Underdogs reign supreme as second-round NBA postseason action tips off

The GIST: Turns out home is where the heartbreak is after all four second-round hosts lost their respective Game 1s for the first time in NBA history. It’s not easy being green the favorite.

🧡 NY Knicks steal Game 1 from defending champ Boston Celtics: NY’s Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby netted 29 points apiece to erase a 20-point second-half deficit, but it was a clutch Mikal Bridges steal that sealed the Knicks’ 108–105 overtime win on Monday. Unlike Ferris Bueller, this ironman doesn’t take days off — Game 2 tips off in Boston tonight at 7 p.m. ET.

⛏️ Denver Nugget Aaron Gordon hits second playoff game-winner: The soul of Denver hoops did it again, knocking down a three-pointer to sink the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder 121–119 on Monday, the perfect ending to Nikola Jokić’s 42-point, 22-rebound masterpiece. But there’s no rest for the weary: Game 2 goes tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET.

💛 Golden State Warriors stay hot with Game 1 win: Even without their head chef, the Warriors found plenty of other ways to cook — namely Buddy Hield’s 24 points — in last night’s 99–88 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. If the Wolves want to compete in tomorrow’s 8:30 p.m. ET Game 2, they’ll need more than one measly first-half point from superstar Anthony Edwards.

👟 Indiana Pacers stun shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2: The Cavs’ homecourt woes continued last night as the Pacers’ ferocious fourth-quarter comeback, capped off with a game-clinching three from Tyrese Haliburton, secured Indy the 120–119 W. What the helly, indeed.

• The series shifts to Indiana for Friday’s Game 3, and while the Cavs have some serious work ahead, getting healthy is at the top of the to-do list: Cleveland was without Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley and two other key pieces last night.