Month: April 2025

The Indiana Pacers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks with a 123-115 victory on Tuesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, taking a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Playoffs first round. Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 24 points, while Tyrese Haliburton added 21 and 12 assists. For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 34 points and Bobby Portis earned 28.  The series will shift to Milwaukee for Game 3 on Friday night at Fiserv Forum.

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The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Memphis Grizzlies 118-99 on Tuesday at Paycom Center, to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference playoffs matchup. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists, with Jalen Williams adding 24 points and Chet Holmgren scoring 20 to help the Thunder claim victory. For the Grizzlies, Jaren Jackson Jr. led with 26 points, with Ja Morant adding 23 points and six assists.  The series heads to Memphis for Game 3 on Thursday.

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The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-85 to even their first-round series. Luka Dončić had 31 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, with Austin Reaves adding 16 for the third-seeded Lakers; with Julius Randle scoring 27 points and Anthony Edwards 25 for the Timberwolves. Game 3 is scheduled for Friday at the Target Center at 9:30 p.m. ET.

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The Carolina Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series, after beating the New Jersey Devils 3-1 on Tuesday night in Raleigh, N.C. Jordan Martinook had a goal and an assist, with defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and Seth Jarvis also scoring for the Hurricanes, and Fredrik Andresen stopping 25 shots. Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is Friday night in Newark, N.J.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 in Game 2 of their playoff series on Tuesday to take a 2-0 series lead. Max Domi scored the OT winner to give the Maple Leafs the win. The Maple Leafs have a 2-0 series lead for the first time since 2002, with the series heading to Ottawa for Game 3 on Thursday at Canadian Tire Centre.

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The Florida Panthers took a 6-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Amalie Arena on Tuesday. Matthew Tkachuk scored two power-play goals for the Panthers to cap off a three-goal second period, with Nate Schmidt scoring twice and Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves en route to victory. Game 2 will take place on Thursday at Amalie Arena.

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The Minnesota Wild beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2, tying their Western Conference First Round playoff series at a game apiece. Kirill Kaprizov had two goals and an assist for the Wild in Game 2 at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday, with Matt Boldy adding a goal and an assist, and Filip Gustavsson making 30 saves. Game 3 is Thursday night in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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The Washington Capitals defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven, first-round Stanley Cup playoff series on Monday. Alex Ovechkin scored the winning goal in overtime as the Capitals held off a comeback attempt from the Canadiens to earn the victory. The goal from Ovechkin marked the first playoff/overtime goal in his NHL career. Game 2 takes place Wednesday night in Washington.

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The Winnipeg Jets beat the St. Louis Blues in Game 2 of their first-round series on Monday at Canada Life Centre to take a 2-0 series lead. Mark Scheifele had a goal and assist, and Kyle Connor scored his second consecutive game-winner in the third period en route to victory. The teams will now head to St. Louis for Game 3 on Thursday.

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The Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in Game 2 to even up the first-round Western Conference series. Colin Blackwell scored 17:46 into overtime to give the Stars the win, with Tyler Seguin, Thomas Harley and Evgenii Dadonov also scoring goals for Dallas. Goalie Jake Oettinger stopped 34 shots to help secure the win. Game 3 is Wednesday in Colorado.

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The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their series with a score of 6-5 on Monday night inside Crypto.com Arena. Phillip Danaul scored the winning goal for the Kings with 42 seconds left in the third, while Oilers captain Connor McDavid had a goal and three assists, and goals from Corey Perry and Zach Hyman.

The Oilers and Kings will meet again for Game 2 of their first-round series back at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night.

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The Detroit Pistons defeated the New York Knicks 100-94 in Game 2 of their playoffs at Madison Square Garden on Monday, to tie the series at 1-1. Cade Cunningham had 33 points and 12 rebounds, with Dennis Schroder making the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 55 seconds left.

The win marked the Pistons’ first playoff victory since May 26, 2008, when they beat the Boston Celtics 94-75 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. They had lost 15 consecutive playoff games entering Monday (with sweeps in 2009, 2016 and 2019).

Detroit will host Game 3 on Thursday night.

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The Los Angeles Clippers tied their first-round playoff series 1-1 against the Denver Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver on Monday night. Kawhi Leonard had a strong performance, going 15-19 for 39 points (after he missed the first 34 games of the season because of lingering issues with his surgically repaired knees).

Game 3 of the series takes place in Los Angeles on Thursday night.

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