The NBA Playoffs continue to see tight contests, even as some teams begin to extend their leads. There’s more to come over the next couple of days. The Miami Heat are determined to take down the New York Knicks and the LA Lakers are on track to walk away with the series against the Golden State Warriors. As the season has shown, however, anything can happen.

Knicks Look For a Save

The Heat and Knicks battle once again tonight. The Knicks are about to face elimination after losing 109-101 to the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the series. After the match, New York star Julius Randle expressed his thoughts on the situation.

Randle indicated that perhaps the other team (Miami) has more desire to win. In particular, Randle’s concern is to motivate his team to win the series.

The road is uphill as the Knicks must win three in a row if they want to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Although there are no impossibilities in the world, many times, there are situations that are unlikely. The fifth game will be a major barrier that they must overcome.

The Heat will play without Tyler Herro tonight, and Jimmy Butler is questionable. In what could have been the last game of the series, the Knicks are going to find a way to stay alive.

Walker the Unexpected Hero

In Game 4 of the second-round series between the Lakers and the Warriors, Lonnie Walker IV put up a performance that hasn’t been seen by a Lakers player since Kobe Bryant, marking his fourth season playing.

In the fourth quarter of the game, Walker managed to score a total of 15 points, thereby becoming the first Lakers player to do so in a playoff game since Bryant’s 26-year-old achievement. This milestone greatly contributed to the Lakers’ 104-101 victory and further cemented Walker’s place as a valuable member of the team.

Monday night witnessed the team securing their spot in the Western Conference Finals, leading 3-1 in the series and only one step away from sealing their victory.

In the final quarter, Walker made six out of nine shots, equal to the highest number of field goals made by the entire team (six out of 17). However, the most crucial shot was delivered by Stephen Curry with just 1 minute and 53 seconds remaining. This particular shot prevented the Lakers from increasing their lead at 100-99, which proved to be a significant advantage they did not let go of.

Even without LeBron James, the Lakers have demonstrated their prowess and seek retaliation for last season. They need to search within themselves and overcome their battle against the Warriors in tonight’s match, and will likely have an easy road to do it.

Antetokounmpo Grateful to Budenholzer

On Tuesday, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks’ star player, took to Instagram to honor Mike Budenholzer for his five-year tenure as head coach. Antetokounmpo shared a snap of him and Budenholzer right after their big win in the 2021 NBA Finals, alongside a heartfelt message of congratulations.

Milwaukee terminated Budenholzer’s contract last week following the Bucks’ defeat to the Heat in the first round of the playoffs. Although they were the NBA’s top seed, they lost to the Eastern Conference’s eighth-seeded team in just five games. This marked the sixth time a No. 1 seed has been eliminated by an eighth seed in NBA history.

Antetokounmpo came in third place for the MVP award with his outstanding performance, averaging 31.1 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 5.7 assists throughout the season. The Milwaukee Bucks achieved their best record with Antetokounmpo leading the team. Unfortunately, due to a back injury, Antetokounmpo was unable to participate in two games and only partially played in the third game during the Bucks’ first-round loss to the Heat.