BALAYAN, Batangas — The Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, and Denver Nuggets all managed to claim a 2-0 lead in their matchup in the 2024 NBA Playoffs on Monday, April 22 (ET).
The three teams had intense and closely contested matches with their respective rivals in their second games but managed to thrive.
The Knicks secured a victory over the 76ers, while the Cavs and Nuggets delivered outstanding performances that led to their wins against the Magic and Lakers, respectively.
Knicks now up by two against the 76ers
The New York Knicks lead the best-of-seven series, 2-0, after topping up the Philadelphia 76ers in their intense match, 104-101.
The wing three-pointer from Jalen Brunson and go-ahead triple by Donte DiVincenzo with 31-seconds left in the game clock, helped the Knicks to escape the game, putting them up by two games to none.
Brunson recorded 24 points, eight rebounds, and six assists for the Knicks, together with Josh Hart adding 21 points and a playoff-high 15 rebounds in the victory.
Even with the loss, Tyrese Maxey displayed an incredible performance with 35 points, 10 assists, and 9 rebounds. While last year’s season MVP, Joel Embiid, had 34 points and 10 rebounds.
This is now the 15th time in Embiid’s playoff career that he scored 30+ points and 10+ rebounds in a game, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 14.
Knicks’ shooting guard Josh Hart said that although they have been slowed down a bit, they just played and overcame.
“We got stops, we got on a transition, you know, they played the zone a little bit and slowed us down. The garden came alive. And then we just knocked down shots. We stayed confident and just played our game,” he said.
The Cavaliers dominates with a 96-86 win over the Magic
For the East Playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers maintained the lead in the best-of-seven series, 2-0, after winning against the Orlando Magic, 96-86.
Donovan Mitchell finished the game with 23 points, 19 of which came in the first half, along with eight rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block, lifting the Cavaliers to get a commanding series lead.
Jarrett Allen also contributed with 16 points and a playoff-high 20 rebounds in the victory. Allen became the first player in Cavaliers playoff franchise history to have a record of 15+ points and 15+ rebounds in back-to-back games and became the third Cavalier to tally 20 rebounds in a playoff game, beside Kevin Love.
In the Magic’s loss, Paolo Banchero led the team with 21 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists, together with Franz Wagger, who added 18 points.
The Cavs led the game by 22 points, but Magic made a late comeback that fell short in the end.
The Nuggets achieved a buzzer-beater victory shot against the Lakers
The Denver Nuggets stunned the Los Angeles Lakers again, 101-99, behind Jamal Murray’s buzzer-beater that sent the series to 2-0 lead, completing a 20-point comeback.
Murray finished with 20 points and five assists while Nikola Jokic made history in the NBA Playoff after recording 27 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists, tying with Wilt Chamberlain for the most games of 20+ points, 20+ rebounds, and 10+ assists to help the defending champion past Lakers.
“If it wasn’t for my teammates, I might not even get to that shot,” Murray said regarding his buzzer-beater shot.
“Just want to give a lot of credit to my teammates, coaches, [pops]. I told my teammates when I was struggling like I’mma look for y’all, I’mma look for y’all and every single one of them [told] me to keep shooting, keep shooting, be aggressive, keep shooting,” he added.
All of them are now heading to their a different home courts for the third game in their series to take place on the following dates:
- Friday, April 26, 7:00 AM Cavaliers @ Magic (CLE leads 2-0)
- Friday, April 26, 7:30 AM Knicks @ 76ers (NYK leads 2-0)
- Friday, April 26, 10:00 AM Nuggets@ Lakers (DEN leads 2-0)