There was a trio of Game 3s on the NBA playoff docket last night, with the New York Knicks at the Detroit Pistons, the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Denver Nuggets taking on the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome. One was a blowout, and two went down to the wire. To hit some takeaways throughout the slate, let’s do a little Rose, Bud, Thorn—the best thing from the night, the worst thing, and the thing we look forward to watching grow.
Rose: Horse Heads on “the Wall”
When the Clippers moved to Los Angeles in 1984, they played their home games at the L.A. Memorial Sports Arena. In 1999, they moved and became the third tenant on the totem pole at Staples Center. They were there until this season, when Clippers owner and Toilet Lord Steve Ballmer finally opened the glitzed-out Intuit Dome, a $2 billion bleeding-edge basketball coliseum in Inglewood. The building has given them a real-deal home-court advantage. No longer do they play under the championship banners of another organization. Now, they play in their own place under the watchful eyes of horses. At least, that’s how it went last night.
For the first playoff game in Intuit Dome history, the Clippers wanted to make sure they offered the visiting Denver Nuggets and their star, Nikola Jokic, a cold welcome. Enter many steeds.
The steepest seating in the arena is on the Wall, a behind-the-basket section reserved for the rowdiest Clippers supporters. Last night, those fans were given horse hats to wear. Why? Because, famously, Jokic loves horses. The idea was that the pony faces might distract Big Honey, get him off his game. And maybe you’re like me and you think, “Wait, won’t that just put him more at ease? Won’t he just think he’s in horse heaven and feel super comfortable with his surroundings? Won’t it be like they’re giving him a gift?”
In the end, it didn’t seem to bother him too much. Jokic was a little quieter than usual, but he finished the game 9-of-14 from the field for a 23-point, 13-assist, 13-rebound triple-double. But maybe some of the other Nuggets are afraid of horses? Denver was trounced, 117-83, the first lopsided game in a series that the Clippers now lead 2-1. On Thursday night, the Nuggets shot 40 percent from the field and 27 percent from 3 and struggled to get anything going on either end.
It remains incredible and hilarious that the Clips have become such a monster this year. After they let Paul George walk in the offseason, precious few people expected them to be a player in the West playoff race, let alone a dark horse Finals contender down the stretch. It’s a testament to Ty Lue and the coaching staff, these players, and the L.A. front office that the organization has stayed the course and just kept stacking good days on top of good days. They’re riding a stingy defense, a cadre of solid role players, and two rejuvenated stars who have them on the high side of this series against the 4-seed Nuggets—and looking like the second-most dangerous team in the West.
Thorn: Ja’s Injury and Another Sad Loss Puts the Memphis Grizzlies on the Brink
With 3:15 seconds left in the second quarter, Ja Morant went down. He caught a drop-off pass from Scotty Pippen Jr. in transition, left his feet for the finish, and got upended when Lu Dort lost his footing trying to defend the break. Morant landed hard on his hip, and that was that—out for the rest of the game. A disaster for the Grizz, but they were up 27 at the time. On the next possession, Desmond Bane made a layup and pushed the lead to 29. Even without Morant, the floodgates seemed thrust open. Memphis was cruising. This was a surprising and spirited role reversal after OKC won the first two games of the series by a combined 70 points. Instead of rolling over in the series’ first game back in Memphis, the Grizzlies thoroughly dominated the first half. Pippen had 23 points at the break as Memphis put the top seed on their heels, all but running the Thunder out of the gym. Then the second half started.
OKC came out for the third quarter with a renewed sense of focus. The Grizz, on the other hand, were without Morant and their senses. By the start of the fourth, it was an eight-point game, and by the time there were five minutes left, it was tied. With 4:51 remaining, Pippen hit a corner 3 to put Memphis up 108-105. They would not score again. The Thunder closed the game on a 9-0 run and won 114-108. It was the second-largest playoff comeback since 1997 and the largest second-half rally ever. In that stretch, Memphis had more turnovers (13) than made field goals (nine).
It’s been a year from hell for the Grizz. After a promising start, their season devolved to the point that they fired their coach, Taylor Jenkins, with nine games remaining. Morant played just 50 games in the regular season, and the Grizz, who a few years ago seemed like the West’s next great young team, have been lapped by OKC. The chasm between these teams raises hard questions about Memphis’s roster, its Big Three, and this entire era of Grizzlies basketball. Now that Memphis is down 3-0, those questions are rapidly approaching. The Grizz will be fishing soon.
Bud: The Blooming Animosity in Knicks-Pistons
It would be a travesty if this series ends in five games. We need seven. There’s too much here to savor, not least of which is the proper animosity that exists between these two teams. It took these guys no time at all to start getting on each other’s nerves. This is a budding rivalry that was placed in the playoff microwave and got hot in a hurry. There’s jawing, emergent scuffling, shoving. And it’s been only three games. The action arrow’s pointing up.
Other buds include the Detroit crowd getting to flex, the Pistons’ young whippersnappers (Cade Cunningham especially) flashing real substance, and the Knicks finally getting Karl-Anthony Towns (31 points on 18 shots) involved in the team’s offensive goings-on. This Detroit crowd—what a showing. Pistons fans booed Jalen Brunson on almost every touch, and if they weren’t booing him, they were chanting “Fuck you.” They haven’t been to the playoffs since 2019, and they’re making up for lost time.
Shout-out to Thibs as well for his response when the chants were brought up after the game. “To Jalen, those are cheers,” he said. “He lives for that stuff.” This is rad and comes in stark contrast with Golden State head coach Steve Kerr and his “I would prefer if fans could use a little more discretion and remember that the guy has kids” response after Houston fans screamed, “Fuck you, Draymond.” Kerr should know better.
