DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST:
It's time for sports.
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ELLIOTT: We're in the thick of finals season - NBA finals, the Thunder clapback; Stanley Cup finals, an all-around thriller. Sports writer Howard Bryant joins us now to unpack it all. Good morning, Howard.
HOWARD BRYANT: Good morning. How are you?
ELLIOTT: I am great - enjoying these NBA finals, right? The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers last night, 111-104. That brings the series to a tie. Game 5 will be Monday night in Oklahoma City. The Thunder had looked unstoppable in the regular season. But so far, it's been pretty evenly matched in this finals series, hasn't it?
BRYANT: Yes, Debbie, it has. And what's been crazy about it - within a - it's a great series. It's a fantastic series. It's now a best-two-out-of-three series. And I think that what I found most interesting about this is that Thunder dominated the NBA this year. They weren't just good. They dominated the NBA. They won the most games. They had a margin of victory over 10 points, which is usually a sign that you're going to win the championship. No team in NBA history has dominated the regular season as much as they have in terms of just the statistics. Obviously, the Golden State Warriors won 73 games and didn't win a championship. But you - to be as good as they've been and to be up against it is really also a credit to the Indiana Pacers.
And the Pacers were just a quarter away from taking a 3-1 lead. And then Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is the MVP, showed up - 35 points last night, really did pick up that team. They were down by 10 points in the second half, and it really looked like Oklahoma City was going to have to pull off one of the great comebacks in order to get back into this series. But they did it last night, and now we're 2-2. And you got two more games that are going to take place in Oklahoma City, and I think that we may be looking at a classic seven-game series.
ELLIOTT: Right. Now, Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals is tonight in Canada. The Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers are tied at two games apiece. This hockey series has been rather thrilling, too, with three of four games so far going into overtime. Howard, what are you looking for tonight?
BRYANT: I think what's been really fun about this playoff in both sports is that we always talk about the big cities - the Bostons, the New Yorks, the LAs and the rest of them. And you've got Florida, Edmonton, Indiana and Oklahoma City, and they have put on a fantastic show. And I think that we have to give a lot of credit to the fact that, you know, there's a lot of good teams out there, a lot of great sports, and it doesn't always have to be the A-list cities that get us going. And this series has been - it's great hockey. Not only is it great hockey because you've had four games, and three of them have gone into overtime. You've also - it's a rematch, so these teams know each other really, really well. You've got a ridiculous style and contrast where Florida is this grinding, rough, tough team, but also talented, but Edmonton skates so well. So you just watch these two teams go at each other, and it's just so much fun.
And the other piece of it that I really love is watching the superstars. Seeing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the big stage is what superstardom in sports is all about. They are the two best players in the game, and, boy, a joy it is to watch. But you also have the defending champions, Florida, saying, not so fast. We're pretty good ourselves.
ELLIOTT: Well, enjoy watching tonight. Howard Bryant, thanks for being with us.
BRYANT: Thank you.
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