NBA Playoffs Scores: The Knicks have the Cavs on the brink of elimination

RJ Barrett built off his strong Game 3 performance with an even better Game 4, scoring a playoff career-high 26 points (9-18 FG and 8-13 FT), leaving MSG chanting his name. Jalen Brunson (29 points) was the only player from either side to outdo him, also dishing out a team-high six assists.

The only trouble for the Knicks that’s apparent after this game stems from Julius Randle, who appeared to be upset that Obi Toppin received all his fourth quarter minutes. In the 11:19 that Toppin did play in the fourth, he totaled just two points, but grabbed five boards (including two offensive) and was +7, which was the same margin of victory for the Knicks in the quarter.

After a 38-point Game 1, Donovan Mitchell has averaged just 16.7 points in the three games since. He’ll try to escape the clamps of Deuce McBride and keep Cleveland alive for at least a little longer back in The Land on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Steve Kerr made a decision that shocked quite a few people in starting Draymond Green off the bench, but it proved to be fruitful; he was a +8 in his 31 minutes while no other bench Warrior was better than -5 (even despite three of them playing well under 10 minutes). But whatever schematic adjustments were made, at the end of the day, like many of the games so far in this series, it just came down to De’Aaron Fox vs Steph Curry.

Fox finished with 38 points (12 in the fourth) and Curry had 32 (10 in fourth). Klay Thompson was hot as well, finishing with 26 points on 9-15 shooting and was a game-best +22; no other Warrior was better than +8 and no King was better than +14.

Keegan Murray, who hit 5-7 from three, became the first Kings rookie to hit at least five threes in a playoff game and the first King in general to do so since Peja Stojakovic. He and Sacramento will look to stay undefeated at home on Wednesday at 10 p.m.

After Atlanta’s Game 3 win, I maintained that it felt like a gentleman’s sweep type of series, and this win only reinforces that. Boston led just about the whole way through, maintaining a decently-sized lead.

Trae Young and Dejounte Murray kept it reasonably close between their combined 58 points and 21 assists, but the Celtics’ depth was too much for them to handle on their own. Sixth-Man of the Year winner Malcolm Brogdon led both benches in points (14) and assists (four), and he was a +5 in 23 minutes to spearhead the bench advantage.

Celtics will look to close out the series in Game 5 at the Garden on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

With just under three minutes to go in regulation, the Wolves held a 96-84 lead, but the Nuggets scored 12 unanswered, capped off by a 1-2 trip at the line from Nikola Jokic — who finished with 43 points (15-26 FG), 11 rebounds, and six assists — to tie the game and send it into overtime.

Anthony Edwards was really THAT GUY for the Wolves down the stretch, keeping them ahead when it felt like things were slipping away, punctuated with a dagger stepback three to give the Wolves a four-point lead with 11 seconds left. He finished with 34 points (12-27 FG), moving into second all-time behind only LeBron James (eight) with five 30-point playoff games before turning 22.

With “Wolves in 7” chants raining down in the Target Center, this series heads back to Denver where the Nuggets will try to complete the gentleman’s sweep themselves. Game 5 will tip at 9 p.m. on Tuesday.