For the first time in 25 years, there's going to be an Eastern Conference finals game at Madison Square Garden.
And it's also time for the MVP announcement: It's coming on Wednesday, the league said.
The NBA conference finals continue Wednesday night when New York plays host to Indiana in Game 1 of the East title series. The Knicks have now made the conference finals four times since 1994; all four times, the Pacers have been the opponent. The Knicks won those matchups in 1994 and 1999, and the Pacers won in 2000.
According to TickPick, the average purchase price for a ticket to Game 1 at MSG was topping $1,200 on Tuesday — a record price for any NBA conference finals game.
Game 2 of the Western Conference finals is Thursday at Oklahoma City, after the Thunder rolled past Minnesota in that series opener.
Stories of note
— Inside the numbers going into the conference finals
— Teams looking ahead: Boston,Cleveland and Denver
— Knicks-Pacers rivalry has produced memorable moments
Wednesday's national TV schedule
8 p.m. EDT — Indiana at New York (TNT)
Thursday's national TV schedule
8:30 p.m. EDT — Minnesota at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
Friday's national TV schedule
8 p.m. EDT — Indiana at New York (TNT)
Saturday's national TV schedule
8:30 p.m. EDT — Oklahoma City at Minnesota (ESPN)
Betting odds
Oklahoma City (-220) is now a bigger favorite than ever to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. New York (+550) is the second choice, followed by Indiana (+800) and Minnesota (+850).
The Knicks are a 4.5-point favorite over Indiana on Wednesday.
Conference finals schedules
East (all 8 p.m. EDT) — Game 1 at New York on Wednesday; Game 2 at New York on Friday; Game 3 at Indiana on Sunday; Game 4 at Indiana on May 27; Game 5 at New York on May 29; Game 6 at Indiana on May 31; Game 7 at New York on June 2.
West (all 8:30 p.m. EDT) — Game 1, Oklahoma City 114, Minnesota 88; Game 2 at Oklahoma City on Thursday, Game 3 at Minnesota on Saturday, Game 4 at Minnesota on May 26, Game 5 at Oklahoma City on May 28, Game 6 at Minnesota on May 30, Game 7 at Oklahoma City on June 1.
An Indy doubleheader
Mark your calendars, then start your engines.
For the first time since 2013, Indianapolis will play host to the Indianapolis 500 and a Pacers home game on the same day.
It'll happen Sunday. The race starts the day, then Game 3 of the East finals is at 8 p.m.
Award season
Finally, it's time. The MVP will be unveiled Wednesday night. It'll be Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver's Nikola Jokic or Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Also coming in the next few weeks: the All-NBA and All-Defensive teams.
Other awards so far:
— Stephon Castle unanimous All-Rookie team selection
— Oklahoma City's Sam Presti won executive of the year
— Cleveland's Kenny Atkinson won coach of the year
— Boston's Jrue Holiday won the social justice award and the sportsmanship award
— Atlanta's Dyson Daniels won most improved player
— San Antonio's Stephon Castle won rookie of the year
— Golden State's Stephen Curry won the Twyman-Stokes teammate of the year award
— Golden State's Draymond Green won the hustle award
— Cleveland's Evan Mobley won defensive player of the year
— New York's Jalen Brunson won clutch player of the year
— Boston's Payton Pritchard won sixth man of the year
Scoring leaders
The highest-scoring games by players so far in this year's playoffs:
48 — Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland vs. Indiana, May 6
44 — Nikola Jokic, Denver at Oklahoma City, May 13
43 — Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland vs. Indiana, May 9
43 — Jamal Murray, Denver vs. LA Clippers, April 29
43 — Anthony Edwards, Minnesota vs. LA Lakers, April 27
42 — Jayson Tatum, Boston at New York, May 12
42 — Nikola Jokic, Denver at Oklahoma City, May 5
40 — Jalen Brunson, New York at Detroit, May 1
39 — Jalen Brunson, New York vs. Boston, May 12
39 — Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers at Denver, April 21
Key upcoming events
Wednesday — Game 1, Eastern Conference finals.
June 1 — Last possible date for Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.
June 2 — Last possible date for Game 7 of Eastern Conference finals.
June 5 — Game 1, NBA Finals. (Other games: June 8, June 11, June 13, June 16, June 19 and Game 7, if necessary, will be June 22.)
June 25 — NBA draft, first round.
June 26 — NBA draft, second round.
Draft lottery
Dallas had 1.8% odds to win the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery — but overcame those odds and now has the opportunity to draft Cooper Flagg. The Mavericks won the lottery on Monday night in Chicago.
— Flagg, just a kid from Maine, hasn't forgotten his roots
— From Rutgers to the lottery for Harper, Bailey
— A Chinese teen is a draft hopeful, and has big shoes to fill
— Rick Welts has seen this before
Comeback season
There have been five wins by teams that trailed by 20 points or more so far in these playoffs. That's the most in any postseason during the play-by-play era, which started with the 1997 playoffs.
The biggest deficits that were successfully overcome:
29 — Oklahoma City at Memphis, April 24 (Thunder won 114-108)
20 — Indiana vs. Milwaukee, April 29 (Pacers won 119-118)
20 — New York at Boston, May 5 (Knicks won 108-105)
20 — Indiana at Cleveland, May 6 (Pacers won 120-119)
20 — New York at Boston, May 7 (Knicks won 91-90)
Stats of the day
— Minnesota's bench was only 9 for 41 in Game 1 against Oklahoma City. The last time a team saw its bench take at least 40 shots and shoot that poorly in a playoff game was May 16, 1998, when the Los Angeles Lakers' reserves were 7 for 40 in a blowout loss to Utah.
— Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams had 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals in Game 1 against Minnesota. The last player to do all that in a playoff game: Jimmy Butler for Miami during the bubble finals against the Lakers in 2020.
— Minnesota became the third team in these playoffs to finish a game below 35% from the field. The others were Memphis and Denver. The opponent — in all three cases — was Oklahoma City.
— When Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton scores 20 points, the Pacers are 29-3 this season.
Quote of the day
“Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he showed why he’s the MVP.” — new ESPN analyst and former Denver coach Michael Malone, who said late in the season — when he was still coaching the Nuggets — that Nikola Jokic should be the MVP.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP