Say it with us…

🎉 Happy birthday to Garrett Temple, Quentin Grimes, Mike D’Antoni, Toumani Camara, and Kemba Walker! 🎉

Detroit won Game 2 of their series with the Cavs last night, taking a 2-0 lead as the series shifts to The Land.

Cade Cunningham was the main driving force behind the Pistons’ win—25 points, 10 assists, and a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line in 42 minutes. Tobias Harris (21 PTS, 7 REB) and Duncan Robinson (17 PTS, 5-9 from 3) made sure Cleveland couldn’t key in on any one guy, and Daniss Jenkins came off the bench to add 14 and keep the pressure on.

Donovan Mitchell (31 PTS) and Jarrett Allen (22 PTS, 7 REB) were solid, but nobody else really showed up when it mattered for the Cavs. James Harden finished with 10 PTS on 3-13 shooting and a -15, and the Cavaliers shot just 22% from three as a team. Hard to win a playoff game like that!

The series heads to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4. Let’s see if the Cavs can show that they do, in fact, have the talent to make this interesting.

Oklahoma City didn’t need SGA (22 PTS) to go nuclear to win this one, which is why every other team in the West should be even more scared of the Thunder repeating than they already are.

Chet Holmgren (22 PTS, 9 REB) and Ajay Mitchell (20 PTS, 6 AST) did the heavy lifting alongside SGA’s efficient scoring, and Jared McCain came off the bench to pour in 18 on 4-5 from three. OKC had five players in double figures and held LA to 20 turnovers.

On L.A.’s side, Austin Reaves (31 PTS, 10-16 FG, -20 +/-) bounced back from a rough Game 1 to lead the show, and LeBron added 23 PTS and 6 AST. Rui Hachimura (16 PTS, 4-7 3PT) chipped in, but OKC’s depth just. Kept. Coming.

Through two games, the Lakers don’t have an answer for the reigning champs.

Two Game 3s tonight—one series heads to Philly with New York in the driver’s seat, and the other comes back to Minnesota all tied up. Let’s break it down.

Game 1 was a blowout. Game 2 was a completely different beast: 25 lead changes, 14 ties, neither team led by more than 7 the entire night. The Sixers had Maxey, Oubre, and PG13 all cooking and still lost because New York closed on a 19-12 fourth quarter, and Philadelphia coughed it up 19 times. That’s the story of this series so far without Embiid.

Philly can hang, but something keeps giving way late. They get their home crowd for the first time in this series tonight, and whether that solves the fourth-quarter question IS the question. Anunoby’s injury concerns might be the tipping point.

This series is even and has already shown us a wide range of hoops. First a defense-first battle that came down tp the final shot, then a near-40-point blowout. Minnesota’s back home now, and the Wolves need answers.

Donte DiVincenzo is still out with a torn Achilles, Dosunmu left Game 2 with a heel issue, and Edwards is still managing his knee. The Wolves have been playing short all playoffs—they overcame it against Denver, but the Spurs might be too big.

Scratch that: this guy might be too big.

It’s Friday, Enjoyers! Bask in it. We’ll see you on Monday after another great weekend of playoff hoops.

Austin Zeglis