NBA Playoffs picks, odds, schedule for Wednesday: Can Celtics and Thunder bounce back from upsets?

This slate gave us an all-time awesome postseason night on Monday. We will run it back Wednesday with glee and gratitude.

Unless you’re a Boston Celtics fan, an Oklahoman or a chronic bettor of moneyline favorites, it was hard not to appreciate Monday’s double-upset. New York went 0-4 against defending champ Boston in the regular season, and was down 20 points late in the third quarter. Then, Jalen Brunson sketched a platinum highlight reel on the parquet floor, Mikal Bridges turned all the way up with lights-out defense and the Knicks pulled an improbable comeback to steal Game 1.

Over to the Great Plains, where…  it happened again?! Oklahoma City enjoyed a 13-point fourth-quarter lead at home. Nikola Jokić and his Nuggets hung around long enough to force a free-throw close-out for OKC, and look at that, Chet Holmgren missed consecutive shots at the line. Russell Westbrook then opted to pass in transition (!) and Aaron Gordon suddenly nailed his second game-winner of the playoffs.

Boston and Oklahoma City will look to even things up and reaffirm their championship bonafides. New York and Denver vie to stun the sporting world. Let the Game 2s roll.

Viewing guide for Wednesday

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New York Knicks at Boston Celtics Game 2

Knicks lead series 1-0

Series odds: Celtics -300, Knicks +240

Take your pick for the strangest development of Game 1. Joe Mazzulla’s Celts incredibly missed 45 3-pointers. The reigning NBA champions blew a 20-point second-half lead to a team it has laughably dominated across the past decade. Who had Jalen Brunson channeling 1986 Michael Jordan in Boston? Who had the Knicks hanging on after a gutting, modern-day version of Patrick Ewing’s missed finger roll at the buzzer?

To replicate that surprising result Wednesday, Tom Thibodeau and the engine-revving Knicks will try to run in transition and win on the inside. Boston was cruising in the first half, as Karl-Anthony Towns picked up three quick fouls and the hack-a-Mitchell-Robinson strategy subsequently paid out. The Celtics surely win Game 1 if they shoot even slightly better than that ghastly 25 percent behind the arc, but New York’s perimeter defense deserves credit for its fearless switches. Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart as Wing Stop has to be one of the best group nicknames in basketball.

Jayson Tatum went 7-for-23 on Monday. Jaylen Brown finished 7-for-20, wholly locked up by Bridges on what would’ve been a game-tying final heave. Kristaps Porziņģis, who left New York on acrimonious terms with the franchise and fans alike, was held scoreless in the first two quarters before bowing out with an illness before halftime.

The Knicks seek their first Eastern Conference finals berth since 2000. Since then, the Celtics have reached that round a full 10 times, with two championship banners added to their packed-out rafters. Regardless of Wednesday’s outcome, Madison Square Garden will be starved and raucous come Game 3.

Best players for both teams:

• Gerald Henderson
• Xavier McDaniel
• Willie Naulls
• Bob McAdoo
• Kristaps Porziņģis

Expert picks

Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder Game 2

Nuggets lead series 1-0

Series odds: Thunder -300, Nuggets +240

Same exercise as above, specifically for the closing stretch of this equally-loopy game. What was the strangest development? No wrong answers here:

• Holmgren, a career 78 percent free-throw shooter, missed two late free throws at the line in his home gym.
• Westbrook, this generation’s premier stat-hoarder, didn’t chase the rebound off that missed foul shot, allowing him to get up the floor and set up a transition look.
• Westbrook also didn’t bellow toward the rim with the ball in his hands and the glory in his reach. Rather, he passed.
• He passed it not to Jokić or Jamal Murray, but to Aaron Gordon, a career 33 percent 3-point shooter, who took a deep shot with his Nuggets down by one.

Denver pulled out the stunner despite getting doubled-up in turnovers (18 to 9) and enduring sub-par shooting nights from Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Jokić will always be the headliner for this squad, and his steely line of 42 points, 22 rebounds and six assists deserves endless appreciation. But the win was really sealed on the glass, where the Nuggets held a 21-13 edge in offensive rebounds.

The Thunder are the team to beat out West until proven otherwise, and Jalen Williams’ 5-for-20 stinker should be washed away with the passage of time.

Like Denver, OKC’s headliner will always be its MVP candidate. On Monday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was good (33 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists), but he also looked a bit overextended and struggled with four personal fouls. A whopping five different Thunder players recorded at least four fouls, with the bigs Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein pushed to the limit with five each.

The top-seeded hosts are heavily favored for Game 2. They’ll do everything they can to avoid a 2-0 deficit that would be further pressurized in Denver’s high altitude.

Best players in both jerseys:

• Russell Westbrook
• Jeff Green
• Carmelo Anthony
• Danilo Gallinari
• Isaiah Hartenstein

Expert picks

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(Photo of Josh Hart and Jaylen Brown: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)

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