What happened in three snapshots in the NBA Playoffs on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
Basketball Wiretap
The Milwaukee Bucks have ruled out Giannis Antetokounmpo for Game 3 with a left calf strain.
Antetokounmpo previously missed Games 1 and 2. Antetokounmpo hasn't played since straining his left calf in an April 9 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Khris Middleton also has a sprained right ankle that kept him from practicing Thursday and puts his status in question for Game 3 in Indianapolis.
The Denver Nuggets won Game 3 on Thursday, extending their win streak against the Los Angeles Lakers to 11 games. The Nuggets are on the brink of sweeping the Lakers out of the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
"Winning is a lifestyle for us," said Nikola Jokic postgame. "It's really good when you're winning. Especially when you win a lot of games, everybody is happy, everybody wants to play, everybody is buying into the system. I was here when we were losing. So I don’t want to go back to that."
Through three games of the 2024 NBA playoffs, Jokic has a PER of 35.0 while averaging 27.7 points, 15.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists.
Jokic is on the verge of his third regular season MVP while the Nuggets are defending their championship.
What happened in two snapshots in the NBA Playoffs on Wednesday, April 24, 2024.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have ruled out Dean Wade for the remainder of their first round series against the Orlando Magic with a right knee sprain.
Wade recently underwent an MRI to diagnose the extent of the injury.
In 54 games this season, Wade is averaging 5.4 points and 4.0 rebounds on 39.1 percent shooting on three-pointers.
What happened in three snapshots in the NBA Playoffs on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.
What happened in three snapshots in the NBA Playoffs on Monday, April 22, 2024.
Zion Williamson spoke with the media on Tuesday and said there's a "realistic" chance he returns from his hamstring injury during the playoffs.
Williamson suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of the New Orleans Pelicans loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Play-In last Tuesday.
Williamson said the extent of the injury isn't as bad as the one he suffered last year.
The Philadelphia 76ers trail the New York Knicks 0-2 in their first round series after losing two close games at Madison Square Garden, but Joel Embiid remains optimistic his team can win four out of the next five games.
"We're good," Embiid said. "We're going to win this series.
"We are going to win this. We know what we got to fix. We did a better job today, so we are going to fix it.
"We are the better team. We are going to keep fighting."
Embiid had 34 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the game.
Kawhi Leonard is questionable for Tuesday night's Game 2 against the Dallas Mavericks.
"He's going to go through practice today and we'll see," said head coach Ty Lue on Monday.
Leonard has missed the last nine games with inflammation in his right knee.
The Clippers are up 1-0 in the series.