The Opening Tip

• Luka’s on the brink of his first series win
• Watch out for the Warriors
• Couple big Game 5s tonight 👀

Tonight's must-watch playoffs games

1. Not The Onion

The following are quotes said by Kyrie Irving throughout the course of this series.

Kyrie quote No. 1: "When I say I'm here with Kev, I think that really entails us managing this franchise together alongside Joe and Sean."

• Why it’s batshit crazy: He missed half the season voluntarily, had two unexplained absences last year, has played 103 games in three years, and still talks about himself like a co-owner of the Brooklyn Nets.

Kyrie quote No. 2: “We’re just in a new experience as a group, and we have to respect that. I don’t have a lot of answers for how you make up time from October until now.”

• Why it’s batshit crazy: The reason there aren’t any answers for making up time from October is because he refused to get vaccinated, which started the beef with James Harden and caused him to miss the majority of the season.

Kyrie quote No. 3: “We’re going against a team together for what, the last four, five years? So (the Celtics) don’t have to worry about (continuity issues).”

• Why it’s batshit crazy: He’s been on the Nets for three years, and pushed for the Kenny Atkinson firing as well as the James Harden trade, both of which contributed to the Nets’ lack of continuity. Also, the vaccine thing.

Kyrie quote No. 4: “I just think the timing is right. (The Celtics’) window is now for these young guys on the team that have matured. They’ve been through series together, been through seasons together, they’ve been through battles together.

• Why it’s batshit crazy: He said this after Game 2, when the Nets were down 0-2 and still in the series.

[READ: Kyrie's greatest contribution to Celtics was abandoning them]

2. Daily GIF: Oh he’s back, back

After missing the first three games of the Dallas-Utah series, Luka returned in a Game 4 loss on Saturday, then played again last night and dropped 33 -- including the bucket above -- in a Game 5 win.

He and the Mavs are a win away from the franchise’s first series win since beating Miami in the Finals 11 years ago.

3. Trivia time

How many series have the Nets + Knicks won combined since the Nets moved to Brooklyn in 2012-13?

Answer at the bottom.

4. Warriors + Celtics are the new favorites

Now that the sportsbooks can’t gaslight into thinking Brooklyn is a real contender anymore, there’s a fresh crop of fairly evenly spread out title favorites.

Three things: 

1. Overall favorite Golden State (now +280) was +900 entering the playoffs and Boston (now +370) was +1100 at the same point. 
2. Injuries to Khris Middleton and Devin Booker have zapped the Bucks (+750) and Suns (+450) of their rightful spots among the favorites. 
3. If you want some great value, how about the Mavs with Luka back at +1600. 

5. By the numbers

82 percent

The winner of Game 5 in a best-of-seven series tied at two goes on to win roughly 82 percent of the time, which made Dallas’ win last night so important, and makes Suns-Pelicans and Grizzlies-Wolves so important tonight.

3 blown 3-1 leads

The Raptors have won two straight to force a Game 6 after falling behind 3-0 on the 76ers. Philly still has an 86 percent chance of advancing, but the man who’s right for the first-ever blown 3-0 lead is Doc Rivers, who has coached three of the 13 blown 3-1 leads in NBA history.

+4.5

The Celtics won their sweep vs. Brooklyn by an average margin of 4.5 points, third least in a four-game sweep ever.

6.  Quick Hits

• Woj reported Simmons’ camp thought the Nets didn’t give Simmons enough support. 😂
• Twitter went all in on the Nets last night.
• Marcus Smart gives props to KD.
• 76ers fans booed their team and left early last night after the Game 5 loss to Toronto.
• This is the call that fouled out Jayson Tatum last night.
• Nic Claxton missed 10 straight free throws last night, beating Shaq's record of nine straight playoff misses.

7.  Reads

• The Brooklyn Nets went out sad [The Ringer]
• Life on the other side of a poster dunk [ESPN]
• The fathers talk trash courtside. The sons battle in the NBA. [New York Times]

Trivia answer: Three: Two for BK (2014, 2021) and for NY (2013).