NBA Playoffs Roundup: Bucks' Early Exit, Knicks Finally Advance

Thursday night's round of NBA postseason action featured the first-ever play-in team to knock out a No. 1 seed, a resurgence in New York, and two teams in the Western Conference nearing a semifinals berth.

Jimmy Butler Sends Off Milwaukee Bucks

In the biggest shocker of a four-game slate, the Miami Heat made history by unceremoniously knocking out the Milwaukee Bucks on their home floor after another masterful game from Jimmy Butler.

Butler has proven to be the bane of the Bucks' existence and made sure the Bucks remained uncomfortable despite having a lead that went as high as 16 points.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo struggling from the line as he only made 10 of his 23 attempts, Butler pulled off a miraculous shot in the dying seconds of Game 5 that sent the game to overtime.

The Bucks had about nine seconds on the clock to make a play and as the Heat defense kicked into high gear, the ball found itself in the hands of Grayson Allen.

An ill-fated eurostep attempt sank their chances of a victory as time expired, sending the Bucks to an early exit - making them the sixth No.1 seed to be eliminated by the No. 8 seed in NBA history.

What makes their loss extra painful for the fans is that Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer had two timeouts available, but decided not to use it which would have advanced the ball and given them a chance to strategize in the huddle.

When it was all said and done, "Jimmy Buckets" again came through for Miami, finishing the series with averages of 37.6 points on 59.7% shooting, six rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.8 steals as they face the New York Knicks next.

New York Knicks Reach Semis For The First Time Since 2013

Charles Barkley said on a recent episode of Inside the NBA that Jalen Brunson was the greatest free agent signing in the history of basketball and it appears that the "Round Mound of Rebound" was correct in his assessment.

Many had expected this matchup to be a more competitive one due to the star power the Cleveland Cavaliers had in the form of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen while the Knicks had Brunson, Julius Randle and RJ Barrett.

Barrett's coming out party in the postseason has long been awaited by many Knicks hopefuls, and New York needed every bit of his 17.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.4 steals to down the Cavaliers.

With them leading the series 3-1, the Knicks enforced their will on Cleveland outscoring them for the better part of Game 5 with a lead that went as high as 18 points.

Randle aggravating a left ankle injury barely affected the Knicks as Mitchell Robinson stepped up admirably and much like the story of the series, New York's dominance on the glass (45.4 to 37.2) again troubled the Cavaliers.

The Knicks would go on to take the series with a 106-95 victory and advance in the playoffs for only the second time in the past 23 seasons–the last time being in 2013 when they fell to the Indiana Pacers in six games.

Desmond Bane Gives Memphis Grizzlies Fighting Chance

The Memphis Grizzlies found themselves in an improbable 3-1 hole despite being the No. 2 seed in the West and they needed to find some type of spark to keep themselves alive.

Desmond Bane came alive at precisely the right time after dropping 33 big points (12-of-21 from the field, 4-of-9 from three) to give the Grizzlies a chance of beating the Los Angeles Lakers and send the game back to Crypto.com Arena for Game 6.

Star guard Ja Morant netted 31 points of his own while Jaren Jackson Jr. pitched in with 18 big points as the Grizzlies' core three needed every bit of their effort.

The previous four games had not seen Bane and Morant work effectively together, but the pair finally clicked in a win or go home situation, becoming the first Grizzlies pair in history to record 30-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and five-plus assists in the postseason

"I said it out there, and I'll say it again, we are going to be back for a Game 7 in front of the best fans in the NBA," Bane said after the win.

The Lakers did have a chance to storm right back into the game early in the fourth as they were able to narrow a 25-point deficit to just one point, but a 19-2 run in the fourth quarter ended hopes of them closing out the series then.

Game 6 takes place on Friday, April 28 as the Lakers hope to finally put away the Grizzlies.

Golden State Warriors Record First Postseason Road Win

Much has been said of the Golden State Warriors' struggles on the road this season, but against a heady Sacramento Kings and its raucous fanbase, they finally put an end to their woes for the first time in the playoffs.

Stephen Curry ensured that his Warriors came away with the 3-2 series lead heading into Game 6 after entering Game 5 with two games apiece as he dropped 31 big points while co-star Klay Thompson had 25 markers of his own on a blistering 52.6% from the field.

A player who few expected to pop off was Draymond Green who, despite coming off the bench, dropped 21 big points while only missing two of his 10 shot attempts as the Warriors started to find their stride.

To say that it was an easy matchup for them is incorrect as the Kings would not go away with the Warriors leading the game by 12 and Sacramento by 10 at one point.

The fourth quarter turned into a nail-biter after the hometown Kings went on a 6-0 run to narrow the Warriors' lead to just 8 points and further chopped it down to just a point thanks to Harrison Barnes' fadeaway with five minutes remaining.

However, the Warriors' championship pedigree shone through and got some much-needed separation off of back-to-back buckets from Andrew Wiggins and Curry to push the lead back to seven.

The war of attrition between the two California-based teams is expected to come to a head in Game 6 as the Warriors gun for the series-clincher on Friday.