The NBA Playoffs continued on Tuesday with three big games. Things got going in the Big Apple with the New York Knicks hosting the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 5 of their first-round series.
For a while there, it looked like Philadelphia was going to be sent home for the spring. But that’s when Tyrese Maxey went nuclear with seven points in the final 25.1 seconds of regulation. It helped Philadelphia avoid elimination.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to take a 3-2 series lead over the Orlando Magic despite some struggles from the stars. Meanwhile, the injury-riddled Milwaukee Bucks fended off elimination with a blowout 115-92 win over the Indiana Pacers. Here is a look at 10 winners and losers from Tuesday’s action in the NBA Playoffs.
Winner: Kelly Oubre Jr., Philadelphia 76ers
Oubre Jr. struggled early on to open the NBA Playoffs, shooting 8-of-24 from the field in the first three games against New York. The 76ers knew that they needed more from the veteran wing. He provided that in Game 4, going for 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Oubre was back at it in Game 5 Tuesday night, scoring 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Though, it was a huge block on Jalen Brunson in overtime that pretty much sealed this game. Not known for his defense, Oubre came to play big time on that end of the court when it counted the most.
Loser: Donte DiVincenzo, New York Knicks
Heroics were the name of the game for DiVincenzo earlier in these NBA Playoffs. Unfortunately, he picked a terrible time to have a bad game. New York was attempting to eliminate Philadelphia Tuesday evening. If DiVincenzo had put up a typical performance, that would’ve happened. Instead, he shot just 3-of-10 from the field. That included missing on six of his seven three-point shots. The Knicks needed someone to step up behind Brunson. That did not happen, and it has this series heading to Game 6 in Philadelphia.
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Winner: Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
Talk about being in your bag. Maxey needed to do everything we saw Tuesday night in New York to help his team fend off elimination. That’s exactly what he did, scoring seven points in the final 25.1 seconds of regulation to help Philadelphia force overtime despite being down six late. Maxey then nailed a huge three-point in the extra stanza as the 76ers won by the score of 112-106. He finished with 46 points on 17-of-30 shooting, helping Philadelphia overcome nine turnovers from Joel Embiid to force Game 6.
Loser: Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic
Wagner played a huge role in Orlando’s Game 4 win over Cleveland to even the series. He scored 34 points on 13-of-27 shooting from the field. Heading back to Ohio for Game 5 on Tuesday, the Magic were hopeful that his excellent play would continue. It was not to be. The forward shot just 3-of-11 from the field, scoring a mere 14 points in the process. Orlando was minus-10 in his 38 minutes of action in what ended up being a one-point loss. Yeah, the dude did not come to play when it counted the most Tuesday evening.
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Winner: Jalen Brunson, New York nicks
Brunson had scored 86 points in the two games leading up to Tuesday’s matchup with Philadelphia. That came after he struggled to the tune of 16-of-55 shooting in the first two games of the NBA Playoffs. Despite not being able to lead his team to a series-clinching win, the Knicks’ star was definitely in his bag Tuesday evening. Brunson dropped 40 points on 15-of-32 shooting, adding six assists and three steals in the process. He’ll need more help moving forward, but this was yet another brilliant performance from the NBA MVP candidate.
Loser: Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
Mitchell did score nine points in the fourth quarter as his Cavaliers took a 3-2 series lead against the Orlando in the first-round of the NBA Playoffs. Five of those came via big-time free throws at the end. However, Mitchell’s shooting struggles continued. He hit on just 9-of-23 from the field, including 1-of-7 from distance. Cleveland also finished a surprising minus-11 in his 40 minutes of action. Even if the Cavaliers do find a way to advance in the playoffs, they simply need their star guard to step up more. He has not done that thus far.
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Winner: Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
Talk about a rebound performance from Banchero. After scoring just nine points in Game 4, the former No. 1 pick came to play big time in Cleveland. Banchero scored 39 points on 14-of-24 shooting. He added eight rebounds and four assists. It was just a brilliant all-around performance as Banchero did what he could to keep the Magic afloat. Regardless of what happens moving forward in the NBA Playoffs, a star is being born in Florida. That’s as obvious as it gets.
Loser: Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers
Siakam just has not lived up to expectations over the past couple games heading into Tuesday night’s road date with the Bucks. That included the forward scoring a combined 30 points over the previous two outings. With Indiana looking to close the series out on Tuesday, Siakam continued to come up small. He scored just 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting in 34 minutes of action. Indiana also finished minus-18 with Siakam on the court. That’s just not going to cut it.
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Winner: Bobby Portis, Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks were facing elimination Tuesday night without stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard on the court. No one really gave this team too much of a chance against a game Pacers squad. Milwaukee needed someone else to step up. That’s exactly what Portis did one game after letting his team down by being ejected. Portis was absolutely a man on a mission. He matched a team-high 29 points on 14-of-24 shooting. The Bucks were an otherworldly plus-30 in his minutes as Portis added 10 rebounds in one of the best performances of his career.
Loser: Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
Haliburton just has not had it thus far in the NBA Playoffs. Back in Game 2 against Milwaukee, he scored nine points and took seven shots. The young guard headed into Tuesday’s action shooting just 44% in the series. He was no better on Tuesday as Indiana failed to close the Bucks out. Haliburton scored 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting. He was not the aggressive-type player the Pacers need. That doesn’t bode well moving into Game 6 on Thursday night in Indiana.
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