🏀 A Patented Curry Cook Sesh

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Do you smell that? That’s the smell of some of the best hoopers in the game whipping up a delicious Michelin star four-course meal of buckets, buckets, buckets and, you guessed it, more buckets. Let’s talk about it. 👇

Today’s Lineup

Chef Curry 👨‍🍳🍲: Warriors get a huge win in the Bay behind 36 from Steph.

On Fire 🔥: Devin Booker torches the Clippers in LA…

A Little Love for the Bench 💙: Malcolm Brogdon is your Sixth Man of the Year!

PrizePicks

You already know who it is. PrizePicks is THE place to go for NBA daily fantasy projections that enhance your hoops watching experience.

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Want a chance to win, but don’t know who to select? Follow along with our official Enjoy Basketball picks below. 👇

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*PrizePicks is available to residents 18+ in AK, AR, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, IL, KS, KY, MI, MN, NE, NY, NM, NC, ND, OK, OR, RI, SC, SD, TX, UT, VT, VA, WI, WY. 19+ in AL. 21+ in AZ, MA.

Last Night’s Latest

Here are the box scores from last night’s games. Check them out in more detail below! ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Late heroics seal Sixers’ 102-97 win over Nets, propel Philly to 3-0 series lead

Every year, you’re gonna get a few games where the refs will be remembered more than the actual game. Unfortunately, this was definitely one of them.

The drama started when Joel Embiid kicked Nic Claxton after doing his best AI impression, resulting in a Flagrant 1 that many thought should have been an outright ejection (especially after the whole Draymond fiasco). Then, things got turned up a notch in the second half when James Harden got sent to the locker room early after an unfortunate pushoff. Claxton followed him a few minutes later for… staring too aggressively?

But hey, we can’t say the players didn’t try to change the narrative in the last few minutes, especially Tyrese Maxey (25 PTS, 5 3PM). With Harden gone and Embiid off his game, Maxey put the Sixers offense on his BACK with ten straight points in the fourth. And props to Joel for coming through in the clutch despite his rough shooting night.

Golden State overpowers Sacramento 114-97, trails Kings 1-2 in the series

Somebody call the Guinness Book of Weird Stat Lines, because Kevon Looney (4 PTS, 20 REB, 9 AST) just had one of the best entries we’ve seen in a while. Looney had one of the best four-point performances we’ve ever seen by being an absolute wrecking ball on the glass and disrupting everything the Kings tried to do inside. And no, the irony of him dropping 4 and 20 on 4/20 isn’t lost on us.

But as the case has been for Golden State over the years, the man of the hour was one Wardell Stephen Curry (36 PTS, 6 3PM). Salacious scoop shots, threes from the other side of the bay, you name it—he was on another level last night.

The Beam Team struggled to get anything going on offense outside of Harrison Barnes (17 PTS, 60% FG). The question now is whether they can figure it out in time to secure a 3-1 lead before heading back to Sacramento.

Booker powers Suns past Kawhi-less Clippers 129-124 to make series 1-2

Devin Booker must be possessed, specifically by a ghost who’s really, really, really good at basketball.

Booker poured in a piping hot 45 points in every way you could imagine—transition dunks off self-created steals, mid-range faders contorted at ridiculous angles, and whatever mind-boggling sorcery this is:

Phoenix needed every one of those points, because outside of a solid showing from Kevin Durant (28 PTS, 11/11 FTM) and some timely shooting from Torrey Craig (15 PTS, 3 3PM), it was a pretty quiet evening from the Suns’ supporting cast.

It’ll go down as a loss, but let the record show that the Clippers scratched and clawed until the very end, even without Kawhi Leonard. Norman Powell went Super Saiyan for a playoff career high 42 points, while Russell Westbrook (30 PTS, 12 REB, 8 AST) made things happen on both ends. All we know is that Game 4 with the Klaw back is about to be a movie. 🎥🎬

Hump Day Hoops

Grizzlies make things happen without Ja in 103-93 W, tie series 1-1 with Lakers

You’re telling us Xavier Tillman (22 PTS, 13 REB) was playing minutes in the G-League this season??

The Michigan State product put together one of the best games of his career at the perfect time. His scoring around the basket was stellar, but it was Tillman’s work against Anthony Davis (13 PTS, 4-14 FG) alongside newly-minted DPOY Jaren Jackson Jr. that ended up being the real difference maker. And don’t forget about John Konchar, who had one of the most unexpected rim denials of all time.

And of course, this series just wouldn’t feel right without some classic Dillon Brooks antics. Love him or hate him, there’s few players who would stare down LeBron James like this while shooting 3/11, and THEN follow it up by trashing talking him after the game. Dillon, we can’t say this will work out well for you, but we definitely respect the confidence.

Bucks go crazy without Giannis, demolish Heat 138-122 to tie series 1-1

Apparently the secret to having your team’s highest scoring playoff game in fifty years is… losing your best player?

The Bucks came into Wednesday without Giannis Antetokounmpo and got a W—and then some. Pat Connaughton and Joe Ingles looked like the they were allergic to missing threes, Brook Lopez controlled the interior, and Jrue Holiday orchestrated a beautiful offensive symphony.

