By: Marvin Azrak

1  MILWAUKEE BUCKS vs 8 MIAMI HEAT (Heat lead series 3-1)

This has been the most surprising series by far, and it went up a notch on Monday night .

Jimmy Butler refused to lose and poured in 56 points, which tied for  fourth-best scoring performance ever in an NBA playoff game, as Miami turned a 101-89 fourth quarter deficit into an improbable 119-114 victory. The Heat trailed by 14 at one point, but Butler kept them within striking distance before their 13-0 run gave them the lead for good. Butler  had 22 of Miami’s 28 first-quarter points, including 20 in a row over a span of 5:45 late in the period. He also shot 19-28 and went 15-18 from the foul line, and came through when his team needed him most, scoring 21 in the fourth quarter.

Brook Lopez scored 36 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Milwaukee. Superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a two-game absence with a bruised back and added  a triple-double; 26 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists.

Miami was 8 for 9 from the floor in the final while Milwaukee was 4 for 13, and the Heat outscored the Bucks 30-13 down the stretch .

The Bucks trailed 102-101 after serving up  13 straight points with a Butler  slam punctuating the  spurt. Giannis decided to try and take matters into his own hands, muscling for a three-point play to give Milwaukee the lead again. The Bucks desperately missed him for the closing stanza of their 130-117 game one loss, but rebounded in a 138-122 game two victory. The Heat believed that  was an anomaly with the Bucks draining 25 3’s and they were right, as they went cold in a 121-99 game  three defeat. With 1:20 left, a Butler three pointer put Miami up for good, and he would repeat the feat moments later to give them insurance. Any hope the Bucks had of a comeback were dashed when Butler nailed two free throws, to bookend the scoring.

The only players to score more in a playoff game according to ESPN Stats & info: Michael Jordan had 63 in 1986, Elgin Baylor had 61 in 1962, Donovan Mitchell had 57 in 2020. Butler became the fourth with 56, joining Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Charles Barkley.

Adebayo scored 15, Caleb Martin had 12 and Gabe Vincent scored 10 for the Heat.

2  – BOSTON CELTICS VS 7 ATLANTA HAWKS(Celtics lead series  2-1)

Boston has done their job in this series. They used a 45 point second quarter for a 112-99 win in game one led by Jaylen Brown’s 29 points, and were fueled by Jayson Tatum’s 29 in a 119-106 game two win. Trae Young(32 points),  Dejonte Murray(24 points) and the Hawks responded in game three with a 130-122 victory on their home floor, but the Celtics should be fine given the fact they’re the deeper  team which is paramount to winning a seven game series.

3 PHILADELPHIA 76ERS VS 6 BROOKLYN NETS(76ers sweep series 4-0)

The lone sweep of the first round transpired in this series. The 76ers crushed the Nets 121-101, and 96-84 in the first two games, and despite losing stars James Harden and Joel Emblid to ejection and injury in Brooklyn, used their depth to hang on for 102-97 and 96-88 victories respectively, completing the sweep.

4 –  CLEVELAND CAVALIERS VS 5 NEW YORK KNICKS (Knicks lead series 3-1)

Knicks fans haven’t been this happy in 10 years.

That was of course when they last won a playoff series, defeating the seventh seeded Boston Celtics in six games to advance to the second round where they would fall to the Indiana Pacers in six games. The organization became the laughingstock of the league for the next few seasons due to their poor roster decisions, front office turmoil, and even banning their own fans from the arena for “Sell the team” chants. Although they qualified for the playoffs in 2021, they fell to the fifth seeded Atlanta Hawks in five games. The Knicks would regress in 2022 and fail to even make the play-in, but fueled by offseason acquisition Jalen Brunson, and resurgent seasons  from all-star Julius Randle and sixth man of the year finalist Immanuel Quickly, returned to the dance with a 47-35 record. They were underdogs entering this series against Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs.  New York willingly didn’t trade for him in the fall, deciding to instead hold onto to  their young players and draft capital.  Now up 3-1 in the series, it looks like the right decision. The  Knicks took game one in Cleveland 101-97. But  the Cavs responded with a 107-90 thumping in game  two. The series then shifted to MSG, where a boisterous crowd had the Cavs “shook”.

They missed open shots, were outmuscled on the glass and failed to successfully defend when the crowd called for it. The Garden was so loud, the players  couldn’t hear the refs whistle or each other on the court. Feeding off 19,812 chanting  “DEFENSE”, New York held Cleveland to 79

Points in game three, which represented the lowest total of any NBA team this season. Offensively, Brunson had 21 points and RJ Barrett added 19, making the  99-79 final score, the largest loss of the season for  the Cavaliers.

In game four, the first half was more of the same as the Knicks jumped out to a 46-31 lead. But the Cavs rallied and momentarily silenced the Knicks fans with a 32-15 run, for a 63-61 lead early in the third  quarter. Still, the Knicks proved too much to handle as Brunson erupted for 29 points, the 21 year-old Barrett added 26 and had the crowd chanting his name.  Trade  acquisition Josh Hart, who the Knicks gave away their 2023 first round pick for, had 19 points and seven rebounds in extended minutes after Randle left the game due to an ankle injury. On the boards Mitchell Robinson grabbed 11 rebounds, including the game’s final one which allowed the Knicks to run out the clock on a 102-93 victory, setting themselves up for a series-clincher in game five in Cleveland on Wednesday.

PREDICTIONS: My predictions have been perfect  thus far in the Eastern Conference. Before the playoffs began, I had the Bucks representing them in the NBA finals, but given the recent turn in events, it’s wide open now.

Who do you have winning it all? Email me at [email protected] for a chance to be featured in next week’s article!