Despite jumping out to a 3-0 lead, the Chicago Cubs needed extra innings to take Game 2 from the Atlanta Braves.

The Chicago Cubs couldn’t hold a 3-1 lead in the eighth inning but won 6-3 in extra innings in Game 2 of the series with the Atlanta Braves. There are four major takeaways from the contest:

1. Patient At-Bats

Going from Tuesday’s series opener into Game 2 on Wednesday, the Cubs flipped the script in terms of their approach at the plate. In Game 1, the Cubs drew zero walks and had just one at-bat go to a 3-2 count.

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Jump ahead: Game of the night | Picks and props | Analytics edge

All odds are provided by Caesars Sportsbook.

What you need to know for Thursday’s playoff games

It’s A Numbers Game: CJ McCollum is important to the Pelicans and capable of scoring in bunches. But the Suns have proven to be a difficult matchup for New Orleans, and that figures to continue in Game 6 tonight. When trying to project big scoring nights, pace and efficiency come into play and McCollum does not benefit from either. The pace of this series has been 4.7% below what the Pelicans have played at over the final month of the regular season. McCollum has shot under 39% from the field in four of his past five games. However, he did make six free throws in Game 5, but didn’t get to the stripe a single time in 36 minutes the last time these two teams played in New Orleans.

Volume Over Everything: The best way to pay off in DFS or cash overs in the prop market is to be on the court, and the Raptors tend to ride with their core rotation. Four players logged at least 39 minutes in Game 5, consistent with how Toronto operated during the regular season. Given Fred VanVleet‘s status, there’s no reason to think the Raptors will pivot from that strategy. Gary Trent Jr. was more involved in Game 5 with VanVleet sidelined. He led the Raptors with six shots in the first quarter, and it’s reasonable to assume more of the same tonight. While Matisse Thybulle‘s role has declined this postseason, him being off the court only helps Toronto.

Close Out Chris: Chris Paul has shown a killer instinct as of late, and the Suns will count on Paul to help them close out the series with the Pelicans tonight. Paul has averaged 33.3 PPG on 61.3% shooting over the past three games to go along with 7.7 APG. Nothing CP3 does jumps off the screen, and he hasn’t exactly been an analytics dream as of late, but his efficiency and experience makes his prop market interesting and makes him a strong DFS option tonight.

Point Pascal: Pascal Siakam paces the Raptors with 12.2 potential assists per game, and yet, his assist prop sits at a 5.5 for Game 6. It’s worth considering the value that Siakam and Scottie Barnes will bring to the court in this must-win contest.

Doncic Dimes: It’s rare to find Luka Doncic‘s assist prop at 7.5, but such is the case heading into a pivotal Game 6 in Utah this evening. Doncic led Dallas with 12 potential assists in Game 5 and should lead the team again in Game 6. Expect Doncic to play nearly 35 minutes with an opportunity to close out the series.

— Jim McCormick & Kyle Soppe

Game of the night

Philadelphia 76ers at Toronto Raptors
7 p.m. ET, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON, CA

Line: 76ers (-1.5)
Money line: 76ers (-125), Raptors (+105)
Total: 210.5 points
BPI Projected Total: 214.8 points
BPI Win%: 76ers (55.2%)

Key players ruled out: Matisse Thybulle

Questionable: Fred VanVleet (hip)

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Notable: The Raptors failed to cover their first four games as home underdogs this season, but they’ve covered five of six since.

Best bet: Joel Embiid under 42.5 points + assists + rebounds. Embiid has struggled by his standards since suffering a thumb injury on his right hand. He has still averaged 20.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG and 3.5 APG over the past two games, but he has stated it’s been more difficult for him to rebound, shoot and pass. While his numbers are way down, I expect him to have a relatively strong game as the 76ers look to close out the series with the Raptors. But hitting 42.5 PAR would require a pretty dramatic improvement across the board, and it’s not clear he can physically reach that level right now. — Andre Snellings

Best bet: Joel Embiid over 11.5 rebounds. Embiid’s rebounds fluctuates depending on the Raptors’ field goal percentage. Despite that, he has still averaged 11.6 RPG in this series and 13 RPG over the past 24 games. The 76ers will aim to keep the Raptors out of the paint, which will allow Embiid plenty of rebound opportunities. — Eric Moody

Best bet: Pascal Siakam over 5.5 assists. Siakam gets into the zone when he is completely pass-first. If Barnes or OG Anunoby get going, they tend to drive-then-score. Siakam, on the other hand, has stretches like the fourth quarter of Game 4, where he drives to break down the defense and kicks it out to open teammates to set up the 3-pointer. If VanVleet sits, Siakam is the most natural point guard and will lead the team in assists on the night. — Snellings

