The NBA playoffs continue Sunday with two Game 4s. The Oklahoma City Thunder (the favorites who are also down 2-1) host the Denver Nuggets first. Then, the Cleveland Cavaliers face the home underdogs, the Indiana Pacers. The second round has already had its fair share of upsets, and if the Nuggets and Pacers can win tonight, extending their series leads, the conference finals might not look like what we thought following the regular season.
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Viewing guide for Sunday
| Game | Tip-Off (ET) | TV | Stream |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Thunder at Nuggets |
3:30 p.m. |
ABC |
|
|
Cavaliers at Pacers |
8 p.m. |
TNT, truTV |
Max |
Watching in person? Get tickets on StubHub.
Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets
Nuggets lead series 2-1
Series odds: Thunder -210, Nuggets +175
The Thunder finished the regular season atop the Western Conference, while the Nuggets finished fourth. Yet, the Nuggets are ahead in the series, and the starting five are playing well. Nikola Jokić, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray each had over 20 points in Game 3. But, the two games Denver has won have been tight: 121-119 in Game 1 and 113-104 (OT) in Game 3. When OKC took Game 2, it was by a large margin (149-106), so there are reasons to believe the Thunder can come from behind and take this one.
Likely 2025 MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander helped the Thunder beat Memphis in four games. While SGA scored 33 and 34 points in Games 1 and 2 against Denver, in Game 3, he was held to only 18, though he did have 13 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and only one turnover. Still, he’ll have to get buckets for OKC to beat the Nuggets. Jalen Williams is stepping up to help and has shot 49.2 percent from the field during the playoffs and is averaging over 20 points per game.
The Thunder average more points, rebounds, steals and blocks per game than the Nuggets, and they have the best defensive rating in the playoffs, while Denver sits at 12 out of 16 teams. Regardless of the series record, the Thunder are still the favorites to win this game and advance.
Expert picks
Cleveland Cavaliers at Indiana Pacers
Pacers lead series 2-1
Series odds: Cavaliers -155, Pacers +130
The Pacers got off to a strong start in the conference semifinals, taking the first two games from the favored Cleveland Cavaliers. Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, who averaged 19 points in games 1 and 2, scored only four points in a Game 3 loss to the Cavs (126-104). He also had zero (0!) rebounds and five assists. Bennedict Mathurin led the team in scoring with 23 points off the bench. Meanwhile, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell put up 43 points in Game 3, along with nine rebounds, five assists and a steal.
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For the Pacers to bounce back Sunday, Haliburton will need to improve, take more shots and get to the glass (just a little). The Pacers have some depth. Fourteen players saw the court in Game 3. Mathurin and T.J. McConnell saw over 20 minutes each, and while not the leading scorer, McConnell was +8 with six rebounds, seven assists and 12 points. Even so, they need their core to step back up. The Pacers had only four offensive rebounds in Game 3, which typically signals that a lot went wrong.
The Cavs are the favorites here, despite being down in the series. They are third in the odds to win the Final at +500, behind only the Thunder (+175) and the Celtics (+325, down 1-2 against the New York Knicks). If Cleveland’s starters show up like they did in Game 3, making it to the next round isn’t nearly as hard as it may seem. The Cavs are fully capable of evening the series and even winning out.
Expert picks
Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Ron Chenoy / Imagn Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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