Yahoo Sports

Karl-Anthony Towns accumulated 14 points (4-of-7 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs), five rebounds, three assists, and four 3-pointers in 33 minutes in Friday’s Game 3 loss to the Nuggets.

Advice: The good news for Towns is that he shot 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. The bad is that he attempted seven shots overall, which is inexcusable for an offensive talent of his caliber. Friday’s game was the first in which KAT failed to reach double figures since Game 2 of Minnesota’s first-round sweep of the Suns. While the Timberwolves could get away with that against Phoenix, the reigning champs are different. Towns needs to be more aggressive in Game 4 on Sunday night, with the Timberwolves still holding a 2-1 series lead. Rotoworld Friday, 9:43 pm

Daniel Gafford (right hand) shot 4-of-6 from the field and 5-of-9 from the foul line in Thursday’s Game 2 win over Dallas, scoring 13 points with seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one blocked shot in 27 minutes.

Advice: Despite injuring his right hand during the second quarter, Gafford played 27 minutes as the starting center and was one of five Mavericks to reach double figures. He did spend some time in the locker room before halftime, but the veteran pivot still shouldered his usual workload. There’s a quick turnaround for Game 3, which will be played on Saturday afternoon in Dallas. Should Gafford’s hand become more problematic, Dereck Lively II would take on added responsibility. The rookie played 20 minutes off the bench in Game 2, finishing with two points (1-of-7 FGs), four rebounds, one assist, and one blocked shot. Rotoworld Thursday, 9:25 pm

Jaylen Brown logged 31 minutes in Thursday’s loss to the Cavaliers, accumulating 19 points (7-of-17 FGs, 5-of-5 FTs), four rebounds, and one assist.

Advice: By his standards, Brown’s effort in Game 2 was pedestrian as the Cavaliers ran the Celtics out of their own arena. While he did shoot 7-of-11 from two, JB missed all six of his attempts from beyond the arc. If anything, Brown’s 4-of-6 effort in Game 1 was a departure from the norm, as he shot 31.1% from three on 5.6 attempts per game in the Miami series. If there’s a positive to take away from the first two games of the Cleveland series, it’s that Brown has gone 9-of-9 from the foul line. By comparison, he shot 45% in the first round. He and the Celtics will attempt to regain control of the series when it shifts to Cleveland for Game 3 on Saturday. Rotoworld Thursday, 6:56 pm

Gafford totaled 16 points (5-12 FG, 6-8 FT), 11 rebounds, one assist and five blocks across 27 minutes during Tuesday's 117-95 loss to the Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

Advice: Gafford recorded a double-double in the loss, adding five blocks. It was arguably his best performance of the postseason and something the Mavericks are going to need more of should they hope to advance to the Conference Finals. Despite the loss, the scoreline does not reflect that the Mavericks kept this close for three quarters. Rotowire.com Tuesday, 10:28 pm

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 32 points (12-of-18 FGs), six rebounds, two assists, one block and four 3-pointers in a 120-95 win over Cleveland in Game 1 on Tuesday.

Advice: After only having one 30-point game in round one and scoring less than 20 points twice, Brown got off to a much better start in this series. He took over early in this game and scored 15 points in the first quarter, though they didn’t fully take control of this game until after that. Despite an off-night from Jayson Tatum (18 points on 7-of-19 FGs), the Celtics were still able to get a big win to open up the series. If Brown continues to play this well, Boston should have no issues returning to the conference finals. Rotoworld Tuesday, 6:38 pm