Good Morning, Stumpers!

And just like that, the NBA Playoffs are underway. Buckle up for the next 6 weeks, because we’re in for a treat! Yesterday we had two blowouts, some Russ heroics, and then a 21-0 run from the Knicks! A whole lot going on! Hope everyone has a relaxing Sunday lined up! Let’s start the relaxing off with another Daily Stump!

Today’s Rundown

What’s in today’s edition?

• 🍿 Day 1 of NBA Playoffs in Review

• 🏒 Not to be outdone…NHL Playoffs in Review!

• 💥 A quote synonamous with NBA Playoff Basketball!

• ⛳️ A look at the RBC Heritage! Day Four!

On This Day

On This Day…

And just like that, Jordan Stuffs The Stat Sheet!

Just a few days ago we had a trivia question of who had the playoff single-game points record. That would be MJ. That would be MJ with a whole lot of points

On this day in 1986, Michael Jordan set an NBA record. In Game 2 of the Bulls’ first round series against the Boston Celtics, Michael Jordan scored 63 points! A record that still stands to this day. Any shot this gets broken this year? Luka…Jokic…Naz Reid…..we’re looking at you!

Today’s Trivia

🧠 Test your sports knowledge…

Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: B. OKC Thunder! For somebody who didn’t watch any regular season, I could see this being a shock! Not only did they have the best record, but they dominated! They ended 68-14 which is a top 7 record ALL-TIME!

Before We Dive In…

👀 Yesterday’s Must See’s

• 🏀 Every bucket from the Knicks’ 21-0 run! WOW!

• ⚾️ ADOLIS GARCIA! Walkoff against the Champs!

• 🥚 Goose Egg! The Tony Snell stat line! Love to see it!

• 🏀 Third quarter buzzer beater not enough for the Lakers…still epic

🔍️ Stump Spotlight

🍿 Showtime

🏀 NBA Playoffs - Day 1

Playoff time in the NBA is just a fun time for everybody! Here’s what went down yesterday…

(3) Pacers def. (6) Bucks, 117-98:

The thing about this Pacers team is that Tyrese Haliburton may be their star, but he doesn’t have to score for this team to be dangerous. Pascal Siakam had 25, Myles Turner had 19, and Andrew Nembhard tacked on 17 of his own. This team has a roster of GLUE GUYS.

The Bucks were clearly in need of a Robin to Giannis’ Batman, and that Damian Lillard. The Greek Freak had 36 points and 12 rebounds, but the rest of the starting four combined for an UNREAL 14 points!!!! That is one of the wilder stats I’ve ever seen! The Pacers got one early, but this series changes the second Dame is back on the court, which could be as soon as Game 2!

(4) Nuggets def. (5) Clippers in OT, 112-110:

Early signs were pointing to this being maybe the best series of the first round! Game 1 of this series did not disappoint. 48 minutes weren’t enough for this one. The Clippers came our firing. James Harden had 15 points in the first quarter, and then Kawhi had 14 of his own in the second quarter. The Clippers are dangerous, they went up by 17 in the first half but the Nugs stayed poised.

Nikola Jokic did his thing, having 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 12 assists. The star of this game however down the stretch became Russell Westbrook. He seems to be overlooked in this series, that is a mistake. Amongst the Nuggets camp too there have been up-and-down reactions to his play. His motor is on 100 every single play, and that means you never know what he is going to do. Yesterday, he closed the game instead of MPJ and he was great! He hit a go-ahead three with under a minute to go in regulation, and then had the defensive deflection of the game with 10 seconds to go in OT! GLUE! Nugs go up, 1-0!

(3) Knicks def. (6) Pistons, 123-112:

With 12 minutes to go in this game, this game seemed to be all Pistons. Although they were only up 8 going into the fourth, they had looked in control. This was until an absoultely ridiculous 21-0 run by the New York Knicks! Who was the main sparkplug behind this run you may be asking? None other than Cam Payne! The Knicks backup Point Guard went to work late, scoring 14 points!

It was his heroics, followed by the closing of Jalen Brunson and KAT that helped the Knicks go up 1-0 in this series. Big big momentum swing to end this game. We’ll see what happens going forward.

(6) Timberwolves def. (3) Lakers, 117-95:

I mean, I don’t even want to go too far in depth about this one. The Lakers were no shows, and the Timberwolves were on fire. That was it, this game was over midway into the second quarter! The Lakers made a mini run in the fourth, but it was meant with another AVALANCHE from Minnesota.

The biggest play of this game might have been ANT celebrating a made three with a point right at Luka, as he stared back at him. I don’t know much, but I do know you don’t poke the bear, and Luka Doncic is the bear!

The Hot Stove

🏒 NHL Playoffs Underway

With all of this hype around the NBA playoffs, it’s sometime easy to forget that the NHL playoffs coincide with basketball! Yesterday we had two matchups. The Winnipeg Jets sent shockwaves through their home stadium when they scored three third period goals (two with under two minutes to go) to comeback against the St. Louis Blues, 5-3. An unreal performance from the Jets!

The second game was not as exciting for the home team. It was an onslaught, a demolition, maybe even an AVALANCHE, if you will! The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Dallas Stars 5-1 to go ahead 1-0 in the series. Nathan MacKinnon has 2 goals and 1 assist in the demolition! Playoff Hockey carries on today!

⛳️ Day 4 - RBC Heritage!

Si Woo Kim leads the field at -15 at the RBC Heritage in South Carolina. He had a stellar 5-under performance to help fend off the field. Behind him is a guantlet of competitors. Justin Thomas and Andrew Novak are right behind at -14, followed by Maverick McNealy at -13. The Englishman Tommy Fleetwood seems due for a win and is a stroke behind at -12. All this to say that it’s a tight leaderboard at the top. Tune in today to see how things shake up!

⬇️ Quick Links

• 🏈 Some sleeper picks for the NFL Draft

• 🏀 Russ talks mindset after Game 1 win over Clippers!

• ⚾️ Possible pitch tipping confrontation…oh boy

What To Watch

🏀 NBA Playoffs - Round One

• ABC: Grizzlies @ Thunder (1:00 PM ET), Magic @ Celtics (3:30 PM ET)

• TNT: Heat @ Cavs (7:00 PM ET), Warriors @ Rockets (9:30 PM ET)

⚾️ Major League Baseball

• ESPN: Padres @ Astros (7:10 PM ET)

• More To Watch: White Sox @ Red Sox (1:35 PM ET), , full schedule

⛳️ SUNDAY! Live from Hilton Head Island, SC, at the beautiful Harbour Town Golf Links, it’s day three of the RBC Heritage. Here’s the leaderboard

🏒 Day TWO of the NHL Playoffs

• ESPN: Devils @ Hurricanes (3:00 PM ET), Senators @ Maple Leafs (7:00 PM ET), Wild @ Golden Knights (10:00 PM ET)

The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For

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