{"id":1943025,"date":"2026-05-19T10:16:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T07:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1943025"},"modified":"2026-05-19T10:16:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T07:16:29","slug":"the-best-nba-game-of-the-decade-plus-more-from-a-wild-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1943025","title":{"rendered":"The best NBA game of the decade? Plus, more from a wild night"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"Article_ContentContainer__jBNW3 article-content-container bodytext1\">\n<p><strong><span>The Pulse Newsletter <\/span><\/strong>\ud83d\udce3<span> | This is <em>The Athletic\u2019<\/em>s daily sports newsletter. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/newsletters\/the-pulse\/\"><span>Sign up here<\/span><\/a><span> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><span>Good morning! Pull up from 30 today. Coming up:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span>\ud83d\udc7d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7290181\/2026\/05\/19\/thunder-spurs-nba-playoffs-game-1-score-result-takeaways-western-conference\/\"><span>Wemby<\/span><\/a><span>, man<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span>7\ufe0f\u20e3 Montreal <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7290176\/2026\/05\/18\/canadiens-sabres-nhl-playoffs-game-7-score-result-takeaways\/\"><span>does it again<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">\ud83c\udfb0 Sorsby\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7289109\/2026\/05\/18\/brendan-sorsby-sues-ncaa-supplemental-draft-gambling\/\">suit<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<h3><b>Electricity: A perfect sports night<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span>These are the nights that create fandom. We can parse viewership numbers, social media reach and comment sections all we want. But nights like last night can pierce the shell of even the most jaded sports fan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid1\" data-position=\"mid1\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Three playoff games, all three decided in the final minute or in overtime. Moments in each one that you realize will birth a fan, no matter if they\u2019re 80 or 8. We\u2019ll go in reverse chronological order here:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"article-pickem\">\n<p><b>1. Just \u2026 how, Wemby?<br \/>\n<\/b><span>Nothing said about Victor Wembanyama today will qualify as hyperbole. That\u2019s how good he was in San Antonio\u2019s 122-115 double-overtime win in Oklahoma City, which probably qualifies as one of the best NBA playoff games of the last decade.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Wembanyama scored 41 points and grabbed 24 rebounds in the win, which gives the Spurs a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference finals over the defending champs. But watching him play was more impressive than a stat line that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7290394\/2026\/05\/19\/victor-wembanyama-spurs-thunder-nba-playoffs-western-conference-finals\/\">made him NBA royalty<\/a>. Just consider the following two plays that happened after the fourth quarter:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">WEMBY, WOW!<\/p>\n<p>WHAT A SHOT TO TIE THE GAME AT 108. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HELQUpxww7\">pic.twitter.com\/HELQUpxww7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBA (@NBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/2056576119759859933?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>That\u2019s a 7-foot-4 player pulling up from Steph Curry range, his team down 3, to tie it and ultimately force another overtime. Is that allowed? We can have humans do this, and we\u2019re all OK with it?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Here\u2019s Wemby a few minutes later, being 7-foot-4 around the rim to ice the win:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">41 POINTS AND 23 REBOUNDS FOR WEMBY!!!!<\/p>\n<p>SPURS UP 6. 22 SECONDS TO GO ON NBC\/PEACOCK. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KqUomLyTUy\">pic.twitter.com\/KqUomLyTUy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBA (@NBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/2056580971382669727?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>One day I\u2019ll stop being amazed by this, but it won\u2019t be soon. <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7290181\/2026\/05\/19\/thunder-spurs-nba-playoffs-game-1-score-result-takeaways-western-conference\/\">Read more on the game here<\/a>.<\/b><span> I need to exhale for 24 hours.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>2. The Habs, away from home<br \/>\n<\/b><span>The barn in Buffalo looked incredible for last night\u2019s Game 7 between the Canadiens and Sabres, particularly as the game wore on. Montreal took an early 2-0 lead in the first period, but that melted to a 2-2 tie in the third. KeyBank Center was frothy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Montreal held, and overtime arrived. Then Alex Newhook happened 11:22 into OT:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NEWHOOK WINS IT FOR MONTREAL \ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n<p>Alex Newhook buries the Subway Canada OT winner to send the Canadiens to the Eastern Conference Final! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CPX0Vo6qU4\">pic.twitter.com\/CPX0Vo6qU4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Sportsnet\/status\/2056570984715501779?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>The Canadiens advance to the Eastern Conference final for the first time since 2021 and get there via <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7290176\/2026\/05\/18\/canadiens-sabres-nhl-playoffs-game-7-score-result-takeaways\/\"><span>two consecutive Game 7 road wins<\/span><\/a><span>. Lord.