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Nightly Pulse: NBA News & Highlights from May 11

Follow the NBA Playoffs with our Nightly Pulse blog featuring all the latest news, scores and highlights from around the league.

NBA.com Staff

Sunday’s Playoffs Hoops🏀

Oklahoma City Thunder 92, Denver Nuggets 87 (Final)

Cleveland Cavaliers 109, Indiana Pacers 129 (Final)

📝Game notes📝

Down 2-1 in the series, the Thunder were facing a near must-win situation and ultimately came through with a 92-87 win over the Nuggets. OKC outscored Denver 29-18 in the final frame thanks to an 11-0 run that featured a pair of triples by Cason Wallace, with the second one putting the Thunder ahead 75-73 with 8:35 remaining. Oklahoma City never relinquished the lead. 

The win evens the series at two apiece and gives homecourt advantage back to the Thunder for what is now essentially a best-of-three series. Game 5 will be Tuesday at 9:30 ET on TNT in Oklahoma City. 

Indiana had its foot on the gas from the tip and never hit the brakes in a dominant win over the Cavaliers. The Pacers poured in an astounding 80 points in the first half, shooting 60 percent from the field, and had a 41-point advantage at the break. They also dished out 25 assists between the first two quarters, which is a single-half NBA Playoff record in the play-by-play era. 

To make matters worse for Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell suffered an ankle injury during second-half warmups and was unable to play for the remainder of the game. At this point, his status for Game 5 is up in the air. He’ll receive an MRI on Monday. 

The Pacers now have a commanding 3-1 advantage in the series. They’ll have a chance to take the series Tuesday in Cleveland at 7 ET on TNT.

 

🌟🌟Top performers🌟🌟

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 25 points, six rebounds, six assists, and two steals. 
  • Nikola Jokić: 27 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and four steals. 
  • Pascal Siakam: 21 points (9-10 FG), six rebounds, three assists, and one steal. 
  • Myles Turner: 20 points (4-4 3PT), seven rebounds, and three assists. 
  • Obi Toppin: 20 points, (9-14 FG), five rebounds, and two assists.

 

🏎️💨Pacers cruise to victory

By halftime, there wasn’t very much doubt.

Indiana had a 41-point lead, and Donovan Mitchell was in the locker room with an ankle injury to start the third quarter.

By the time Cleveland got some offense going in the second half, it was much too late, and the Pacers finished with a 129-109 victory.

Indiana was red-hot from three, making 12-18 attempts in the first half, including Turner going 4-for-4 from deep, who finished with 20 points. Siakam tied Garland with a game-high 21, while Toppin added 20 off the bench.

 

The Pacers’ lead remains large

It hasn’t been Cleveland’s night. After falling behind by 41 in the first half, Mitchell suffered an ankle injury during second-half warmups and has not returned.

Cleveland was finally able to find some offense in the third, scoring 38 points, just one shy of their first half total, but they still trail 109-77 going into the fourth.

They continue to succeed with ball movement, whether finding the open guy behind the arc, or just cutting to the rim, like this feed from McConnell to Toppin.

 

Total domination💪

The Pacers are up 41 points on the Cavs. 80-39.

Indiana has not let up and is hitting everything, finishing the half with seven straight makes. They’re shooting 30-for-50 from the field, and 12 of 18 from three.

A large part of the triple brigade has been Myles Turner, who is 4-for-4 from deep and has poured in 18 points,

On the other side of the ball, Cleveland has struggled to get much going on offense and has made just eight field goals through two quarters and is shooting 25%. They also have 14 turnovers. They’ve been able to get to the charity stripe though, knocking down 18 free throws.

 

 

Pretty finish😲

The Pacers are just pouring it on, now leading 60-32 with less than five minutes remaining in the first half.

Part of their continued barrage of buckets is a pretty up-and-under reverse from Obi Toppin, who has been on fire, scoring a game-high 13 points.

 

Still heating up🔥

The Pacers haven’t slowed down, scoring 10 straight to start the second, before a Max Strus three ended the run. They’re now up 48-26 a few minutes into the second quarter.

The surge started with a pair of Siakam triples, before working his way to the paint and knocking down the 15-footer.

 

All gas for the Pacers⛽

Indy’s offense is cooking, as they close out the first quarter with a 38-23 lead on the Cavs.

The Pacers are shooting 53.8% from the field, and 60% from distance thus far.

They’re doing it with ball movement, and finding the open man,

and by getting to the hoop,

We’ve also seen things get intense between Bennedict Mathurin and De’Andre Hunter, leading to flagrant 2 and ejection for Mathurin.

 

Starting with a bang💥

Game 4 action is underway in Indianapolis and it starts with Siakam finding a loose ball and getting it out to Haliburton for a breakaway slam to open the scoring.

The Pacers are currently on a 7-0 run and lead 12-5 early in the first quarter.

 

 

Putting in work🛠️

Mitchell takes the floor early, in preparation for Game 4, with the Cavaliers looking to get their homecourt advantage back by evening the series.

He’s coming off back-to-back 40-plus point performances, scoring 48 in Game 2 and 43 in the Cavaliers’ Game 3 victory.

Can he do it again? Tip-off is coming in just minutes at the top of the hour on TNT, truTV, or stream it on Max!

 

Starting 🖐️’s are live

No surprises here for a pivotal Game 4 in Indianapolis.

The Cavaliers will put Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen on the floor first.

The Pacers will begin with Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner.

 

OKC responds in Game 4😤🌩️

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the Thunder to an important win in Game 4, as they hang on to beat the Nuggets 92-87 to tie the series at 2-2. SGA had a team-high 25 points on 8-for-19 shooting (0-5 3PT, 9-12 FT) along with 6 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals in 38 minutes. He dropped 9 of his 25 in the final quarter while playing some clutch defense.

Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins each had 11 points off the bench for OKC, while Jalen Williams and Alex Caruso had 10 apiece. J-Dub had 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and a block, and the Thunder outscored the Nuggets 35-8 in bench points.

Denver fought their way to the fourth quarter but just didn’t have enough left in the tank to finish this one out. They scored just 18 points in the final frame and allowed 29 on the other end, shooting 7-for-23 from the field and 1-for-12 from deep.

Nikola Jokić had a game-high 27 points on 7-for-22 shooting (2-8 3PT, 11-14 FT) with 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals in 43 minutes. Christian Braun (17 points, 3 steals) and Jamal Murray (17 points, 5 assists) had solid outings, and Aaron Gordon tallied 15 points, 16 rebounds, 6 dimes and a block.

Game 5 is set for Tuesday at 9:30 ET in Oklahoma City.

Thunder back on top👀⚡

Cason Wallace and the Thunder use a 15-5 run in the fourth quarter to take an 81-78 lead with 4:36 remaining in the game. He and Alex Caruso each have 11 points off the bench while playing lockdown defense.

Nikola Jokić leads everyone with 25 points and 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals in 38 minutes. Don’t miss the finish of Game 4 on ABC!

Raining 3s in Denver💦💦

Russell Westbrook splashes in Denver’s seventh 3-pointer of the third quarter after going 3-for-22 in the first half. The Nuggets grabbed their first lead of the game and outscored OKC 33-21 in the frame, and they take a 69-63 lead into the final quarter.

The Thunder finished 7-for-21 from the field in the third as SGA is still their only player in double figures (16 points). Denver holds a 73-69 advantage with 10:26 left in Game 4.

Nuggets storm back👊🤯

Aaron Gordon laces the wide open 3 to send Ball Arena into a frenzy. The Nuggets have stormed back from down 15 to take their first lead of the night despite shooting under 30% overall. ‘Mr. Nugget’ has 8 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, while Nikola Jokić is up to 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals (ties Playoff career-high).

The Thunder are led by SGA with 16 points on 5-for-12 shooting, but OKC has gone ice cold in the second half (3-11 FG). No other Thunder players are in double figures.

Get to this game right now to see if Denver can grab a 3-1 lead, live on ABC!

Thunder up at half⛈️😤

It’s been a rough shooting day for both teams, as Denver and OKC both shot under 35% from the field and an identical 3-for-22 (13.6%) from 3-point range. The Nuggets have been able to stay in it by getting to the free throw line, where they’re 17-for-20 (85%), but they trail the Thunder 42-36 at halftime.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a game-high 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting with 6 rebounds and 2 dimes, while Alex Caruso is OKC’s second-leading scorer with 9 points in 12 minutes off the bench.

Nikola Jokić and Christian Braun lead the way for Denver with 11 points apiece on a combined 13-for-14 at the stripe. Jokić also tallied 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals with only one turnover in 21 minutes. Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon each have 5 points as the Nuggets aim to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Hartenstein’s strong jam💪

Sunday’s game has gotten off to a slow start, but Isaiah Hartenstein and the Thunder remain on top of the Nuggets, 29-19 with 6:03 left before halftime. SGA leads all scorers with 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting in 13 minutes, while Chet Holmgren has added 4 points and 8 rebounds.

Nikola Jokić just notched his first bucket of the afternoon, as he’s got 2 points (1-5 FG), 6 rebounds, 3 steals and an assist in 15 minutes. Christian Braun leads Denver with 9 points on 7-for-8 at the charity stripe.

These two combined for 25 points (17-8 OKC) after the first quarter, which ties the fewest first-quarter points in postseason history.

SGA getting buckets🪣

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a quick 5 points on 2-for-3 shooting with 3 boards, and, although scoreless, Jalen Williams has done a bit of everything with 3 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals and a block in eight minutes of play.

Jamal Murray has 4 points to lead Denver, but both squads are struggling to find their rhythm early in this Sunday matinee affair. The Thunder and Nuggets are a combined 1-for-21 from 3-point range, but it’s OKC with a 14-7 edge at the 1:57 mark in the opening quarter on ABC.

OKC’s starting lineup⚡

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams headline a dangerous starting lineup for the Thunder, with Chet Holmgren, Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein joining them in a crucial Game 4 on the road. Williams had a career- and game-high 32 points in Friday’s loss, and coach Mark Daigneault will surely want to keep him in attack mode.

Denver’s starting lineup⛰️

Interim coach David Adelman sees no reason to change up his first unit with Denver holding a 2-1 lead in the series. Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter, Jr. all had 20+ points in their 113-104 overtime win on Friday.

Top Storylines 📢📝

  • Mother’s Day brings the first Game 4s of the 2025 Conference Semifinals, as the Thunder and Cavs look to even things up in their respective series before heading back home.
  • Our first matchup sees Oklahoma City take on Denver with the Thunder aiming to bounce back on the road after a 113-104 OT defeat in Game 3 on Friday night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (18 points, 13 rebounds) struggled with his shot the last time out (7-22 FG), and he’ll try to right the ship to avoid OKC dropping to a 1-3 hole. Nikola Jokić, who also had an inefficient performance on Friday with 20 points on 8-for-25 shooting, was one of four Nuggets with 20+ points.
  • The Cavaliers and Pacers meet at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in a pivotal Game 4. Cleveland took Game 3 in convincing fashion, 126-104, thanks to getting Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter back in action, along with a 43-point outburst from Donovan Mitchell. Tyrese Haliburton (4 points, 5 assists) will have to be more aggressive offensively to give Indiana a chance at a 3-1 series advantage.

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