Sorry, Philadelphia. The NBA was due for a blowout.
It hasn’t had many of them in these playoffs.
Boston’s 121-87 win over Philadelphia on Tuesday night was the 50th game of this year’s playoffs — and only the fourth to be decided by more than 20 points.
The others: the Los Angeles Lakers’ 125-85 win on April 28 to clinch their series with Memphis in Round 1, Denver’s 109-80 win over Minnesota on April 16 and Miami’s 121-99 win over Milwaukee on April 22.
That speaks to the competitiveness of this year’s tournament. Only 8% of this season’s playoff games, so far, have been decided by more than 20.
That’s down considerably from 20% last year, 15% in 2021, 13% in the bubble playoffs of 2020, and 21% in 2019.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Golden State will aim to avoid falling into a 2-0 hole for the second consecutive series — this time, at home — when it plays host to the Lakers in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup on Thursday night.
Friday’s slate will see Denver seeking a 3-0 lead when it visits Phoenix, plus Game 3 of the now-knotted-up 76ers-Celtics series as it shifts to Philadelphia. New York and Miami don’t play again until Saturday, their Game 3 that day preceding Game 3 of Lakers-Warriors that night.
HOW TO WATCH
— Thursday’s Lakers-Warriors game is on ESPN.
— The Boston-Philadelphia and Denver-Phoenix games on Friday are on ESPN.
— Saturday’s doubleheader — New York-Miami and Warriors-Lakers — will air on ABC.
— Team broadcasters will no longer air games. Everything after the first round is exclusive to national windows and not available for local telecasts.
— The NBA Finals on ABC begin June 1.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
