May 8, 2025 at 4:37 pm

Thursday Daily Duncs (5/8/25)

Boston Celtics

The Celtics aren't just the first team on record* blowing 20-point leads in consecutive playoff games.

The Celtics are the first team on record* blowing two 20-point leads in a single postseason.

*Counting scores when a team took a shot since 1997, end-of-quarter scores prior

Knicks, Pacers

The Knicks and Pacers are the only teams on record with multiple 20-point comebacks in a single playoffs.

Comebacks

  • Thunder-Grizzlies Game 3

  • Pacers-Bucks Game 5

  • Knicks-Celtics Game 1

  • Pacers-Cavaliers Game 2

  • Knicks-Celtics Game 2

This year's five 20-point comebacks are the most on record in a single playoffs.

The previous high was just three, in 2017.

This year has been so overstuffed on amazing comebacks, Thunder-Grizzlies Game 3 – a 29-point comeback! – didn't even crack Nate's and Danny's top five comebacks of the postseason.

Comebacks, Knicks-Celtics, Thunder-Nuggets

Watch video of Nate and Danny ranking the top comebacks of the 2025 playoffs, preceded by a discussion of last night's games:

60-win teams

60-win teams to trail 2-0 in a series before the semifinal round:

  • First 78 years of the NBA: 1

  • 2025 second round: 2

Teams to do it:

  • 2025 Celtics to Knicks in second round

  • 2025 Cavaliers to Pacers in second round

  • 1993 Suns to Lakers in first round

The 1993 Suns won three straight to win their best-of-five series and even reached the NBA Finals.

A few teams with a win percentage equivalent to 60 wins fell down 2-0 in a pre-semifinal round – Bucks to Heat in 2020, Raptors to Celtics in 2020 and Rochester Royals to Fort Wayne Pistons in 1950. However, none of the three played both Games 1 and 2 at home.

Boston Celtics

To revisit my column last year on why I was so disappointed the Celtics faced such little resistance en route to their championship:

"The Celtics are fantastic. No doubt. But they've been fantastic before and, in the heat of the playoffs, crumbled."

The Heat without Jimmy Butler, Cavaliers without Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen and Pacers without Tyrese Haliburton were in no position to test Boston's championship DNA last year. Maybe – maybe – the Mavericks were good enough to challenge Boston and Boston was so great, it didn't matter. But the Mavericks clearly didn't think they were that close. (Not that I'm deferring my judgement to Nico Harrison.)

The Knicks didn't look great entering this series. Yet, Boston is repeatedly blowing 20-point leads to them.

I'd like to see whether the Celtics can win it all when facing more than rock-bottom playoff opposition.

First quarters

Record of teams that scored 13 or fewer points in the first quarter of a playoff game in the last decade:

  • 2016-2024: 0-17

  • 2025: 2-0

The Pacers in Game 5 against Milwaukee and Knicks in Game 2 against Boston last night shook off their slow starts.

Heck, teams that scored 18 or fewer first-quarter points – also including Warriors-Timberwolves Game 1 and Pacers-Cavaliers Game 2 – have won four straight.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Did Oklahoma City just clinch its series against the Nuggets?

The Thunder – who beat Memphis by 51 in Game 1 last round and Denver by 43 last night – are the first team ever with multiple 40-point wins in a postseason.

Teams that won a game by more than 40 points are 15-0 in best-of-seven series.

Thunder-Nuggets

Leading the Nuggets 87-56 at halftime last night, the Thunder broke the playoff record for first-half points and tied the playoff record for any half.

The previous first-half record: Cleveland led the Warriors 86-68 at halftime of Game 4 of the 2017 NBA Finals (en route to a 137-116 win).

The tied record: In Game 3 of their 1978 series, the Bucks outscored the Nuggets 87-62 in the second half of a 143-112 win.

As far as the any-game first-half record: In 1990, the Suns led the Nuggets 107-67 at halftime (en route to a 173-143 win).

Mike Woodson

Shortly after announcing they're keeping Doug Christie as head coach, the Kings are hiring their next head coach.

Sacramento is calling Mike Woodson associate head coach for now, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

But it seems like just a matter of time until Woodson replaces Christie. Christie is last in John's and Nate's coach rankings, and Sacramento management seems unlikely to give Christie a talent surplus. Woodson, who previously coached the Hawks and Knicks, is just the type of experienced former head coach who makes teams comfortable with an in-season firing – and therefore adds pressure to the sitting head coach, which makes an unraveling more likely.

-Dan Feldman