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Nightly Pulse: NBA News & Highlights from May 9

Keep up with the NBA Playoffs action with our Nightly Pulse blog featuring the latest news, scores and highlights tonight.

NBA.com Staff

🏀 NBA Playoffs scores tonight

Cavaliers 126, Pacers 104 (IND leads 2-1)

Nuggets 113, Thunder 104 (DEN leads 2-1)

Game 3 Takeaways 🗒️

 

Denver takes 2-1 lead in OT

  • Denver has multiple bright spots coming out of game three. Chief among them, the team won despite Nikola Jokić’s poor shooting night. The 3-time MVP was 8-25 from the field and 0-10 from downtown. Michael Porter Jr.  had the hot hand, sinking five threes en route to 21 points on 70% shooting. Four Nuggets players finished with 20 or more points.
  • Oklahoma City looked comfortable on offense early, but ultimately struggled with efficiency tonight with the exception of Jalen Williams. 32 points marked a new playoff career-high for Williams, who’s 4th quarter baskets kept the Thunder alive. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren had 18 each, though on a combined 14-41 shooting (2-12 on threes).

 

 

Cleveland wins in Indy, trails Pacers 2-1

  • The Cavaliers had to avoid losing game three at all costs, and that they did. Donovan Mitchell was unstoppable as he torched the Pacers for 43 points, nine rebounds and five assists. It was an equally dominant night for the frontcourt duo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. They had mirroring double-doubles, and guided Cleveland to a commanding rebounding advantage (56-37). The East’s top team had all their guys back tonight, and it showed.
  • After stealing the show in game two, Tyrese Haliburton was largely ineffective tonight, totaling just four points and five assists. No Indiana starter crossed the 20-point threshhold as Coach Rick Carlisle held them all under 30 minutes of action. Bennedict Mathurin had a team-high 22 off the bench. The Pacers will need a strong bounce-back effort in game 4 to break the streak of the road team winning every game in this series.

 

 

Denver Does it all in OT 💪

 

 

The Nuggets trailed for the majority of this game, but not for a single second of overtime. The team carried the momentum from Aaron Gordon’s game-tying three in regulation into the extra period and never looked back, outscored OKC 11-2 in overtime.

 

With the win they take a 2-1 advantage over the Thunder, and maintain home-court advantage in the second-round series.

Game 3 ⏩ OT

Nuggets 102, Thunder 102

 

Nikola Jokić missed a potential buzzer-beating three as time expired in regulation. Isaiah Hartenstein provided a good contest, making the turnaround attempt more difficult. The Joker is 0-10 now from three in this game.

 

AG for 👌

J-Dub Takeover 🔥

 

Jalen Williams has the last nine points for the Thunder, and is the reason the team holds a slim lead in the final minute He has a playoff career-high 32 points tonight after hitting a pair of free throws.

 

Entering Crunch Time 🍿

Thunder 95, Nuggets 93

 

The fourth quarter is halfway behind us, and it’s anybody’s game in the Mile-High City. Oklahoma City leads and holds advantages on the glass (50-43), and in the turnover column (13-9). Denver is winning the battle from the outside, however, sinking 14 threes to the Thunder’s eight.

 

 

 

 

4Q On Deck

 

We saw a lot of fancy finishes from Denver in the third quarter, some with flair and others with power. They’re locked into a battle with the top-seeded Thunder as the fourth gets underway.

 

Watson Stuffs Chet 🚫

 

 

Nuggets Climb Back 🧗

Nuggets 71, Thunder 69

 

Nikola Jokić isn’t having his best shooting night, but he’s creating buckets for himself and his teammates when it matters.

 

 

J-Dub Mean Finish 🤧

Thunder 64, Nuggets 61

 

Jalen Williams used two hands for authority to finish this transition dunk with Aaron Gordon lurking.

 

 

The Nuggets are still knocking at the door of taking the lead. They’ve trimmed the deficit to one on multiple occasions, but each time Oklahoma City keeps them at bay.

Trading Blows

 

The Nuggets find themselevs trailing at the half, but by a reasonable five-point deficit. The second quarter saw Denver cut the lead to one point. Oklahoma City answered, extending that lead back to nine before Denver inched closer to close the period.

 

 

 

 

MPJ Can’t Miss 👀

 

Michael Porter Jr.’s hot start early has carried over to the second frame. He’s helped Denver trim into the Thunder’s lead by hitting difficult shots and leads the team in scoring. It’s a scoring punch the team has missed so far this series.

 

 

 

Thunder Strike First 🌩️

It’s been a team effort early for the Thunder so far. Chet Holmgren is the game’s leading scorer with 11 points to go along with six rebounds and a block. Michael Porter Jr. was a perfect 3-3 shooting in the period, and leads Denver with eight points.

