If things were normal, the next five nights would be filled with playoff hoops, Game 2s and Game 3s of first round series. With no live basketball for us to enjoy, the bulk of this week’s NBA TV schedule features some of the best first round games in the archive.
The work week will start with some big performances from this season. And on Friday, it’s a celebration of one of the best players in NBA history.
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Monday: The best of the best
8 p.m. ET: Jazz at Bucks, Nov. 25, 2019 (Pop Up Edition)
Monday’s schedule will feature some of the best performances from this season’s Kia MVP candidates. The prime-time game is a Pop Up Edition of an early-season Jazz-Bucks game in which reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a season-high 50 points. He scored more points in the restricted area (24) than the Jazz did as a team (16) and the Bucks overcame a 13-point deficit in what was their eighth of 18 straight wins.
10:30 p.m. ET: Lakers at Mavs, Nov. 1, 2019
There have been 30 30-point triple-doubles this season, and two of them happened in the same game. In what was one of the best head-to-head matchups of the season, LeBron James put up 39, 12 and 16, while Luka Doncic almost matched him with 31, 13 and 15. The Lakers came back from 10 points down in the fourth quarter and beat the Mavs in overtime.
Tuesday: Big East
8 p.m. ET: Knicks at Pistons, April 27, 1984 (Pop Up Edition)
How about two Hall of Famers — Bernard King and Isaiah Thomas — going head-to-head in a series-deciding Game 5 that goes to overtime? That’s what you got for the Pop Up Edition of this game in which King put up 44 and 12 (shooting 17-for-26), while Thomas registered 35 points and 12 assists.
10 p.m. ET: Bucks at Celtics, May 17, 1987 (Film room with McHale and Bill Simmons)
The Celtics played two Game 7s on their way to the 1987 Finals. Hall of Famer Kevin McHale joins The Ringer’s Bill Simmons to watch the first of those, a narrow victory over the Bucks in which Boston’s “Big Three” combined for 80 points and 44 rebounds.
Wednesday: Nuggets Stun the Sonics
8 p.m. ET: Nuggets at Sonics, May 7, 1994 (Pop Up Edition)
The first eighth seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in NBA history had to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a five-game series. The Nuggets won Games 3 and 4 at home and then returned to Seattle, where Game 5 went to overtime and ended with the iconic image of Dikembe Mutombo lying on his back and holding the game ball in exultation.
Thursday: We Believe!
8 p.m. ET: Mavs at Warriors, May 3, 2007 (Pop Up Edition)
The first eighth seed to win a best-of-seven series was the 2007 Warriors, who upset MVP Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs, winning Game 1 in Dallas and then holding serve at home. They put Game 6 (and the series) away with a 36-15 third quarter in which Stephen Jackson scored 15 of his 33 points.
Friday: Happy birthday, Big Fundamental
8 p.m. ET: Nets at Spurs, June 15, 2003 (Pop Up Edition)
Celebrate Tim Duncan’s 44th birthday with some of his best games all day long. In this Pop Up Edition showing, Duncan comes two blocks away from a quadruple-double (he finished with 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and eight blocks) as the Spurs won their second of five championships with a come-from-behind win over New Jersey in Game 6 of the 2003 Finals.
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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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