LeBron Vs. Curry, Atlanta Beats Knicks

LeBron and Curry Face Off

The second game of the newly-added NBA ‘Play-In Tournament’ did not disappoint as two California teams and their NBA MVPs, LeBron James (Lakers) and Stephen Curry (Warriors), battled it out in Staples Center. The Los Angeles Lakers edged out the Golden State Warriors 103-100 as the game went down to the wire Wednesday night. LeBron’s 3-pointer from 35 feet sealed the game for the Lakers as they completed a 13-point comeback in the second half to secure the win and the 7th seed in the playoffs. Stephen Curry led all scorers with 37 points, but it was LeBron's 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists that propelled the Lakers to the victory. The Lakers are set to play the Phoenix Suns* in a first round matchup while the Warriors will play the Memphis Grizzlies in a battle for the last playoff spot.

-Rishabh Singh

*Phoenix has since defeated the Lakers, and the Warriors lost to the Grizzlies

Atlanta Puts Down Knicks 4-1

The Atlanta Hawks beat the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Throughout the series, the Knicks just had no answer for Trae Young. Young put up a total of 146 points over the 5 games. However, Young did not terrorize the Knicks alone, Atlanta’s whole roster from Trae Young to the last spot on the bench showed up to play. The Knicks, on the other hand, did not. Only one Knick played well consistently throughout the series; while you may think it was New York’s superstar Julius Randle, it was not. Randle shot worse than he has his whole career this series, especially in Game 3 when he shot 2/15 from the field. The Knick that balled out was 32-year-old veteran Derrick Rose. Rose made the biggest impact for the Knicks by far, but he couldn’t beat the Hawks alone. In the final game of the series, it was Atlanta’s Trae Young who put down the Knicks in front of 20,000 rowdy New Yorkers while embracing his role as New York’s villain.

-Matthew Buonomo