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid2\" data-position=\"mid2\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>3. The PWHL handled business in regulation \u2014 barely<br \/>\n<\/b><span>Like their city mates, the Montreal Victoire had a chance to close out a series last night, but this was for a title, and the Victoire were 5:30 away from a clean sweep of the Walter Cup Finals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"top-league-content-root\"><\/div>\n<p>    {&#8220;endpoint&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql&#8221;}<\/p>\n<p><span>As if they drew it up in a kid\u2019s backyard dream, the Ottawa Charge scored two goals in that final 5:30 of the game to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead. Look at Rebecca Leslie (an Ottawa native, no less) with 54 seconds left in regulation:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">THE BIGGEST GOAL OF THE YEAR FOR THE CHARGE \u26a1\ufe0f<\/p>\n<p>Ottawa keeps its Walter Cup hopes alive with a late win over Montreal, cutting the series to 2-1.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udfa5 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSN_Sports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TSN_Sports<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LAXe67XB8a\">pic.twitter.com\/LAXe67XB8a<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheAthleticNHL\/status\/2056538780082081875?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>Ottawa <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7289990\/2026\/05\/18\/montreal-victoire-ottawa-charge-game-3-score-results-takeaways\/\"><span>saved its season<\/span><\/a><span> and prevented Montreal from celebrating on its ice. Game 4 is Wednesday in Ottawa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What a night. <\/b><span>Let\u2019s keep moving:<\/span><\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3><b>News to Know<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><strong><b>Sorsby sues NCAA<\/b><\/strong><br \/>\n<span>As expected, Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby sued the NCAA to reinstate his eligibility for the upcoming season while he is under investigation for gambling violations. In his affidavit, Sorsby admitted to betting on Indiana while he was a reserve on the Hoosiers roster, and he is ultimately seeking a quick decision so he can apply to the NFL\u2019s supplemental draft in June if his college career is done. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7289109\/2026\/05\/18\/brendan-sorsby-sues-ncaa-supplemental-draft-gambling\/\"><span>What a mess<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>More news:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>NFL owners<\/b><span> will vote this week on whether to award the <\/span><b>2030 Super Bowl<\/b><span> to <\/span><b>Nashville<\/b><span>. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7212952\/2026\/05\/18\/super-bowl-64-nashville-location-vote\/\"><span>More details here<\/span><\/a><span>. The league is also <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7289370\/2026\/05\/18\/nfl-international-games-expansion-2027\/\"><span>considering<\/span><\/a> <i><span>double-digit<\/span><\/i><span> international games in 2027.<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span>The <\/span><b>Pelicans<\/b><span> signed former Magic coach <\/span><b>Jamahl Mosley <\/b><span>to a five-year deal to be the team\u2019s new head coach. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7288625\/2026\/05\/18\/pelicans-coach-jamahl-mosley-hiring\/\"><span>Mosley is a rebuild specialist<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Edmonton<\/b><span> will interview former Maple Leafs coach <\/span><b>Craig Berube<\/b><span> to be the Oilers\u2019 new head coach. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7288940\/2026\/05\/18\/oilers-craig-berube-coach-maple-leafs\/\"><span>See our full report<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span>Lots of coaching news today: <\/span><b>Austin FC <\/b><span>fired both coach Nico Estevez and sporting director Rodolfo Borrell. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7288724\/2026\/05\/18\/austin-fc-fires-coach-sporting-director-nico-estevez\/\"><span>A loss to last-place Sporting Kansas City sealed it<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Yankees ace Gerrit Cole <\/b><span>could make his season debut this weekend. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7289573\/2026\/05\/18\/gerrit-cole-yankees-season-debut\/\"><span>Nice<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span>Meanwhile, the <\/span><b>Nationals<\/b><span> are recalling <\/span><b>Dylan Crews<\/b><span> to the major-league roster. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7290010\/2026\/05\/18\/nationals-dylan-crews-recall-sources\/\"><span>Washington might be the real deal<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong<\/b><span> apologized for his profane interaction with a <\/span><b>White Sox fan<\/b><span> over the weekend. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7289889\/2026\/05\/18\/pete-crow-armstrong-apology-fan-interaction\/\"><span>More details inside<\/span><\/a><span>. <\/span><span><br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span><b>Brazil<\/b> named its <b>World Cup<\/b> roster: <b>Neymar<\/b> in, <b>Joao Pedro<\/b> out. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7289628\/2026\/05\/18\/brazil-world-cup-squad-2026-neymar\/\">See the list<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>\ud83d\udcf0\u00a0<a style=\"font-weight: 400\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/news\/\">Find more news here 24\/7<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3><b>Wait, More? When a no-hitter goes awry<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span>To stay in the moment for a bit longer about last night: Baseball did its best to join the party with one of the more gutting endings you\u2019ll see in a game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>For eight innings, the Angels were hitless against the Athletics, blanked by a virtuosic J.T. Ginn on the mound. Then came the ninth inning. Adam Frazier singled, and Zach Neto followed with this:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">What. An. Ending.