The Heat had a nice scoring night of their own, headlined by some quality shooting from Duncan Robinson (14 PTS, 4-6 3PT), but their usually stringent defense was systematically picked apart.

With the Greek Freak expected back for Game 3, the series is set to move down south for two massive games in Miami.

Murray and Edwards duel as Nuggets outlast Wolves 122-113 to extend series lead to 2-0

Bubble Murray is no more—you can call him Playoff Jamal from now on.

Jamal Murray (40 PTS, 5 AST) has gone through a lot of adversity over the past three years, but he took us back to that magical summer of hoops in Orlando with an all-time vintage performance on Wednesday. Just look at this no-doubt step back that iced it for Denver!

And of course, you can’t forget about the back-to-back reigning MVP. Nikola Jokic (27 PTS, 9 REB, 9 AST) had a seemingly quiet night and STILL almost put up a 30 point triple double—pure insanity.

With the Nuggets’ two stars cooking, this really should have been a blowout. But of course, Anthony Edwards (41 PTS, 6 3PT) was there to make things interesting. He was the catalyst for a 14-0 Minnesota run in the third quarter that saw them briefly take the lead, but despite going bucket for bucket with Murray down the stretch, it wasn’t enough to pull out the W.

The Sixth Man, But First in Our Hearts

Come on down, Malcolm Brogdon! The Celtics do-it-all backup guard is officially the 2022-23 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, his first award since winning Rookie of the Year in 2017.

The leader of an elite Celtics bench unit, Brogdon has been everything Boston asked for—and more—when they traded for him last summer. Reliable playmaking? Check. Solid defense? Check. Mind-boggling efficiency? You bet. He’s one of just nine players EVER to record a 50/40/90 season, and his 48/44/87 splits this year aren’t half bad either.

And he really is the quintessential bench player, becoming the first Sixth Man of the Year since 2014-15 Lemon Pepper Lou Williams to win the award without starting a single game. Immanuel Quickley, Norman Powell, and Bobby Portis all had great seasons, but nobody balled like Brogdon this year.

Enjoyers Talk With Malachi Flynn

On Monday, we sat down with former San Diego State Aztec and current Toronto Raptor Malachi Flynn to talk about his journey to the NBA, how he Enjoys Basketball, and more! We highlighted his best answers below, but make sure you give us a follow on Twitter to catch the next time we talk to a pro hooper.

Q: You grew up in Tacoma as the youngest of 7 siblings. What was that experience like for you? Were y’all competitive?

A: We competed at everything, most definitely. My brother didn't let me win at nothing. We had a hoop outside in the driveway and we used to have to turn the lights on from the other houses to even be able to see. He would never let me win one-on-one. A lot of times it ended in someone throwing the ball and me going inside complaining. Even off the court too, we would compete to see who could put on their seatbelt the fastest when we got in the car!

Q: What are some things you do on a daily basis that helps you recenter and enjoy basketball?

A: One is definitely to talk to people that were on your journey before the NBA, like family and friends. It can be stressful at times, but you have to put some perspective into it. There is nothing I would rather be doing right now. And if it’s stressful, I go to the gym. Just shoot. It’s therapeutic to be in the gym. For me, it's never to get away from basketball.

Q: What was your ‘welcome to the league’ moment?

A: Being on the court with the stars you grew up on. In my rookie year, we had a stretch where we played Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, Steph Curry all in a row and that was crazy to me. I grew up watching these dudes and now I’m picking them up? Those are my three point guards to this day.

Q: If you could bring any teammate to a desert island to survive, who would it be?

A: Jakob [Poeltl] would be a good person, because I feel like he might just know some things to survive.

Frozen Moments

• Cole Anthony gives us a passionate rendition of… Hey, Soul Sister by Train?

• Charles Barkley’s questionable wording on Inside The NBA leaves Shaq dying…

• Steph had something to say after the Warriors’ big win.

What We’re Enjoying

The Dunk Database: The World Dunk Association (that’s a real thing!) lets you filter through dunk contests from around the world by all sorts of things—including distance, rotation, and dunk style—to find the craziest slams ever witnessed on the planet. And yes, it is as cool as it sounds.

LEGEND: Derrick White's Journey to Stardom - Jack Simone (CelticsBlog)

Can you wear your opponent’s shoes on an NBA court? The unwritten rules are changing - Mike Vorkunov (The Athletic)

Signing Off

That’s all from us today! There’s a lot of playoff hoops to watch this weekend, so make sure to balance it out with some time outside. Grab some friends, go for a hike, play some pickup. Whatever makes you happy. 💙🏀

-Spencer Poole

Trivia Answer: Since he was the least chosen option on Wednesday, we had to make the answer to today’s trivia Derek Fisher AGAIN! The long-time Laker played in 259 playoff games over the course of his career.

Before you go…

Happy birthday to Enjoyers Andrea, Braden, Nick, and Webber! We appreciate you supporting the mission 🙏. If you want a birthday shoutout, and/or just want to help us improve the newsletter, take our quick survey below. We’d really appreciate it!