The Knicks had previously received nearly no betting interest in this series or all season long, having just received 3.4 percent of the NBA Finals betting handle at BetMGM. Even with the odds favoring them, the Knicks still have to close out the defending champions.

Perkins has long been touting the Thunder as the best team in the NBA, and after their dominating regular season, it's hard to argue with that. However, the Knicks, compared to OKC at least, have cruised through the postseason and are poised to have plenty of rest before the Conference Finals kick off.

Game 2 looked a lot like Game 1 for New York with a 20-point deficit, a lopsided scoring run and a Mikal Bridges steal to ice the win.

The Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers, the top seeds in the playoffs and owners of the best regular-season records in the NBA, find themselves in dire need of wins as they host Game 5s in the conference semifinals on Tuesday night.

Here's how to watch the NBA playoff Western Conference semifinal series, with game dates, times, TV channels and streaming information.Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.

The Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder looked very much like the dominant teams they were during the regular season in securing lopsided first-round playoff series wins. Suddenly, both teams are facing their first dose of adversity this postseason following Game 1 losses to open Round 2.

Oklahoma City Thunder: +125 (bet $10 to win $22.50 total ... 900 (bet $10 to win $100 total) New York Knicks: +1300 (bet $10 to win $140 total) Denver Nuggets: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 ...