<\/p>\n<p>The Angels were hitless through eight innings. Then they hit a walk-off homer \ud83e\udd2f<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udfa5 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MLB<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0iJGVj5Y9p\">pic.twitter.com\/0iJGVj5Y9p<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Athletic (@TheAthletic) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheAthletic\/status\/2056588824621514811?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><i><span>Gahhhhh<\/span><\/i><span>. Three outs from a signature career moment. Two batters later, a loss. Tough.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3><b>Watch Guide<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>\ud83d\udcfa EPL: Manchester City at AFC Bournemouth<br \/>\n<\/b><b>2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network<br \/>\n<\/b><span>City needs a win to stay alive in the Premier League title race after Arsenal\u2019s squeaky <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7286374\/2026\/05\/18\/arsenal-burnley-analysis\/\"><span>1-0 win<\/span><\/a><span> over Burnley yesterday. Win one for the \u2026 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6269334\/2026\/05\/18\/pep-guardiola-manchester-city-manager-maresca\/\"><span>Pep-per<\/span><\/a><span>? Sorry, sorry, trying to delete.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid3\" data-position=\"mid3\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>\ud83d\udcfa NBA: Cavaliers at Knicks<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><b>8 p.m. ET on ESPN<br \/>\n<\/b><span>And here\u2019s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, in which the Knicks are highly favored to secure their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999. Ticket prices for this one <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7289972\/2026\/05\/18\/knicks-ticket-prices-conference-finals-cavs-spurs-thunder\/\"><span>are astounding<\/span><\/a><span>. I\u2019m excited to see the Garden rocking.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3>Pulse Picks<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/05\/18155109\/0519_TomCondon_Profile.jpg?width=1920&amp;quality=70&amp;auto=webp\" width=\"1920\" height=\"960\"><\/p>\n<p><b>Tom Condon<\/b><span> spent over a decade in the NFL trenches, then became the league\u2019s premier super agent. He\u2019s fought, blocked, talked and negotiated. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7241177\/2026\/05\/18\/tom-condon-nfl-super-agent-chiefs\/\"><span>His latest fight will be his toughest yet<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A final note on the <\/span><b>NFL schedule:<\/b><span> Our staff picked the <\/span><b>must-watch game<\/b><span> for every NFL team during the 2026 season. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7282440\/2026\/05\/18\/nfl-schedule-best-game-team-season\/\"><span>See them here<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Something we may expand on this week is the state of the <\/span><b>College Football Playoff,<\/b><span> which is more chaotic than you think. Seth Emerson has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7288409\/2026\/05\/18\/sec-college-football-playoff-expansion-decision\/\"><span>a helpful explainer on all of it<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>NASCAR<\/b><span> is in a state of flux at the moment, and this past weekend\u2019s <\/span><b>All-Star race<\/b><span> was \u2026 confusing. Jeff Gluck thinks it\u2019s still a worthy race, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7288803\/2026\/05\/18\/nascar-all-star-race-format-future-dover\/\"><span>but has ideas to fix it<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday:<\/b><span> Our report on the white nationalist sign <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7287471\/2026\/05\/17\/nationals-white-nationalist-sign-ban\/\"><span>seen at Nationals Park<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Most-read on the website yesterday:<\/b><span> The NBA <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7270363\/2026\/05\/18\/giannis-anonymous-player-poll-2026\/\"><span>anonymous player poll<\/span><\/a><span> on Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\ud83d\udceb That\u2019s all for now! Say hello at <a href=\"mailto:thepulse@theathletic.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">thepulse@theathletic.com<\/a>, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5803046\/2025\/12\/31\/the-athletic-newsletters-sign-up\/\">our other newsletters<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/realchrisbranch\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">connect with me on Instagram<\/a> for more.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Pull up from 30 today. Coming up:\u00a0 \ud83d\udc7d Wemby, man 7\ufe0f\u20e3 Montreal does it again \ud83c\udfb0 Sorsby\u2019s suit Electricity: A perfect sports night These are the nights that create fandom. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1943025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1943025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1943025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1943025\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1943025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1943025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1943025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}