When you finish off one of the greatest series performances in NBA Playoff history.

THE LINEUP 🏀

What’s inside today’s edition? 

Knicks advance: Brunson’s 41 points and Hart’s clutch 3 lead NY past Philly in six games

Brunson makes history: See where Jalen Brunson’s epic series stands in Playoff history

Pacers oust Bucks: Indy’s bench steps up to clinch its first Playoff series win in a decade

Kyrie-Luka combo: Dallas’ star backcourt tries to close out their first series as teammates

Magic-Cavs 3 keys: Home-court advantage, Playoff Paolo and close-out Donovan Mitchell

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Last night’s scores & what to watch today.

Tonight, the Magic host the Cavs (7 ET, ESPN) looking to keep the home teams perfect in the series and force Game 7. Then, the Mavs host the Clippers (9:30 ET, ESPN) trying to close the series at home.

Caitlin Clark’s preseason debut: The rookie phenom takes the court for the first time as the Indiana Fever visit the Dallas Wings (8 ET). Catch it for free on the WNBA App.

1. KNICKS TAKE GAME 6, WIN CLASSIC SERIES VS SIXERS

For the third time in this series, a game was decided in the final 30 seconds. After Tyrese Maxey’s three-point play tied the game, the Knicks put the ball to Jalen Brunson.

The Sixers sent multiple defenders at Brunson, who was sitting on 39 points, forcing somebody else to beat them.

And Josh Hart did.

Hart caught a pass from Brunson, faked a swing pass as the Sixers defense was scrambling, then rose up for the go-ahead triple with 26 seconds left.

The Sixers got within a single point twice, but clutch free throws by Donte DiVincenzo and Brunson iced the game – and the series – for the Knicks. | Recap | Watch The Final 2:52

• Epic Series: NY’s 118-115 win made the composite score for the series 650-649 in favor of the Knicks. Watch Every Highlight From The Series
• The Knicks advance to face the Pacers in the Conference Semifinals, with Game 1 set for Monday (7:30 ET, TNT)
• Walk Off With Brunson: “Found a way to … win this game. I’m just excited that we’re moving on to the next round. Played a really good team, much respect to the Sixers, and we’re moving on.”
• Knicks Coach Tom Thibodeau: “We have a great team and I’m fortunate to be coaching them.”
• Brunson On Inside The NBA: “We knew this wasn’t going to be easy“

Brunson posted 41 points and 12 assists for his third straight game with 40+ points in the series, while DiVincenzo scored a Playoff career-high 23 points while playing every second of the series-clincher.

• Starting 5: OG Anunoby (19 pts, 9 reb), Hart (16 pts, 14 reb, 7 ast) and Isaiah Hartenstein (14 pts, 9 reb) combined to add 49 as NY’s starters scored 113 of their 118 points

Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 39 points and 13 boards in 40 minutes before fouling out in the closing seconds. Tyrese Maxey followed his Game 5 heroics with 17 points and five assists.

• Bench Shines: The Sixers bench outscored the Knicks bench 42-5 with Buddy Hield catching fire in the 2nd quarter, scoring 17 of his 20 points in the frame. Nic Batum added 16 with three 3s

The Sixers needed the lift from their bench after DiVincenzo and the Knicks exploded out of the gates, building a 22-point lead in the game’s first 10 minutes.

• Massive Turnaround: Philly outscored the Knicks 43-18 the rest of the half to take a 54-51 lead. The Sixers held the lead until an Anunoby 3 tied the game entering the 4th quarter
• Frantic 4th: After a massive dunk by OG put NY up eight with 2:43 left, the Sixers made a final push with a 10-2 run, capped by Maxey’s three-point play to tie it with 35 seconds left

2. BRUNSON’S PLACE IN PLAYOFF LORE

Jalen Brunson’s performance in this series – averages 35.5 ppg (1st in 2024 Playoffs), 9.0 apg (3rd) and 4.5 rpg, three straight 40+ point games to close the series – put him in elite company in NBA Playoff history.

Let’s break it down:

40+ Point Streak: Brunson is the 7th player in NBA history with three consecutive 40+ point Playoff games, joining:

• Jamal Murray (2020)
• Allen Iverson (2001)
• Michael Jordan (1989, 1990, 1993)
• Bernard King (1984)
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1977)
• Jerry West (1965)

35/5 Streak: Brunson is the 3rd player with four consecutive Playoff games of 35+ points and 5+ assists in a single postseason, joining:

• LeBron James (2009)
• Michael Jordan (1989, 1990)

40/10 Clincher: Brunson is the 4th player in NBA Playoff history to record 40+ points and 10+ assists in a series clinching win, joining:

• Devin Booker (47 pts, 10 ast: 4/25/2023 vs LAC First Round)
• Chris Paul (41 pts, 10 ast: 5/8/2018 vs UTA West Semis)
• Michael Jordan (40 pts, 10 ast: 5/19/1989 vs NYK East Semis)

35/10 x 3: Brunson joins Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history with three games of 35+ points and 10+ assists in a Playoff series.

165/40 Club: Brunson joins Russell Westbrook (2017) as the only players in NBA history to record 165+ points and 40+ assists over a four-game span in the Playoffs.

