Author: Monojit Mandal
The NBA playoffs have been heating up lately, with some interesting games taking place. The Atlanta Hawks survived by beating the Boston Celtics in Game 5, while the Denver Nuggets went through to the semi-finals by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves. In addition, the Phoenix Suns advanced to the NBA playoffs by defeating the LA Clippers in Game 6 of the first-round playoff series. These games included outstanding performances from players such as Trae Young, Nikola Jokic and Devin Booker.
Celtics – Hawks (117 – 119)
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The Hawks faced the Celtics in Game 5 of the first-round playoffs. The Hawks kept the series alive, rallying to beat the Celtics 119-117, with Trae Young’s 3-point basket with 1.8 seconds left securing the win. Young had a fantastic game, scoring 38 points, dishing out 13 assists and stealing two.
He scored the last 14 points of the game for Atlanta in the absence of Dejounte Murray, who was barred by the league for making contact with an official the night before. To help Young, John Collins scored 22 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 18. The Celtics were led by Jaylen Brown’s 35 points, while Jayson Tatum had 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Boston currently leads the series 3-2, with the match scheduled for Thursday in Atlanta.
Nuggets – Timberwolves (112 – 109)
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In another Western Conference first-round playoff game, the Denver Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-109 in Game 5. Nikola finished with a triple-double of 28 matchpoints, 17 rebounds and 12 assists. Murray led the way with 35 points, with 14 points from Bruce Brown and Aaron Gordon, and 10 rebounds from Michael Porter Jr.
For the fourth time in five consecutive seasons, the Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference semi-finals. The Timberwolves were boosted by 29 points from Edwards, 26 points and 11 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns, as well as 16 points and 15 rebounds from Rudy Gobert.
Suns – Clippers (136 – 130)
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The Suns advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a 136-130 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 6 of their first-round match. Booker helped the Suns win with an impressive effort, scoring 47 points, including 25 in the third quarter. Deandre Ayton scored 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Kevin Durant scored 31.
The Suns overcame a loss in Game 1 to win the series and will face the No. 1 seed Denver Nuggets in the second round, which starts on Saturday in Denver.
For the Clippers, Norman Powell scored 27 points, Mason Plumlee scored 20 and Ivica Zubac scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. The Clippers played the entire series without Paul George (knee injury) and lost Kawhi Leonard (knee injury) after Game 2.