Game 3: Toronto Raptors vs. Brooklyn Nets (TOR Leads 2-0), 1:30 ET
- In the first two games of the series, Toronto has outscored Brooklyn by 26 points in the fourth quarter. In Game 2, the Raptors entered the fourth quarter trailing by six points but won the period 30-19 for the five-point win and 2-0 series lead.
- Fred VanVleet has recorded at least 10 assists in each of the first two games of the series. Between the playoffs and regular season, the Raptors are now 10-1 when VanVleet posts double-figure assists.
- Caris LeVert leads all players in assists through the first two games of the playoffs with 13.0 per game, which have led to 31.0 Nets points per game. The Nets lead all playoff teams with a 76.3 assist percentage.
- Among the 19 players that have defended at least 5 shots at the basket per game, Jarrett Allen leads the pack in rim protection as he allows opponents to shoot just 35.7% against him.
- The Nets will be without Joe Harris, who has left the NBA campus. During the first two games of the series, Harris averaged 16.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and shot 58.3% from 3-point range on 6 attempts per game.
Game 3: Denver Nuggets vs. Utah Jazz (Series Tied 1-1), 4:00 ET
- Through two games, Donovan Mitchell has scored 87 points on 61.7% (29-47) from the field and 54.5% (12-22) from three. He’s hit 11 pull-up threes in the first two games, beating his previous playoff career high twice, and 58% of his attempts have come off ball screens.
- Torrey Craig has defended Donovan Mitchell for a team-high 8:59 of matchup time through the first two games. Craig is the only defender to hold Mitchell below 50% shooting (44.4 FG%, 16.7 3P%) and has held him to 17 points. In 16:10 against all other defenders, Mitchell has scored 68 points on 64.9 FG% and 68.8 3P%
- The Jazz dominated the points in the paint battle in their Game 2 win, outscoring Denver 48-28. Utah held the Nuggets nearly 22 points below their points in the paint average on the season (49.8).
- Through two games, the Nuggets have three players averaging at least 20 points per game: Nikola Jokic (28.5 PPG), Jamal Murray (25.0) and Michael Porter Jr. (20.5).
- Rudy Gobert leads all players in the restart with 9.0 screen assists per game, which have produced 23.0 points per game for the Jazz. Donovan Mitchell leads all players with 24.5 points per game while shooting 70.8% on pick-and-roll ball handler plays.
Game 3: Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers (BOS Leads 2-0), 6:30 ET
- Jayson Tatum has posted new playoff career highs in each of the first two games of this series; he had 32 in Game 1 and 33 in Game 2. For the series, Tatum is shooting 53.7% from the field, 58.8% from three (on 8.5 attempts per game) and 84.6% from the free throw line. Including the playoffs, the Celtics are now 14-3 this season when Tatum scores at least 30 points.
- In Game 2, the Celtics dominated the 3-point shot as they shot 19-43 (44.2%) compared to just 5-21 (23.8%) for the Sixers.
- Joel Embiid has scored a playoff-high 10 points per game on post ups, which account for 29% of his offensive possessions. He is shooting 58.3% from the field on post ups and earns a trip to the free throw line 25% of the time he posts up.
- The Celtics leads all teams in the playoffs in deflections (16 per game). They are averaging 8 steals and 16.5 points off turnovers per game in the series.
- During the regular season, the Celtics ranked eighth in turnover percentage at 13.7%. In the first two games of this series, that turnover percentage has dropped to 7.4%, tied with Houston for the lowest of any playoff team.
Game 3: LA Clippers vs. Dallas Mavericks (Series Tied 1-1), 9:00 ET
- Luka Doncic scored 34 points to lead the Mavs to a Game 2 win on Wednesday to even the series at 1-1. For the series, Doncic is shooting 55.3 FG% 46.2% from the field. In the series, Doncic is scoring 85.7% of his shots without an assist.
- Seth Curry has averaged 14.5 points through the first two games of the series. He is shooting 55.0% from the field and 45.5% from the beyond the arc. The Mavericks have been 75.5 points per 100 possession better with Curry on the court (plus 31.6 net rating in 60 minutes) compared to when he’s off the court (minus-43.9 net rating in 36 minutes).
- Marcus Morris Sr. has been the primary defender on Luka Doncic for a team-high 5:57 through the first two games of the series. In that time, he’s allowed Luka to score 10 points on 3-6 FG, 2-3 3P and 2-2 FT, but limited Luka to 2 assists and 5 turnovers while only committing 1 shooting foul.
- While appearing in six of the eight seeding games, Paul George shot 48.1% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc on eight attempts per game, which was the second-best mark of any player to shoot with that volume. Through the first two games of this series, George has shot just 35.9% from the field and 28.6% from three on 10.5 attempts per game.
- Dallas leads all teams in first quarter scoring through the first two games of the playoffs at 33.5 points per game. On average, they take a four-point lead into the second quarter. Dallas has shot 53.5% from the field (2nd among playoff teams), 55% from three (1st among playoff teams) during the first 12 minutes of the game.
