NBA takeaways: James Harden comes through in clutch, but Cavs still need more
The Cleveland Cavaliers got back in the series with a Game 3 victory Saturday, May 9. Can the Los Angeles Lakers do the same?
We’ve arrived at the middle of the conference semifinal round, and the better squads out of the remaining eight teams have started to emerge. There were two Game 3s Saturday, May 9, the first between the No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons and No.
4 Cleveland Cavaliers . In the nightcap, the No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers took on the defending NBA champions in the No.
1 Oklahoma City Thunder . In both cases, the lower seeds were playing their first games of their respective series at home, and both were looking to avoid falling into debilitating 0-3 deficits. Here are takeaways from Saturday’s Game 3s from the conference semifinal round: Re-affirming the general vibe in the East, the Knicks remain the team to beat No team is playing better hoops in the Eastern Conference than the New York Knicks , who are rolling through the 76ers, even as OG Anunoby is battling a hamstring issue that forced him out of Game 3 Friday, May 8.
While New York is excelling on both offense and defense, the Pistons have some vulnerabilities that have been exposed over the postseason. For one, All-Star center Jalen Duren (11 points and 4 rebounds in 29:17 on the floor Saturday) has become a role player, and is simply not a reliable No. 3 option, let alone a No.