:
- Why shouldn’t you be fired?
- Why shouldn’t you be benched?
- Why shouldn’t you be traded?
- Why shouldn’t you be ridiculed by Draymond Green on his podcast before an ad read for underwear or mental health services?
About that “secret roundtable discussion.” Harrison said it didn’t accomplish the goal they intended with it, “so that’s why we’re coming back here today.” That is not how end-of-the-season news conferences work. Well, maybe it does if you’re the Knicks.
The money quote. “I did know that Luka was important to the fan base. I didn’t quite know it to what level.” I don’t think you could’ve given upset Mavs fans a more gratifying yet angering answer here. It gave them validation and more rage at the same time. Like an episode of “Jersey Shore.”
Another money quote. “When you have 20,000 people in the stadium chanting, ‘Fire Nico,’ you really feel it. I use the word ‘awesome.’ But not in a positive way.” I understand what he’s attempting to convey here, but it also just comes off as such a bizarrely disassociated viewpoint.
Defense-wins-championships counter: 12 in 26 minutes.
Awards Season
Knicks’ Brunson wins Clutch Player
Last night, the NBA gave out its third-ever Clutch Player of the Year trophy. It went to New York Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson. The other finalists were Jokić and Anthony Edwards.
This was how the voting broke down for the top three:
Brunson: 70 first-place votes, 426 voting points
Jokic: 26 first-place votes, 312 voting points
Edwards: two first-place votes, 47 voting points
I had Brunson first and Jokić second on my official ballot. However, Darius Garland just edged Edwards for my third. No matter how I broke down the stats within the clutch parameters (anything within five points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime), Brunson continued to have the best scoring and efficiency numbers. Even when Jokić would pull somewhat even with him, the free-throw shooting would be heavily in Brunson’s favor.
Brunson had one fewer clutch point than Edwards but played in 14 fewer clutch games. He made 51.5 percent of his shots and almost never turned the ball over. Jokić was also great, making 56 percent of his clutch shots. Shockingly, he didn’t have a big assist advantage over Brunson (36 to 28), despite playing in five more clutch games.
Brunson becomes the third winner in the award’s existence. Steph Curry won this Jerry West trophy last year, and De’Aaron Fox won it in its inaugural season.
The NBA will announce Defensive Player of the Year tonight. The three finalists are Evan Mobley, Draymond Green and Dyson Daniels. We asked 13 coaches which player should win.
More: Jalen Brunson and the making of a winner.
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