NBA playoffs winners, losers: Spurs turn up defense on Wolves in blowout

Julian Champagnie, San Antonio Spurs

Champagnie missed a three-pointer that could have won Game 1 at the buzzer. He shook off the miss Wednesday night and shot 4-of-6 from distance, adding two steals and a blocked shot. He's now shooting 20-of-34 (58.8 percent) on threes for the playoffs.

With so many capable ball-handlers on his team, Champagnie is extremely valuable as a player who excels as a defender, connector and spot-up shooter. If the Spurs need a game-winning three again, they shouldn't hesitate to go to Champagnie again.

Karl-Anthony Towns' mop

Karl-Anthony Towns put up 20 points and 10 boards for the Knicks, but he may have crushed Andre Drummond's spirit in the third quarter with the ease in which he dislodged a ball from behind the basket support after Drummond failed in multiple attempts. Drummond headed to the bench and never returned, clearly due to his shameful mop effort.

Losers

Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves

McDaniels wasn't bad when he was on the court, scoring 12 points in 20 minutes where his team was outscored by only six points. The problem was staying on the court. McDaniels committed his third foul two minutes into the second quarter with his team trailing by seven. By the time he returned in the second half, the Wolves trailed by 24.

With Anthony Edwards hampered by a knee injury, the Wolves can't afford to have McDaniels make reckless fouls — especially against a Spurs team that showed a killer instinct in Game 2.

Paul "Playoff P" George, Philadelphia 76ers

Paul George is known as "Playoff P," a nickname awarded to him by Paul George. In the first half, he was living up to that name, scoring 13 points, dishing three assists and sinking three triples. In the fourth quarter, he was "Layoff P," going 0-of-5 in a quarter where his team managed only 12 points.

Team training staffs

Joel Embiid missed Game 2 with injuries to his hip and ankle. Edwards finished with 12 points and four turnovers playing through a knee injury. Anunoby left the Knicks game in the final minutes with an undisclosed injury. Perhaps this is the nature of a brutal 82-game season and the uptick in minutes and intensity of the playoffs, but when stars are hurt on the NBA's biggest stage, it's a big loss for viewers, teams and the league itself.