 

 

Levels to the Game 📶

Thunder 24, Nuggets 18

 

Oklahoma City was the league’s top defense in the regular season, but their offensive attack is just as lethal. To start this game, they’re getting it done from all three levels. Chet Holmgren got the scoring started with a triple, before catching an alley-oop later on.

 

 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got his first points of the game from the mid-range. They lead Denver with a couple minutes left in the first quarter. His MVP-finalist counterpart, Nikola Jokić, has two first quarter fouls.

 

 

Return to Form 👏

Cavaliers 126, Pacers 104

 

The Cleveland Cavaliers earned their first series win tonight, on the road in Indianapolis. Donovan Mitchell was the best player on the court, willing his team to victory with a game-high 43 points. After Indiana won both opening games in Cleveland, the Cavaliers will try to follow suit and even the series.

 

 

The Pacers will need more from their leader, Tyrese Haliburton, in game four. Haliburton was held in check tonight, finishing with just four points and five assists.

 

⌛Fourth quarter in Indy

Cavaliers 97, Pacers 79 

The Pacers made a bit of headway in the third, outscoring the Cavaliers 34-31. They still have a ways to go to catch the Cavaliers, though, as they trail by 18.

To be fair, big fourth quarter comebacks aren’t unfamiliar to this group of Pacers after they erased a big deficit to come out on top in Game 2.

Catch the fourth quarter now on ESPN.

⏱️ Nuggets, Thunder getting ready

The stage is set for a pivotal Game 3 in Denver tonight as the Nuggets and Thunder enter this one tied at one game apiece.

It’s anyone’s guess as to how this one will shake out after two very different games in OKC to open the series. The Nuggets stunned the Thunder in Game 1 and Oklahoma City responded emphatically in Game 2 with a 149-106 victory.

The Nuggets are 3-1 at home in the postseason while the Thunder went 2-0 on the road in their sweep over the Grizzlies.

😮 Cleveland in control at half

Cavaliers 66, Pacers 45

The Pacers’ run to tie it at the end of the first quarter was short-lived as the Cavaliers kept things rolling all the way through the second quarter. The Cavs outscored the Pacers 34-13 in the second quarter, shooting 46 percent from the floor while Indiana mustered just 5-for-22 (23%) in the period.

Cleveland has established a big edge on the interior. The Cavs are leading 21-4 in 2nd chance points and have outscored Indiana 34-18 in the paint.

👀 Cavs making moves

Cleveland has gone on an 11-0 run to grow their lead to 13 as we near the end of the first half. Donovan Mitchell is up to 15 points and is shooting 50 percent from the floor.

 

🏁 Pacers survive early surge

Pacers 32, Cavaliers 32

The Cavaliers got off to a torrid start in Game 3, jumping out to an 11-0 lead. The Pacers took that early haymaker and got back in the fight right away.

Myles Turner has been a problem for the Cavs’ defense so far with 12 first-quarter points. Bennedict Mathurin has also added eight points off the bench and is +12 on the night.

Lastly, a Ben Sheppard triple to tie it fully shifted the momentum in Indiana’s direction as we move into the second quarter.

🗣️Strus boost

Max Strus and the Cavs have come out on fire, starting with an 11-0 run with eight points from Strus.

Donovan Mitchell has also brought his A-Game with five early points. The Cavs have taken a big early lead in a must-win Game 3. However, the Pacers have been unflappable to start the series. Game on.

Tune into ESPN to catch the action.

✍️ Pacers Cavaliers Game 3

Pacers lineup

Cavaliers lineup

The Cavaliers get some key pieces back in the fold tonight, headlined by Darius Garland, who missed the first two games of the series while recovering from a toe injury.

NBA storylines tonight

  • Friday night doubleheader: NBA fans are treated to a pair of Game 3’s tonight with the Cavaliers-Pacers series shifting to Indy Thunder-Nuggets series shifting to Denver.
  • Pivotal Game 3 for Cavaliers-Pacers: The Pacers set the tone for what has been a theme in this round of the playoffs that has been dominated by the road teams. They took the first two games of the series against the East’s top seed and now get the next two at home. The pressure is firmly on the Cavaliers as they look to avoid a 3-0 hole.
  • What will Game 3 hold in Denver-OKC?: We’ve had two polar opposite results in the first two games of the Nuggets-Thunder series. The Nuggets stole Game 1 on the road with some late-game heroics from Aaron Gordon. Game 2 was all OKC from the jump as the Thunder dropped a record 87 points in the first half en route to a blowout win. What will tonight have in store?

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