Worth the replay?

1. #1

   SpursatTimberwolves

   NBA· Prime VideoDown to the wire

   C+

   45/100
   ▸ Why this grade

   Late tension30/30

   Swings15/25

   Comeback1/20

   Decided late10/15

   Back-and-forth5/10

   Drama 60 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 45

2. #2

   Knicksat76ers

   NBA· Prime Video

   D

   26/100
   ▸ Why this grade

   Late tension7/30

   Swings16/25

   Comeback7/20

   Decided late1/15

   Back-and-forth3/10

   Drama 34 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 26

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.