Round 3 of the tournament kicks off, and the Number 1 overall seed will make their presence known. 6 teams remain from Round 3 onwards, and 2 will be shown the door before we make our way to the Final Four.
Milwaukee and Boston will feature in Round 3 against the two highest remaining seeds for a spot in the Final Four, with Denver and Cleveland gaining automatic entry with their two wins already.
Round 3 games will take place in Los Angeles.
3rd Round:
Milwaukee (1) v Phoenix (10): This would’ve been an incredible Final Four contest!
Milwaukee come into this tournament fresh as they’re yet to play a game. Phoenix on the other hand are battle tested, with two huge wins over Golden State and
Philadelphia. With the game being played on the West Coast, the Suns have plenty of support. This one will be going right down to the wire, with KD and Giannis going back and forth to finish this contest.
In the end, the fresher legs get the Bucks home and into the Final Four, with Giannis and Co. repeating their NBA Finals performance against the Suns. BUCKS WIN.
Boston (2) v New York (9): This is going to be fun. The Knicks come into the 3rd Round as one of the hottest teams in the field, knocking off Sacramento in an entertaining match up. Boston on the other hand, were at war with Dallas and just held on to win in Round 2. With the contest taking place in LA, there’s no secret to who has the following. “Boston Sucks” chants spread all around SoFi Arena, as the Cinderella Knicks team have a huge following in this contest.
Tatum and Randle go blow for blow the entire last quarter, only for Jalen Brunson to steal the show with a runner in the lane to take this out and send the Knicks to the Final Four! KNICKS WIN.
Our Final Four is set, with the Bucks and Nuggets remaining from the original top 4, followed by the Cavs and Knicks.
The Final Four is taking place in Jerry World, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Madison Square Garden was considered, but the NBA has followed suit in Round 3 and the Final Four with how College Basketball runs their show. Everything’s bigger and better in Texas!
Final Four:
Milwaukee (1) v New York (9): Who would’ve thought going into this tournament that the New York Knicks would head to the Final Four?
This team has had all the momentum in this tournament, but only time will tell if they have enough legs to finish this off in the Final Four. Several players from the Knicks have been on this stage before, with the likes of Julius Randle making a final for Kentucky (in Dallas), losing to UConn. He will be after some redemption in this one, and will lean on his Villanova team mate Jalen Brunson, who got the job done in 2017-18.
The Bucks got out to an early lead in this contest, but there was just something special about this Knicks team, and their fan base that carried them to this point showed out in force at the Final Four. Julius Randle hit a huge step back contested 3 over Giannis to cause absolute mayhem in Dallas, giving the Knicks a 4 point win and taking them to the Final. KNICKS WIN.
Denver (3) v Cleveland (7): It’ll be hard to top our previous match up, but this one didn’t let anyone down! Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell once again put on a show, just as they did in the bubble playoff series. Murray and Mitchell combined for 40+ points each, but it was Nikola Jokic who stole the show with another ridiculous stat line.
Jokic finished with 15 Points, 15 Rebounds and 15 Assists, with a magical behind the head no look pass to Jamal Murray for a late 3 to give Denver a 6 point lead with a minute to play. Denver roll onto the final of the inaugural NBA Style March Madness. NUGGETS WIN.
Before we get into the final of the big event, the Lakers declined the invitation to attend the secondary knock out tournament. At the time, they were in 21st position and were fuming at being left out.
Portland in the end winning the “NIT” version of this knock out tournament, defeating a young Orlando Magic team who will be one to watch in this format next year!
Championship Game:
Denver (3) v New York (9): The time has come for the final of what has been an incredible tournament. The Knicks have been on an amazing run to get here, whilst the Nuggets have been at their methodical best to make the final.
The Knicks came out red hot to start the game, with Randle and Barrett firing off 5
consecutive 3s to start proceedings. Thankfully for Denver, they had Nikola Jokic to remain calm and weather the storm inside of Jerry World, as he and Jamal Murray combined for 30 straight points for the Nuggets to give them a slight edge heading into the half.
The Knicks fans made all the noise to begin the 2nd half, as Jalen Brunson took over this game in the 3rd to regain ascendency for a Knicks team looking to secure the first ever title in this format.
As we would come to expect, the game went down to the very last possession, and the ball was in the back to back MVPs hands to finish the game off on the back of an 8-0 Nuggets run to tie the game up.
Jokic provided us one of the game’s greatest game winners, spinning at the top of the key, fading away on one leg to secure the title for the Nuggets! A heartbreaking loss for the Knicks who were nothing short of outstanding all tournament long.
NUGGETS WIN CHAMPIONSHIP.
If this year’s tournament is anything to go by, circle in the 2024 tournament now!
Bauky