NBA playoffs 2016: Celtics win Game 3 at home; Cavs, Spurs go up 3-0

Giannis Antetokounmpo never fails to blow your mind. Sometimes he’s Eurostepping in one dribble from halfcourt, other times he’s using his Go-Go Gadget arms to force home a hammer dunk. In Game 3 against the Toronto Raptors, Giannis did something we’ve never seen before: he blocked a shot with his elbow.

The most surprising story of the playoffs might be the Milwaukee Bucks, which means this is shaping up to be The Spring of Giannis. The Bucks are incredible right now and it’s their 22-year-old star who is powering their surprising upset bid against Toronto.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

BOOM: Isaiah Thomas dropped 42 on the Hawks, doing it by hitting five threes and drawing a bunch of fouls. If Boston’s going to win this series without Avery Bradley, the I.T. Factor needs to break way in the Celtics’ favor. It sure did on Friday. But the real star of the game was Marcus Smart, who had such an egregious, hilarious flop that the NBA should rename the “flop” the “Marcus Smart.” Vlade, Manu, Harden, CP3 ... y’all have a new king now.

The shot gave Thomas 40 points for the first time in his career, but his reaction was muted. Two possessions later, and Thomas darted in front of a baseline pass from Atlanta for a steal that really sealed the game, Thomas’ only response was to ice it from the line for 42 points.

But after the game, Thomas left any celebrations he might have on the floor. He had his best game ever, sure, but his team is still down and there’s more work to be done. Thomas isn’t here to celebrate a single victory, not when there’s still a war that needs to be won.

After going down 2-0 to the Hawks in Atlanta, Boston looked like an entirely new team at home on Friday, thrashing the Hawks in the first quarter for a 37-20 advantage after 12 minutes. Atlanta trimmed the lead to 12 by halftime, but the Celtics’ opening statement was clear: they were better than the team that lost by 17 points in Game 2 while scoring just 72 points.

Boston is still behind 2-1 in the series after the win, meaning work is still left for one of the surprise teams of the Eastern Conference this season. Still, this is exactly the type of play that they’ll need to answer back and tie this series up 2-2 headed back to Atlanta.

The fourth quarter of the Celtics-Hawks was absolutely intense. Although it wasn’t as chippy as other playoff games, the tempo was feverish with both teams trading shots. Nothing would be able to stop the erratic momentum, not even a bad flop.

But let’s take a moment to examine, and more importantly appreciate, one of the best worst flops that the NBA playoffs that have graced us, courtesy of Marcus Smart. It goes beyond the realm of basketball flops and into the world or pro wrestling because Smart was definitely trying to sell something. After all, he has gained a reputation for being a serial flopper.

The win gives Cleveland a 3-0 lead and a stranglehold on the series, hardly a surprise for a 1 vs. 8 seed matchup. Still, Detroit has played admirably in these three games, pushing Cleveland on their home court in Game 1 before following up that performance with another tight game on Friday.

Game 4 and potentially the final game of the series will take place in Detroit on Sunday.

With only a small lead against the Detroit Pistons in Game 3 of their series, the Cleveland Cavaliers needed a shot — any shot — to secure the win. The only problem was that the ball went out of bounds and they only had .7 seconds to get all that done. But they got that an then some thanks to some misdirection on the offense which resulted in a wide-open Kyrie Irving three-pointer.

The timing and precision was so great that it had LeBron James jumping enthusiastically like someone told him the entire team is going to Disneyland after the series. Well if they do make plans soon, they’re going to have a lot of time considering that the three-point dagger all but secured win no. 3.

In the first two games in San Antonio there was no parity between the second best team in the West and the seventh. The Grizzlies limped to the playoffs despite losing 15 of their last 20 games after an injury-filled regular season. The Spurs, fresh of setting a franchise record for wins, were expected to dominate them and they have so far with two blowout victories by a combined 58 points. It really has been a slaughter so far.

It’s hard to see the series changing significantly. Unless something unthinkable happens, the Spurs will beat the Grizzlies and will advance to the second round. What Memphis can do is make the process as hard as possible before bowing out and getting ready for next season.