Thunder, Pacers and Timberwolves look to stay focused after lopsided playoff-opening wins

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves will try to avoid complacency when they return to action on Tuesday after dominating their first-round playoff series openers.

The Thunder, the top seed in the Western Conference, rolled past the Memphis Grizzlies 131-80 on Sunday. It was the fifth-largest postseason victory margin in NBA history and a record for a Game 1.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said the goal for Monday’s practice was to bring everything down a few notches.

“A good neutral day,” Daigneault said. “That’s what you want to have the day after the game. Games are emotional one way or the other, and you want to come in and get to neutral pretty quickly and just dig into the the facts of the game, dig into the plays, dig into the fundamentals.”

Memphis also is trying not to make too big a deal about the first game.

“The outcome shouldn’t play any part in our preparation for the next game," interim Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said. “It’s always, you take the the hours you are afforded and you make the best out of those. So our goal is to win this one here (on Tuesday). I think there’s the old saying that the playoff series doesn’t start before there’s a road win. You’re expected to defend your home court. We will be better in the next game.”

Minnesota defeated the Lakers 117-95 on Saturday and seized homecourt advantage in their Western Conference series. Though Luka Doncic scored 37 points for third-seeded Los Angeles, the Timberwolves slowed LeBron James and Austin Reaves.

Indiana, the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, rolled past No. 5 seed Milwaukee 117-98 on Saturday. The Pacers led 69-43 at halftime and cruised from there.

Things could be much different if Bucks star Damian Lillard returns after missing Game 1. The nine-time All-Star hasn’t played since March 18 as he recovered from deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. He was on the bench in the opener and even got a technical foul for jawing with Indiana's Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton. He is listed as questionable for the game.

Bucks coach Doc Rivers wouldn't say Monday if Lillard would return. Haliburton said the Pacers are ready if he does.

“It can happen at any time — I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened tomorrow,” Haliburton said. “So we’ve got to be prepared for whatever that is, understanding that in the playoffs, it ain’t about individual performances, it’s about winning.”

When/Where to Watch: Game 2, 7 p.m. EDT (NBA TV)

Series: Pacers lead, 1-0

BetMGM Sportsbook says: Pacers by 4.5.

What to Know: Though Lillard is likely to be limited if he plays, it would be worth watching whether his presence would help Milwaukee turn things around after the embarrassing 19-point loss in Game 1. Lillard’s presence is needed for a team that went 9-for-37 from 3-point range in the opener. He averaged 31.3 points per game in last year’s first-round playoff series against Indiana. Perhaps that’s why Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who is planning for Lillard’s return, acknowledged Saturday that Game 2 will be “monumentally” tougher than Game 1. Still, the Pacers are a perfect 7-0 in postseason home games when All-Star Tyrese Haliburton plays, and Indiana has won four of its last five playoff games against Milwaukee.

When/Where to Watch: Game 2, 7:30 p.m. EDT (TNT)

Series: Thunder lead, 1-0

BetMGM Sportsbook says: Thunder by 14.5.

What to Know: Including the regular season, Oklahoma City has won all five games against the Grizzlies by double figures this season. Oklahoma City dominated Game 1, despite NBA scoring champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring only 15 points. Aaron Wiggins scored 21 points to lead the Thunder in Game 1 and he didn't even play in the first quarter. He was the 11th player to enter the game for Oklahoma City. Thunder players are disappointed that their primary defensive stopper, Lu Dort, was not a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year, and the perceived slight seems to have motivated them. Memphis will need more out of its top scorers. Ja Morant scored 17 points on just 6-for-17 shooting in the opener and Jaren Jackson Jr. scored four points on 2-for-13 shooting.

When/Where to Watch: Game 2, 10 p.m. EDT (TNT)

Series: Wolves lead, 1-0.

BetMGM Sportsbook says: Lakers by 5.5

What to Know: After a tumultuous regular season that surprisingly ended with 50 wins and a Pacific Division title, the Lakers will be in big trouble if LeBron James and Luka Doncic can’t answer Minnesota’s impressive performance in the series opener. The Wolves hit a franchise playoff-record 21 3-pointers while carving up the Los Angeles defense inside and out, and Doncic’s 37 points weren’t enough to overcome a passive 19-point effort by James and a poor all-around game from Austin Reaves. JJ Redick’s top job might be finding a way to slow Jaden McDaniels, who took advantage of Minnesota’s size mismatches across the front line to score 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting.

AP Sports Writers Greg Beacham, Mike Marot and Steve Megargee contributed to this report.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, right, dries toward the basket as Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo defends during the second half in Game 1 of an NBA first-round playoff series Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, goes up for a dunk as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, right, defends during the second half in Game 1 of an NBA first-round playoff series Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, center, shoots as Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, right, and guard Luka Doncic defend during the first half in Game 1 of an NBA first-round playoff series Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton, front, heads to the basket as Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo defends during the second half of a first-round NBA basketball playoff game, Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton (0) drives past Milwaukee Bucks' Ryan Rollins during the first half of a first-round NBA basketball playoff game, Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) looks to pass the ball away from Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second half in Game 1 of an NBA first-round playoff series, Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) looks to pass between Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane (22) and forward Marvin Bagley III, right, during the first half in Game 1 of an NBA first-round playoff series, Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

The White House is planning on Friday to unveil President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget, a sweeping framework that's expected to propose steep reductions, if not a wholesale zeroing out, of various federal programs as part of his administration’s priorities.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to strip temporary legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to being deported.

