{"id":55931,"date":"2025-05-25T16:41:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T16:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/55931\/"},"modified":"2025-05-25T16:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T16:41:09","slug":"bracket-update-may-25-game-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/55931\/","title":{"rendered":"Bracket Update, May 25 Game Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2025 NBA Playoffs<\/a> continue on Sunday, May 25, with Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.<\/p>\n

After stealing two games on the road, the Indiana Pacers<\/a> host the New York Knicks<\/a> tonight at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, aiming to extend their 2\u20130 series lead.<\/p>\n

Before previewing tonight\u2019s Game 3, here\u2019s a recap of Saturday\u2019s action and an updated look at the playoff bracket.<\/p>\n

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

On the ropes, the Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a> did what they needed to do \u2014 and then some \u2014 defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> 143\u2013101 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, to cut the series deficit to 2\u20131.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at the latest NBA playoff bracket as of May 25:<\/p>\n

\"2025The updated 2025 NBA Playoffs bracket ahead of Sunday\u2019s Knicks-Pacers Game 3.<\/p>\n

Saturday, May 24 \u2013 Game 3 Recap<\/p>\n

Minnesota Timberwolves 143, Oklahoma City Thunder 101<\/p>\n

Thunder lead 2\u20131 in the Western Conference Finals<\/p>\n

The Timberwolves came out hot and never let up, torching the Thunder from start to finish in a wire-to-wire win. Minnesota did to OKC what OKC has been doing to teams all year long, leading by as much as 45 and ending up winning by 42, scoring a franchise playoff high of 143 points.<\/p>\n

The Timberwolves finally got just what they needed to ensure a win: big nights from both Anthony Edwards<\/a> and Julius Randle<\/a>. But the bench also came up big \u2014 and that\u2019s what made this a blowout. <\/p>\n

Edwards poured in 30 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in just three quarters of play. Randle added 24 points, while rookie Terrence Shannon Jr. chipped in 15 off the bench.<\/p>\n

Minnesota dominated on every metric, shooting 57.3% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. Unlike previous games, they kept their turnovers to a relative minimum, with 10. They also grabbed 50 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards. By contrast, Oklahoma City shot just 40.7% from the field, making 14 turnovers. <\/p>\n

The Timberwolves built a 34\u201314 lead in the first quarter before heading into halftime up 72\u201341. By then, the game was clearly over, with the Thunder starters sitting for most of the second half.<\/p>\n

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> was held to just 14 points, albeit in a limited 28 minutes of play. Still, he was awfully inefficient, making just 4 of 13 attempts. Ajay Mitchell pitched in 14 points in garbage time.<\/p>\n

It was Minnesota\u2019s best performance of the postseason \u2014 and against the NBA\u2019s<\/a> best team. But to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Timberwolves need to do more than just make a statement. A win on Monday night will make this a real series before it returns to Oklahoma City. The odds still heavily favor OKC, but at least the Timberwolves will avoid a humiliating sweep.<\/p>\n

Next Game: Monday, May 26, 8:30 PM Eastern \u2014 Target Center, Minneapolis, MN<\/p>\n

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

Sunday, May 25 \u2013 Game 3 Preview<\/p>\n

New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers<\/p>\n

Pacers lead 2\u20130 in the Eastern Conference Finals<\/p>\n

The Knicks play in Indianapolis tonight, hoping to do what the Timberwolves did last night: respond on the road with a critical Game 3 win to stay alive.<\/p>\n

Indiana has taken both games at Madison Square Garden<\/a>, including a 114\u2013109 win in Game 2 behind Pascal Siakam\u2019s<\/a> 39-point performance. <\/p>\n

Mitchell Robinson<\/a> saw his most action of the postseason in Game 2, logging 29 minutes with six points, nine rebounds, and three blocks. The 7-foot center has consistently posted a positive plus-minus when he\u2019s on the floor, grabbing offensive rebounds and rotating on defense with the agility of a ballerina.<\/p>\n

So, in desperation mode, Tom Thibodeau<\/a> may start Robinson tonight in lieu of Josh Hart<\/a> tonight as the Knicks try to shore up their interior defense and slow Indiana\u2019s ball movement.<\/p>\n

The risk here, however, is that Robinson lands in early foul trouble and is kept out of large chunks of the game.<\/p>\n

Pace will be critical against the Pacers, whose fast-tempo offense has sapped the Knicks of energy late in the game.<\/p>\n

To shift the balance, New York must force Tyrese Haliburton<\/a> into halfcourt sets and limit Myles Turner\u2019s<\/a> clean looks at the rim and from three.<\/p>\n

The Knicks can beat the Pacers \u2014 but only in a game that\u2019s played on their terms, not Indiana\u2019s. New York is 5-1 on the road in this postseason. Expect them to come out on top tonight, with big offensive shows from Jalen Brunson<\/a> and Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Game Prediction: Knicks win by a low margin.<\/p>\n

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

Time: 8:00 PM Eastern<\/p>\n

Venue: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN<\/p>\n

TV: TNT<\/p>\n

Streaming: TNT app and website, Hulu + Live TV, Sling<\/a>, YouTube TV<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2025 NBA Playoffs continue on Sunday, May 25, with Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. After…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1431,375,7,126,288,364,376,563,152,6,11,191,179,279,209,278],"class_list":{"0":"post-55931","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-anthony-edwards","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-indiana-pacers","12":"tag-jalen-brunson","13":"tag-jalen-williams","14":"tag-julius-randle","15":"tag-karl-anthony-towns","16":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","17":"tag-nba","18":"tag-nba-playoffs","19":"tag-new-york-knicks","20":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","21":"tag-pascal-siakam","22":"tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","23":"tag-tyrese-haliburton"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114569472493218814","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55931","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=55931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}