Best bet: James Harden over 20.5 points. In his postgame quotes, Embiid challenged Harden and Doc Rivers. Embiid wants Harden to be more aggressive on offense. I would be surprised if he doesn’t deliver tonight. Harden averaged 13.6 FGA and 21 PPG over 14 regular season games in Philadelphia. Harden has been defended well by the Raptors in this series, but star players like him look to overcome those obstacles and not get stifled by them. — Moody

Breaking down the rest of the slate

Phoenix Suns at New Orleans Pelicans
7:30 p.m. ET, Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA

Line: Suns (-2.0)
Money line: Suns (-135), Pelicans (+115)
Total: 214 points
BPI Projected Total: 215.2 points
BPI Win%: Suns (64.9%)

Key players ruled out: none

Questionable: Devin Booker

Notable: The Suns covered their final five games of January when they were road favorites, but since then, they are just 5-8 ATS in such spots.

Best bet: Chris Paul over 31.5 points + assists. Paul had his 31st playoff game with 20 points and 10 assists on Tuesday night, ranking third all-time behind Magic Johnson (60) and LeBron James (43). He could have his 32nd tonight. Paul understands how significant it is to close out a series, and he is ready to seize the moment. — Moody

Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz
10 p.m ET, Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT

Line: (-1.5)
Money line: Mavericks (-110), Jazz (-110)
Total: 209.5 points
BPI Projected Total: 216.8
BPI Win%: Mavericks (54.9%)

Key players ruled out: none

Notable: Overs are 7-2 in Dallas’ past nine road games (including four straight wins).

Best bet: Jalen Brunson over 28.5 points + assists + rebounds. Brunson continues to dominate the Jazz. He has scored 20 points or more in five consecutive games. He has averaged 28.6 PPG, 4.6 APG and 5.2 RPG in this series. That trend should continue in Game 6. — Moody

1 Related

Best bet: Mavericks (-1.5).The Mavericks annihilated the Jazz by 25 points in Game 5 despite shooting 43% from the field and 27.9% from deep. The Jazz have looked out of sorts this month, and to make matters worse, Donovan Mitchell is nowhere close to 100 percent, dealing hamstring and quad issues. With a long vacation on the horizon, I think Utah waves the white flag in the second half and Dallas brings down the curtain. — Joe Fortenbaugh

Analytics edge

BPI highest projected totals

1. Phoenix Suns (109.7 points)
2. Dallas Mavericks (109.1 points)
3. Philadelphia 76ers (108.1 points)

BPI lowest projected totals

1. New Orleans Pelicans (105.5 points)
2. Toronto Raptors (106.7 points)
3. Utah Jazz (107.7 points)

BPI top probability to win (straight up)

1. Phoenix Suns (64.9%)
2. Philadelphia 76ers (55.2%)
3. Dallas Mavericks (54.9%)

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The Chicago Blackhawks are having a really nice week at home so far. It started on Monday with a very fun win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Then on Wednesday, they hosted the Vegas Golden Knights in their final home game of the season.

There was a lot riding on this game for the Golden Knights. They came in with a real danger of missing the postseason for the first time in franchise history. They have been seriously injured all season long and have underperformed at times so it is shocking that they are in this position.

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IT IS JUST after midnight when 2-year-old Nazanin Alvarado takes the podium with her dad, New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado, following Sunday’s Game 4 win over the Phoenix Suns.

Donning a white T-shirt that reads “My heart is on that court” and a pair of high pigtails, she begins the news conference in her dad’s lap. As her dad awaits the first question, she grabs the mic, ready to address the media.

Before she can speak, Jose takes the mic back from her, ready on his own to discuss the team’s 15-point victory over the conference’s No. 1 seed. For approximately four seconds, Nazanin sits still. Then, she decides she’s had enough and hops down, relocating to the back of the room as her dad attempts to answer the media’s question.

Less than 30 seconds later, she’s back at the podium, hoisted into her dad’s lap with a giggle. Ten seconds later, she’s off again.

2 Related

“Hey, get her please,” Alvarado says to a family member, who is seated nearby. “Hey, no more running around.”

It’s easy to see where she gets her energy. Her dad, now famous for his aggressive and swarming defense, had hounded the Suns on the court just minutes prior.

Alvarado is but one Pelicans rookie who has electrified the franchise this season. Undrafted, he was on a two-way contract until he received a four-year deal in March. Herbert Jones — a second-round pick — started 68 of 79 games and could sneak onto the NBA All-Defensive team this season. Their first-round pick, Trey Murphy III, led all rookies in three-point percentage this season among players who attempted at least 100 treys.

Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and coach Willie Green served as the foundation for New Orleans’ resurgence. But the Pelicans could not have gone from 1-12 to open the season to pushing the top seed to Thursday’s Game 6 without this rookie class.

“We don’t make it to this point without the growth of our young guys,” Green said ahead of Tuesday’s Game 5, a 112-97 loss to the Suns. “At the end of the season, all those guys have played in meaningful games and they’re ready for the moment.”

The Pelicans are the first playoff team since the 2005 Boston Celtics and 2005 Chicago Bulls with three rookies to play more than 80 minutes in a series. Christian Petersen/Getty Images

THE ROOKIES HAVE been a major force behind the Pelicans’ turnaround this season.

Murphy, the No. 17 pick in last year’s draft, had earned regular minutes to open the season but his minutes stalled after the team notched just one win in the first 13 games.

But just as Murphy was heading down for yet another trip to the G League, Ingram hurt his hamstring, opening up the rotation.

Over the final 17 games of the regular season, as New Orleans was making its playoff push, Murphy averaged 9.7 points and shot 43.8% from deep.

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In the winner-take-all play-in tournament game against the LA Clippers two weeks ago, Murphy made four 3-pointers in the final 16 minutes as the Pelicans completed a come-from-behind victory to clinch the No. 8 seed.

“It’s pretty cool because there’ve been struggles that I’ve had shooting the ball earlier in the year and being able to come through in a really, really, really big game for our team was super important for me,” Murphy says.

Then, there’s the Pelicans’ defensive stopper in Jones, who was the SEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year at Alabama. The hope was that his offensive game would come later.

New Orleans didn’t even start him in summer league last year — instead starting Kira Lewis, Didi Louzada, Murphy, Naji Marshall and Anzejs Pasecniks — opting to bring Jones and Alvarado off the bench.

But they fell in love with his play. The buzz coming out of pre-training camp workouts was loud — and filled with a catchphrase that would soon go viral:

Not On Herb.

After Josh Hart was injured in the Pelicans’ first game, Jones was quickly inserted into the starting lineup and drew their opponents’ best perimeter offensive player every night. In fact, Jones has defended 2022 All-Stars for 1,192 matchups in the halfcourt, second most in the league behind only Dorian Finney-Smith, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

“It was different to get thrown in the fire super early,” Jones says. “I feel like you’re just forced to figure it out and adjust. And I feel like my teammates did a great job of helping me. My coaches did a great job of helping me adjust as quickly as possible.”

WITH JUST UNDER nine minutes left in the fourth quarter of Game 2, the Pelicans up 95-92, Murphy took a pass from McCollum from the left wing, and attempted a jumper to extend New Orleans’ lead. The shot was no good, and Suns forward Cameron Johnson quickly grabbed the rebound and tossed it to Chris Paul.

And there was Alvarado, lurking near the Pelicans’ bench, ready to try his patented steal on the Point God.

“Get ya ass back,” Paul said as he flung his arm up the court.

On multiple occasions this season, the pesky guard has hidden in the corner after a Pelicans possession — miss or make — and then sprung on an unsuspecting ball handler to poke the ball away or force a travel.

The guard, generously listed at 6-foot, has always been known for his sneakiness. But his AAU coach told him it would never work in high school. His high school coach told him it would never work in college. His coaches at Georgia Tech told him it would never work in the NBA.

At each level, Alvarado has tried it. And at each level, it has worked.

Still, McCollum warned him ahead of the first-round series that it would never work on Paul.

Paul was ready for Alvarado in Game 2. But in Game 4, Alvarado got his revenge.

With 2:40 left in the game and the Pelicans up comfortably, Ingram drove to the basket and clanked a contested jumper. Phoenix forward Mikal Bridges grabbed the rebound and dumped it off to a cutting Paul as he turned the corner to head up the court.

Alvarado was waiting. Tucked away on the baseline corner by the Pelicans’ bench, he took off behind Paul and forced the steal. Ingram picked up the ball, hit a cutting Jones for a basket and Alvarado skipped away screaming at the top of his lungs.

“I saw CJ and told him ‘I got him’ and he just started laughing,” Alvarado says.

The Pelicans are the first playoff team since the 2005 Boston Celtics and 2005 Chicago Bulls with three rookies to play more than 80 minutes in a series, and are on pace to become the first team since the 2005 Bulls with three rookies to play more than 100 minutes, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

If New Orleans wants to send this series back to Phoenix for a Game 7, this trio of rookies will be a critical force in getting them there.

“They’re our foundation,” Ingram said after Tuesday’s Game 5 loss. “They bring us energy every single day, every single game, every single practice. They are consistent in who they are, consistent in their work. They’ll be important to us as we continue to try to make this run, shooting the basketball, on the defensive end and just making plays.”

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