Here's the latest:

“We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status,” he wrote on his social media site Friday morning. “It’s what they deserve!”

Trump and his White House have repeatedly gone after Harvard. In addition to threatening its tax-exempt status, the administration has halted more than $2 billion in grants to Harvard and wants to block the school from being able to enroll international students.

The detailed Army plans for a potential military parade on Trump’s birthday in June call for more than 6,600 soldiers, at least 150 vehicles, 50 helicopters, seven bands and possibly a couple thousand civilians, The Associated Press has learned.

The planning documents, obtained by the AP, are dated April 29 and 30 and have not been publicly released. They represent the Army’s most recent blueprint for its long-planned 250th anniversary festival on the National Mall and the newly added element — a large military parade that Trump has long wanted but is still being discussed.

The Army anniversary just happens to coincide with Trump’s 79th birthday on June 14.

While the slides do not include any price estimates, it would likely cost tens of millions of dollars to put on a parade of that size.

▶ Read more about the Army’s military parade plans

As Trump faces significant pushback from federal judges, a new poll shows U.S. adults are more likely to believe the president is the one overstepping his power rather than the courts -- although Republicans largely think the opposite.

According to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about half of Americans say the president has “too much” power in the way government operates these days. On the other hand, Americans are more likely to believe the federal courts have an appropriate amount of authority. Only about 3 in 10 U.S. adults say that federal judges have “too much” power.

Republicans see it the other way: Roughly half say the federal judiciary has too much power, and only about 2 in 10 say the president does.

▶ Read more about the latest AP-NORC poll

When the Justice Department lifted a school desegregation order in Louisiana this week, officials called its continued existence a “historical wrong” and suggested that others dating to the Civil Rights Movement should be reconsidered.

The end of the 1966 legal agreement with Plaquemines Parish schools announced Tuesday shows the Trump administration is “getting America refocused on our bright future,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said.

Inside the Justice Department, officials appointed by Trump have expressed a desire to withdraw from other desegregation orders they see as an unnecessary burden on schools, according to a person familiar with the issue who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Dozens of school districts across the South remain under court-enforced agreements dictating steps to work toward integration, decades after the Supreme Court struck down racial segregation in education. Some see the court orders’ endurance as a sign the government never eradicated segregation, while officials in Louisiana and at some schools see the orders as bygone relics that should be wiped away.

▶ Read more about the end to the desegregation order

— Collin Binkley

Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aiming to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR as he alleged “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting.

The order instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS” and further requires that that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations. The White House, in a social media posting announcing the signing, said the outlets “receive millions from taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’”

It’s the latest move by Trump and his administration to utilize federal powers to control or hamstring institutions whose actions or viewpoints he disagrees with. Since taking office, Trump has ousted leaders, placed staff on administrative leave and cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to artists, libraries, museums, theaters and others, through takeovers of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

▶ Read more about the executive order

Rubio has been thrown into two top national security jobs at once as Trump presses forward with his top-to-bottom revamp of U.S. foreign policy, upending not only longstanding policies that the former Florida senator once supported but also the configuration of the executive branch.

Trump’s appointment of Rubio to temporarily replace Mike Waltz as national security adviser is the first major leadership shake-up of the nascent administration, but Waltz’s removal had been rumored for weeks — ever since he created a Signal group chat and accidentally added a journalist to the conversation where top national security officials shared sensitive military plans.

So, just over 100 days into his tenure as America’s top diplomat, Rubio now becomes just the second person to hold both positions. He follows only the late Henry Kissinger, who served as both secretary of state and national security adviser for two years under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford in the 1970s.

▶ Read more about Rubio’s new role

The Justice Department asked the high court to put on hold a ruling from a federal judge in San Francisco that kept in place Temporary Protected Status for the Venezuelans that would have otherwise expired last month.

The status allows people already in the United States to live and work legally because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to natural disaster or civil strife.

A federal appeals court had earlier rejected the administration’s request.

Trump’s administration has moved aggressively to withdraw various protections that have allowed immigrants to remain in the country, including ending TPS for a total of 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians. TPS is granted in 18-month increments.

The emergency appeal to the high court came the same day a federal judge in Texas ruled illegal the administration’s efforts to deport Venezuelans under an 18th-century wartime law. The cases are not related.

▶ Read more about the Trump administration’s request

President Donald Trump gives a commencement address at the University of Alabama, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump gives a commencement address at the University of Alabama, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump arrives to give a commencement address at the University of Alabama, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)