A pair of Game 7s cap off the first round of NBA postseason play

The GIST: Before digging into the high-stakes hoopla, it’s only apt that we give San Antonio Spurs coaching legend Gregg “Pop” Popovich his flowers after the icon announced on Friday that he was stepping down as the team’s head coach after 29 years. From his jam-packed trophy case to his generational leadership, the game is better because of Pop.

• Smile because it happened, then scroll on for all the drama of playoff basketball.

🔥 Golden State Warriors lean on experience to secure second-round berth: Last night’s battle of old dogs and new tricks went the way of the veterans as the Warriors, led by Buddy Hield’s explosive 33 points, eliminated the higher-seeded Houston Rockets 103–89. Think you’ve seen this film before? You have: The Warriors haven’t lost a playoff series to Houston in the Steph Curry era.

• And while that wasn’t the only Game 7 this weekend, Saturday’s winner-take-all match between the Denver Nuggets and LA Clippers wasn’t nearly as exciting: Denver led by 20 for most of the game, crushing LA 120–101 to punch their second-round ticket.

➡️ Indiana Pacers upset top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in second-round opener: Well, that wasn’t on our Bingo card. Six Pacers scored in double figures to stun Cleveland with yesterday’s 121–112 win. And while the Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell had a record-setting afternoon, all that matters in the playoffs is dubs, meaning there’s work to do in Ohio ahead of tomorrow’s 7 p.m. ET Game 2.

• The other East semifinal series features the Boston Celtics and NY Knicks, who will renew their heated rivalry for its 16th postseason iteration starting tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Spice, spice, baby.

⛰️ Western Conference semis tip off tonight: The Western Conference’s next round has a faster turnaround than The Biles II: The aforementioned Nuggets play the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET while the Warriors visit the Minnesota Timberwolves tomorrow at the same time. Booked and busy.