Worth the replay?

1. #1

   KingsatPacers

   NBADown to the wire

   B

   61/100
   ▸ Why this grade

   Late tension30/30

   Swings23/25

   Comeback8/20

   Decided late15/15

   Back-and-forth5/10

   Drama 82 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 61

2. #2

   SpursatPelicans

   NBADown to the wire

   B

   57/100
   ▸ Why this grade

   Late tension30/30

   Swings21/25

   Comeback5/20

   Decided late15/15

   Back-and-forth5/10

   Drama 77 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 57

3. #3

   SunsatTimberwolves

   NBA· Peacock

   B

   56/100
   ▸ Why this grade

   Late tension30/30

   Swings17/25

   Comeback8/20

   Decided late15/15

   Back-and-forth5/10

   Drama 75 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 56

Ranked from each game's win probability as it was played (ESPN's for football and basketball; ours, from the goals, for hockey): how in doubt it was near the end, how far the winner came back from, how late it was decided, how big its momentum swings were and how often a team erased a deficit, with a bonus for overtime. That drama is then weighted by how good a matchup it was going in (its pre-game Watchability score), so a thriller between top teams ranks above an equally wild game between minor ones.