{"id":50119,"date":"2025-05-22T17:04:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T17:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/50119\/"},"modified":"2025-05-22T17:04:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T17:04:10","slug":"bracket-update-may-22-game-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/50119\/","title":{"rendered":"Bracket Update, May 22 Game Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2025 NBA Playoffs<\/a> continue on Thursday, May 22, with Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.<\/p>\n

The Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> host the Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a> at Paycom Center, looking to take a 2\u20130 lead before the series shifts to Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

Before previewing tonight\u2019s matchup, here\u2019s a recap of Wednesday\u2019s action and an updated look at the playoff bracket.<\/p>\n

Updated 2025 NBA Playoff Bracket<\/p>\n

The Indiana Pacers<\/a> pulled off a stunning comeback win over the New York Knicks<\/a> in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday night, taking an early 1\u20130 series lead and seizing homecourt advantage.<\/p>\n

\"2025The updated 2025 NBA Playoffs bracket after Wednesday\u2019s Knicks-Pacers Game 1.<\/p>\n

Wednesday, May 21 \u2013 Game Recap<\/p>\n

Indiana Pacers 138, New York Knicks 135 (OT)<\/p>\n

Pacers lead 1\u20130 in the Eastern Conference Finals<\/p>\n

The Knicks looked poised for victory, leading the Pacers by 14 with 2:45 left in Game 1. In fact, they led by as many as 17 earlier in the fourth quarter \u2014 built while Jalen Brunson<\/a> sat on the bench with five fouls. That New York was dominating without Captain Clutch, and doing so at Indiana\u2019s preferred fast tempo, suggested a sweep might even be in play.<\/p>\n

But that pace proved to be their undoing.<\/p>\n

Aaron Nesmith<\/a> sparked Indiana\u2019s improbable comeback, draining five three-pointers down the stretch \u2014 including three in the final minute of regulation. Then, with the clock winding down, Tyrese Haliburton<\/a> \u2014 playing the part of the perfect villain \u2014 hit a cold-blooded deep two at the buzzer with his foot on the line to force overtime. He finished with 31 points and 11 assists.<\/p>\n

Brunson led the Knicks with 43 points. Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a> added 35 points and 12 rebounds, but while dominant on offense, he struggled defensively against Myles Turner<\/a>, who scored 11 in the opening quarter. Towns was a -4 in the first quarter despite his scoring burst, because of his poor defense.<\/p>\n

Mitchell Robinson<\/a>, on the other hand, was instrumental in stabilizing the defense, ending the game a +6 while contributing just two points \u2014 a testament to his impact on the other end.<\/p>\n

Still, New York couldn\u2019t get a stop when it mattered most, allowing Indiana to put up the highest point total of the postseason so far.<\/p>\n

With the Knicks down three in the final seconds of overtime, Brunson \u2014 perhaps fatigued \u2014 airballed a deep three. Towns followed up with a second-chance attempt from behind the arc that barely grazed the rim.<\/p>\n

This was a game the Knicks should have won. They matched Indiana\u2019s tempo and even dominated for stretches. But to close games, they need to slow the pace, lock down the perimeter, and keep Indiana from getting clean looks from deep \u2014 especially late.<\/p>\n

Knicks fans have seen this script before, a haunting echo of the Reggie Miller \u201c8 points in 9 seconds\u201d moment. Still, this is a very winnable series for New York \u2014 if they dictate the style of play.<\/p>\n

Sloppy execution didn\u2019t help. The Knicks committed 15 turnovers, including eight in the fourth quarter, which helped fuel 13 fast-break points for the Pacers.<\/p>\n

Series Prediction: Knicks in six.<\/p>\n

Next Game: Friday, May 23, 2025, 8:00 PM Eastern, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY<\/p>\n

Thursday, May 22 \u2013 Game Preview<\/p>\n

Minnesota Timberwolves at Oklahoma City Thunder<\/p>\n

Thunder lead 1\u20130 in the Western Conference Finals<\/p>\n

The Thunder and Timberwolves return to action tonight, with Oklahoma City holding a 1\u20130 series lead after a commanding Game 1 performance. The game was a tale of two halves.<\/p>\n

Minnesota led 48\u201344 at halftime, thanks largely to Julius Randle\u2019s<\/a> hot start \u2014 he scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half. Anthony Edwards<\/a> also added 18 points, though he left the game briefly after an ankle scare at the end of the first quarter.<\/p>\n

But Oklahoma City took over in the second half, outscoring the Timberwolves 70\u201340. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> \u2014 who was named the 2025 MVP on Wednesday \u2014\u00a0shook off a cold first half to finish with 31 points, scoring 22 in the final two quarters. Jalen Williams<\/a> added 19 points and five steals, playing a major role on both ends.<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City\u2019s defense forced 13 steals \u2014 including six in the first quarter alone\u2014 leading to 12 fast-break points. The Timberwolves had none. The Thunder also had four players score in double digits, while Minnesota had only two. Donte DiVincenzo<\/a> continued his postseason struggles, shooting just 3-of-14 from the field.<\/p>\n

The Thunder lead all playoff teams in defensive rating, allowing just 100.7 points per 100 possessions. Minnesota, second in that stat, will need to get back to form and find offensive balance to avoid heading home in a 0\u20132 hole.<\/p>\n

Edwards will also need to be more aggressive on the offensive end. As Minnesota\u2019s semifinals series with the Golden State Warriors<\/a> showed, Ant-Man is capable of single-handedly changing the trajectory of a game.<\/p>\n

Expect Randle to continue his high-level play. Edwards is also due for a big night.<\/p>\n

Game Prediction: Timberwolves even the series at one-all thanks to dominant performances by Edwards and Randle.<\/p>\n

Series Prediction: Thunder in seven.<\/p>\n

Time: 8:30 PM Eastern<\/p>\n

Venue: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK<\/p>\n

TV: ESPN<\/p>\n

Streaming: ESPN app and website, Hulu + Live TV, Sling, YouTube TV<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2025 NBA Playoffs continue on Thursday, May 22, with Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50120,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1431,280,7,126,364,563,152,1247,367,6,11,191,179,278],"class_list":{"0":"post-50119","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-2025-nba-playoffs","9":"tag-aaron-nesmith","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-indiana-pacers","12":"tag-jalen-williams","13":"tag-karl-anthony-towns","14":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","15":"tag-mitchell-robinson","16":"tag-myles-turner","17":"tag-nba","18":"tag-nba-playoffs","19":"tag-new-york-knicks","20":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","21":"tag-tyrese-haliburton"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114552574176692988","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}