DeRozan comes up short in Clutch
DeMar DeRozan has worn the nickname “The King of the Fourth” proudly the last three seasons but has done so without a true crown.
That search will have to continue as the Bulls veteran again fell short Thursday, finishing second behind the Warriors’ Stephen Curry for the NBA’s second Clutch Player of the Year award. The Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished third.
DeRozan came up short despite helping the Bulls to an impressive 24-16 record in clutch games this season and a 6-4 mark in overtimes while scoring a leaguebest 42 points in those extra sessions. DeRozan also bettered Curry in plus/minus, finishing plus-77 in clutch games.
Curry, though, led the league in total scoring in clutch games — defined by the NBA as a five-point game with five minutes or less — but that’s also because he was stellar in hitting threes, going 25-for60 from long distance.
• Joel Embiid scored 50 points, making all five three-point attempts and scoring 18 in a potential series-shifting third quarter to lead the 76ers to a 125-114 win over the Knicks and trim the first-round series deficit to 2-1. Embiid became the third player to ever score 50 points against the Knicks in the postseason.
• Paolo Banchero had 31 points and 14 rebounds, Jalen Suggs added 24 points and the Magic handed the Cavaliers the worst playoff loss in franchise history with a 121-83 victory to cut the first-round series deficit to 2-1.
Panthers take 3-0 series lead over Lightning
Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves, Matthew Tkachuk scored twice and the Panthers beat the Lightning 5-3 to take a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.
• Defensemen Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov got the Hurricanes off to a fast start before they held on to beat the Islanders 3-2 for a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.