NBA Set To Feature Three Game 7’s This Weekend
If you looked at this weekend’s NBA playoff slate a week ago, you probably figured you’d have your weekend free to wash the car or mow the lawn. Instead, the basketball gods have delivered a glorious, chaotic gift: a triple-header of NBA Game 7s that completely defy logic, reason, and the resting heart rates of fans across the country. How will these NBA games unfold?
The Philadelphia 76ers Are Actually Doing It
For decades, the Philadelphia 76ers playing the Boston Celtics in the postseason has been less of a rivalry and more of a recurring nightmare for Philly fans. You have to go all the way back to 1982 to find the last time the Sixers actually took down the green machine in the NBA Playoffs. But somehow, against all odds, Joel Embiid and company have forced a Game 7.
Embiid flat-out told reporters he is tired of losing to Boston. And the big man is backing it up. He is out there diving for loose balls and dropping double-doubles just weeks after leaving his appendix in a Houston hospital. Add in the wild drama of the Jared McCain trade and Paul George’s mid-season suspension, and this Sixers run makes zero sense. Meanwhile, Boston looks inexplicably rattled.
Derrick White has vanished on offense, and the Celtics’ three-point shooting has violently swung from scorching to freezing. The Sixers are playing with absolute house money, while the Celtics are staring down the barrel of an all-time collapse.
Detroit’s Motor City Miracle Erases the Magic
If you turned off the television at halftime of Game 6 between the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic, nobody would blame you. Detroit managed a pathetic 12 points in the second quarter and stared down a 24-point deficit. Their season felt completely cooked.
Then, something snapped. Detroit came out of the locker room and put on a defensive clinic that belongs in the Louvre. The Magic suddenly couldn’t throw a rock into the ocean, missing an unfathomable 23 straight shots. On the other end, Cade Cunningham transformed into a superhero, dropping 32 points to drag Detroit back from the dead.
Backed by massive buckets from Tobias Harris and Duncan Robinson, a 55-19 second-half beatdown has the “Motor City” completely unhinged heading into a winner-take-all showdown on Sunday.
Heartbreak In Toronto: Cavs and Raptors Go the Distance
There is no pain quite like losing an NBA playoff game at the buzzer, especially when the ball bounces on the rim just long enough to steal your soul. That is exactly what happened to the Cleveland Cavaliers. After crawling out of a double-digit hole and surviving a miserable three-point shooting night, and a rough 16-point performance from James Harden, Cleveland had the series seemingly wrapped up in overtime.
Enter RJ Barrett. With 1.2 seconds left, Barrett hoisted a prayer that danced on the iron, hung in the air, and dropped through the net, keeping Toronto’s season alive and sending Cleveland back home in a state of utter shock.
Even Evan Mobley’s absolute monster performance on the glass (26 points and 14 rebounds) couldn’t save them. Now, Head Coach Kenny Atkinson has to scrape his team off the floor for one last battle.
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