Oklahoma City is about to break a tie.
Before this year, there were 18 teams that started an NBA postseason with a 7-0 record. Of those, nine went on to win the championship, and nine didn't.
The Thunder are the 19th member of that club after beating the Los Angeles Lakers for a 3-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series on Saturday night.
The nine teams that started 7-0 and went on to win the title: Minneapolis in 1949 and 1950, the LA Lakers in 1982 and 2001, Philadelphia in 1983, Detroit in 1989, Chicago in 1993, Cleveland in 2016 and Golden State in 2017.
The nine that didn’t win it all: the Lakers in 1989, Indiana in 1999, Miami in 2005 and 2020, Detroit in 2007, Cleveland in 2009 and 2017, Orlando in 2010 and San Antonio in 2012.
On Sunday, there are two games but three outcomes to follow: New York will be in Philadelphia looking to finish off a sweep, San Antonio will look to take a 3-1 series lead at Minnesota and the NBA draft lottery is being held in Chicago.
Sunday's schedule
— Game 4, New York at Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m. EDT (ABC)
Series: New York, 3-0.
Odds: New York by 1.5.
The Flyers got swept out of Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Saturday. The 76ers will look to keep Philly fans from seeing it happen again on Sunday. For whatever it's worth, the 76ers and Flyers have never been swept in the same year.
— Game 4, San Antonio at Minnesota, 7:30 p.m. EDT (NBC, Peacock)
Series: San Antonio, 2-1.
Odds: San Antonio by 4.5.
Victor Wembanyama is averaging 21.9 points, 11.4 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per game in these playoffs. Nobody has ever done that over an entire postseason. It's not a must-win for Minnesota on Sunday ... but it feels like a must-win for Minnesota on Sunday.
Monday's schedule
— Game 4, Detroit at Cleveland, 8 p.m. EDT (NBC, Peacock)
Series: Detroit, 2-1.
Odds: Cleveland by 3.5.
Cleveland knows what's at stake in Game 4. The Cavaliers are 5-0 at home so far in these playoffs, and 0-5 on the road. Detroit put together yet another big run in Game 3 — this one being a 26-7 burst in the third quarter — to erase a 17-point deficit but couldn't find a way at the end.
— Game 4, Oklahoma City at LA Lakers, 10:30 p.m. EDT (Prime)
Series: Oklahoma City, 3-0.
Odds: Oklahoma City by 10.5.
The Lakers won the first half, again, in Game 3. The Thunder rolled through the second half, again, in Game 3. Such was the trend in Game 2 as well, and now the dreaded 0-3 deficit is staring LeBron James and the Lakers in the face. If OKC wins Monday, it'll get a week off before the Western Conference finals start.
Saturday's recap
— Cavaliers 116, Pistons 109 to cut series deficit to 2-1. Harden was the closer.
— Thunder 131, Lakers 108 for 3-0 series lead. Ajay Mitchell on a roll for OKC.
— Steve Kerr is coming back to the Warriors.
When Donovan Mitchell is right ...
Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell had the fourth game of his career with at least 35 points and 10 rebounds in the Cavaliers' win over Detroit on Saturday.
All four of those games for Mitchell have come since he joined the Cavs, all of them were home games — and as might be expected, Cleveland is 4-0 in those contests.
Awards watch
A breakdown of this season's NBA awards:
— Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year: DeAndre Jordan, New Orleans.
— Hustle Award: Moussa Diabaté, Charlotte.
— Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio.
— Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City.
— Sixth Man of the Year: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio.
— Sportsmanship Award: Derrick White, Boston.
— Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta.
— Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg, Dallas.
— Executive of the Year: Brad Stevens, Boston.
Among the announcements still to come:
— Most Valuable Player: Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama or Denver's Nikola Jokic.
— Coach of the Year: Detroit's J.B. Bickerstaff, San Antonio's Mitch Johnson or Boston's Joe Mazzulla.
Betting odds
Defending champion Oklahoma City (-160) is favored to win the NBA title, according to oddsmakers.
The Thunder are followed by San Antonio (+300), New York (+700), Detroit (+1800), Cleveland (+6000), Minnesota (+8000), the Los Angeles Lakers (+40000) and Philadelphia (+40000).
Key dates
— Sunday: NBA draft lottery.
— Monday through May 17: NBA draft combine.
— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.
— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.
— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).
— June 23: Round 1, NBA draft.
— June 24: Round 2, NBA draft.
Quote of the day
“They're pretty damn good from top to bottom, and they don't let their foot off the gas.” — Lakers star LeBron James, on the Thunder.
Stats of the day
— The Thunder have won 76.2% of their regular season and playoff games over the last three seasons, the best three-year run in the NBA since Golden State won 79.5% of its games from 2015-16 through 2017-18.
— There have been four playoff triple-doubles in Pistons history — two by Isiah Thomas in 1989 and two by Cade Cunningham. He had one last season and had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against the Cavaliers on Saturday.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
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