3. PACERS PUNCH TICKET TO EAST SEMIS

All Hands On Deck: To run the Playoff gauntlet, teams need contributions from up and down the roster. The stars will shine some nights. And other nights – like Thursday in Indy – the reserves steal the show.

• Obi Toppin (21 pts, 8 reb) and TJ McConnell (20 pts, 9 ast, 4 stl) combined for 41 points off the bench to lead the Pacers to a 120-98 win over the Bucks to clinch the series and advance in the Playoffs for the first time in a decade. | Recap
• Toppin and McConnell became the third duo since 1970-71 to lead their team in a series-clinching win while coming off the bench, joining Dallas’ Jason Terry & JJ Barea (2011 West Semis) and Toronto’s Norman Powell & Serge Ibaka (2020 First Round)
• Carlisle Connection: Rick Carlisle coached two of the three duos as he won his first Playoff series since the 2011 Finals with Dallas

Tyrese Haliburton (17 pts, 10 ast) and Pascal Siakam (19 pts, 7 reb) combined for 36 to help the Pacers clinch in front of their home fans.

• Toppin On Indy’s Fans: “We needed all that to come out with the W…we appreciate y’all.”
• Haliburton: “I just love being here, I love being with the Pacers.”

McConnell rebounded from a tough Game 5 – when he had six points on 3-of-10 shooting with three assists and two turnovers – with the best Playoff performance of his career. Haliburton knew the key to his big night.

• Haliburton: “His wife Val was here and I always tell him he plays better when Val is at the games … Shoutout Val.”
• Carlisle: “His bounce back was phenomenal … He was the major difference maker.“

4. KYRIE-LUKA COMBO LOOKS FOR FIRST SERIES WIN

For their first time as teammates, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have a chance to win a Playoff series as the Mavs host the Clippers tonight in Game 6 of their first round series.

• After their Game 4 loss to tie the series 2-2, Luka put the blame on himself, saying he wasn’t doing enough to help Kyrie:
• “I gotta help him more, I feel like I’m letting him down so I gotta be there. I gotta help him more, he’s giving everything he has. He’s been amazing for us the whole series.”
• Two days later, Luka had his best game of the series, scoring 35 points on 53.8% shooting with 10 dimes as Dallas rolled to a 123-93 win in LA to set up tonight’s close-out game

The chemistry between Luka and Kyrie has developed over the course of their first full season together. Earlier this season Luka called himself the Robin to Kyrie’s Batman while touting the duo’s bond on and off the court.

• The duo will be tested tonight as they attempt to close out the Clippers at home and avoid having to return to LA for a Game 7

Close-Out History: Both Luka and Kyrie tout impressive resumes in close-out situations.

• Luka: Averages 33.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 9.3 apg on 51%/40.6%/ 90.9% shooting splits over four career close-out games. The only other player to average at least 30/8/8 in clinching games is Nikola Jokic
• Kyrie: Has the most wins without a loss in close-out game in NBA Playoff history (12-0) while averaging 22.7 ppg on 52.1% shooting, with 3.8 rpg and 4.8 apg

For the Clippers to keep their season alive, they’ll have to overcome those two stars that have been brilliant in close-out situations, and do so on the road. LA was a better road team (26-15, 3rd best in NBA) than home team this season.

5. THREE THINGS TO WATCH IN TONIGHT’S MAGIC-CAVS GAME 6

1. Home-Court Advantage: The home team has won each of the first five games of this series, with Cleveland’s win in Game 5 being the first decided by single digits.

• The Magic had the sixth-best home record (29-12) during the regular season in the NBA. Orlando shot better at home (+2.4% true shooting) and averaged 4.6 more ppg on offense
• But the biggest difference came on defense, allowing just 105 ppg (2nd in NBA)
• Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell: “Got to do it again on the road. “We won at home. We took care of business at home. We did our job. This doesn’t prove anything.
• “We haven’t proven anything. We haven’t done anything. Got to go down there and handle business.”

2. Paolo Raising His Game: Banchero is coming off a 39-point performance – which not only set a Playoff high in his fifth postseason game, but was the third-highest scoring game of his career.

• For the series, Banchero is averaging 24.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg and 4.4 apg, while seeing his usage and efficiency both rise
• Usage Rate: 33.2% in the Playoffs compared to 29.2% in the regular season
• Effective FG Percentage: 54% effective field goal percentage in the Playoffs compared to 49.7% in the regular season

3. Close-Out Spida: In five career close-out games when leading the series, Mitchell has averaged 33.0 ppg on 52.7/54.5/95.8 shooting splits.

• That’s the fourth-highest scoring average in series-clinching games in Playoff history behind only AI (33.9 in 7 games), MJ (33.8 ppg in 38 games) and Giannis (33.7 in 7 games)
• So far in the series, Orlando’s defense has held Mitchell to 22.4 ppg on 41.7/22.9/85.7 splits. Can the Magic continue this defensive effort with their season at risk?
• Paolo on Mitchell: “Just try to speed him up, pick him up full court, make him exert energy as much as you can. He’s an experienced All-Star level player who’s been in a lot of Playoff environments.
• “He’s not easy to fluster … He’s a great player so we gotta find a way to stop him. It takes the whole team.”