“Stephen Curry’s Blazing 47-Point Night Ignites NBA Playoffs: Full Highlights and Surprising Outcomes from April 20, 2025”
Brace yourselves, sports fans! The NBA playoffs are in full swing, and it was high time for the big guns to come out to play. I mean, we’ve watched the underdogs have their moments, but now it’s the A-listers’ turn. The big teams hit the court on Sunday, and guess what? It was your typical NBA playlist—three sweet victories, but here’s where it gets interesting. Houston, you’ve got an issue, my friends.
The Warriors squared off against the Rockets in what can only be described as a battle of who can be more clutch when it comes to the crunch time. Honestly, after watching Houston maneuver, I’m at a loss. Who are they dialing when the clock’s ticking down? Alperen Sengun was their top scorer with a decent 26, but let’s call a spade a spade—he’s not the go-to guy in those tension-filled, game-deciding moments. It’s like watching a movie with an ensemble cast but no lead actor commanding the screen when it matters.
On the flip side, Golden State? Oh, they’ve got their script down. Curry, the MVP maestro, drops 31 like it’s just another day at the hoop factory. Then there’s Jimmy Butler, not one to be outdone, dishing 25 on the Rockets. And when push comes to shove, they’ve got depth like Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody stepping up, making the defensive hustle seem like a leisurely stroll.
This is shaping up to be one of those series where defense might just steal the spotlight, but if Houston continues to throw away points like they’re going out of style, they’ll need to find their missing piece fast. What’s the game plan from here, Rockets fans? [a href=”https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/ok-cannon-result-underscores-warriors-careful-cautious-growth-podziemski-and-moody”]LEARN MORE[/a].It was the defining question for Houston going into this series: When the Rockets needed a bucket in the fourth quarter of a tight game, who would they turn to? Could they score in the half-court when it mattered?
WARRIORS 95, ROCKETS 85
Payton Pritchard looked like the Sixth Man of the Year he will be and added 19 points.The Warriors, on the other hand, have two of those guys, and one of them is one of the greats ever to do it.This game followed the expected script for this series: Orlando was physical, its defense impressive, making life difficult for Boston, but the Magic couldn’t score enough to win. They don’t have the shooting or depth of options. Paolo Banchero put up 36, Wagner 23, but they were the only Orlando players to score in double digits. It’s not clear where more offense is going to come from for the Magic.
Stephen Curry scored 31, Jimmy Butler 25, and other players like Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody stepped up with clutch shots late.While a deep Celtics playoff run will be about Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Game 1 against the Magic was all about the Boston guards: Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard. That trio powered the Celtics to a 1-0 series lead against the Magic.
CELTICS 103, MAGIC 86
Boston trailed by one at the half but Jrue Holiday changed the tenor of the game in the third quarter with his two-way play — he was a disruptive defensive force at the point of attack against Franz Wagner and he scored all nine of his points in the quarter. His energy flipped the game on its head.He’s the guy who came off the bench, scored 16 in the fourth quarter (making it 28 for the game) and secured the Cavaliers’ Game 1 win.Oklahoma City walled off the paint to Grizzlies guards, rotated on a string and challenged everything, and essentially forced Zach Edey floaters or contested shots on every part of the court. There was no air for Memphis to breathe.After watching Game 1, we still don’t have an answer. While Alperen Sengun scored 26 to lead the Rockets, he’s not the guy who creates his own shot in the half-court like that. It was often Amen Thompson trying to unlock the offense, but he finished 4-of-9 shooting on the night (although he did have six assists). Maybe he will evolve into that guy, but he’s not that guy yet.
The only drama left in this series: Can Memphis win a game? Didn’t feel like that Sunday.
Oklahoma City put up 131 points in a game where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled, shooting 4-of-13 from the field. Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 20 points, but no player was under pressure to take over. This was a team win. And a demoralizing one for the Grizzlies, who were outplayed in every facet of the game.Four more playoff series got underway on Sunday, with the top four seeds in the league getting into action. For three of them, they got the expected wins. However, Houston may have a problem.This Thunder defense is so absurd. Almost stole the inbound the play before this one. Incredible point of attack defense. Any time the ball breaks the 3-point line, it’s a sea of bodies. Perfect peel switching on drives when they do get beat. “They have guys that drive and break you down off the dribble and they can also just shoot pull-up threes and they’re very good spot-up shooters, as well,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “So that’s the task and it’s up to us to figure out how to beat that.”
THUNDER 131, GRIZZLIES 80
It will be interesting to see what adjustments Spoelstra makes. Miami’s offense hung with the Cavaliers for three quarters, then went ice-cold. Kel’el Ware looked like a rookie. The challenge for Spoelstra is he doesn’t have enough chess pieces on the board to simply move things around and compete with the No. 1 seed Cavaliers. There are no easy answers.Meanwhile, on a day Boston’s biggest names were not sharp — Tatum and Brown were a combined 2-of-10 from 3 — White took over, hit seven 3-pointers and led everyone in scoring with 30.
It wasn’t just Jerome. The Cavaliers had the best offense in the Association during the regular season and nothing changed in this game. In the first quarter, the Cavaliers’ guards drove into the lane at will, scoring 18 points in the paint. Then, when the Heat adjusted, the Cavaliers kicked out to open shooters at the arc, who knocked down shots. Donovan Mitchell stepped up with 30 points and Darius Garland had 28. Miami, which played good defense in the final weeks of the season, had no answers.— Steph Noh (@stephnoh.bsky.social) 2025-04-20T18:15:18.247Z
Before tip-off of this game, the NBA on TNT crew announced the finalists for all of the league’s individual postseason awards. When it got to Sixth Man of the Year, there were likely some casual fans who said, “Who is Ty Jerome?”This is going to be a defensive struggle of a series and the Rockets can’t leave points all over the court like they did in Game 1 (6-of-29 from 3, 20.7%, and 11-of-20 on free throws, 55%). For Houston, there is room for improvement and ways to win. However, the big question about them entering this series is the same question we have after Game 1.
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