Preview capsules for the first round of the NBA playoffs, which start Saturday.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
No. 2 NEW YORK KNICKS (50-32) vs. No. 7 PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (47-35)
Season series: Knicks, 3-1.
Story line: The Knicks finished with their best record and highest seed since winning 54 games in 2012-13. They didn’t get much of a reward for that, with the opponent being a 76ers team that surged after Joel Embiid returned from knee surgery, winning their final eight games of the regular season and then edging Miami in the play-in tournament to earn the No. 7 seed.
Key matchup: Jalen Brunson vs. Tyrese Maxey. Both guards were first-time All-Stars and capable of putting up big scoring numbers. Maxey had three 50-point games during the regular season. Brunson had 11 40-point performances, tying Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing for second-most by a Knicks player in a single season, and was fourth in the league with 28.7 per game.
Royal Bank of Scotland to close 18 more branches with the loss of 105 jobs
Students Prepare for National College Entrance Exam in China
Ethnic Festival 'Liuyueliu' Celebrated in SW China's Guizhou
Digital Economy Provides Enormous Opportunities for Women
Swiatek beats Raducanu in Stuttgart quarters. Sabalenka loses to Vondrousova
AI empowers traditional Chinese medicine to explore new potentials
Ethnic Festival 'Liuyueliu' Celebrated in SW China's Guizhou
China Sees Wider High School Education Coverage
Previewing the 1st round of the NBA playoffs, which start on Saturday
Hong Kong, China hold Turkmenistan in FIFA World Cup qualifier