RJ Hamster
SI:AM | What’s With All These NBA Playoff Blowouts?


DAN GARTLAND
Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’m glad at least one of the NBA conference finals is going the distance, so we have something to watch this weekend
In today’s SI:AM:
📝 Cruz on new college sports bill
Another lopsided playoff game

Dustin Safranek/Imagn Images
The Western Conference finals between the Thunder and Spurs hasn’t exactly lived up to the lofty expectations set by the thrilling first two games of the series. After a double-overtime classic in Game 1 and a similarly competitive Game 2, fans were clamoring for the series to go the full seven games. And after San Antonio’s impressive victory in Game 6 last night, they’ll get their wish.
But the rest of the series hasn’t been as hotly contested as it seemed it would be after the first two games. The Spurs won Thursday night’s Game 6 by 27 points, four days after winning Game 4 by 21.
San Antonio made the blowout somewhat interesting, at least, with a 20–0 run in the third quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a midrange jumper to cut OKC’s deficit to 72–64 with 8:23 left in the quarter. Then it took the Thunder more than seven minutes to hit their next shot. They missed 14 shots in a row. The game was essentially over before the buzzer sounded to end the quarter.
Fans have become accustomed to seeing lopsided games this postseason. It’s not just the Knicks winning games handily. San Antonio’s win last night was the 13th game this postseason where the margin of victory was at least 25 points. That’s tied for the third most such games in any postseason. CONTINUE DAN’S COLUMN ON SI

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Sarah Phipps/Imagn Images
👀 The top five …
… things I saw last night:
5. The Orioles fan who caught a home run ball and a ground-rule double ball in back-to-back innings. (MLB.com interviewed the guy. He’s a 22-year-old who just graduated from college in Baltimore.)
4. Astros outfielder Cam Smith’s leaping home run robbery.
3. Carter Bryant’s ferocious two-handed slamlate in the first half.
2. Ronald Acuña Jr.’s grand slam over the Green Monster. (That snapped a streak of 15 straight games without a homer for Acuña, the sixth-longest homerless stretch of his career.)
1. Ava Kuszak’s walk-off homer for Nebraska in the Women’s College World Series against Arkansas. (The Razorbacks are still alive in the double-elimination format.)
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