Author: Monojit Mandal
Nuggets dominate Suns 125-100
The Nuggets beat the Suns 125-100 in a remarkable display of dominance, securing their place in the NBA conference finals. The Nuggets, the top seed in the Western Conference, comprehensively outplayed the Suns in their best-of-seven conference semi-final, winning 4-2. This is the Nuggets’ first appearance in the conference finals since the mandatory “bubble” in 2020.
The Nuggets silenced the Phoenix crowd from the start, dominating all areas of the game. By halftime, they had built up an incredible 81-51 lead, which surprised the home crowd and provoked some booing. Despite his illness, Jamal Murray put in a fantastic effort, scoring 26 points to help the Nuggets win. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also played well, scoring 21 points for the team. Denver’s dominance was evident on the court, where the team outscored the Suns 62-46, as well as on the court, where the team outscored the Suns 41-29. In addition, the Nuggets scored 18 second-chance points, compared to the Suns’ seven.
Phoenix, on the other hand, struggled to keep pace with the Nuggets due to several key absentees. Veteran point guard Chris Paul missed his fourth consecutive game due to a knee problem, while power forward Deandre Ayton sat out due to a rib injury. Cameron-Payne, who shone with his three-point shooting, hitting seven of nine attempts and scoring 31 points, helped keep the Suns’ hopes alive. Kevin Durant scored 23 points and Devin Booker added 12, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Suns from repeating last year’s dismal exit at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks.
Celtics beat 76ers 95-86
The Boston Celtics beat the 76ers 95-86 in another game to advance to the decisive Game 7 in their Eastern Conference semi-final series.
Former MVP James-Harden, on the other hand, struggled, scoring just 13 points on four of 13 shots. Despite his problems at the start of the game, Tatum maintained his confidence throughout, demonstrating his belief in his talent as one of the best basketball players in the world. His teammates, who included Marcus Smart (22 points), Jaylen Brown (17 points) and Malcolm Brogdon (16 points off the bench), were key to his development.
The Celtics managed to take a 15-3 lead. Despite the Sixers’ efforts, Boston extended their lead twice, leading by 16 points in the second quarter. Philadelphia recovered and ended up taking the lead 64-62 in the third quarter.
The Celtics’ Jayson-Tatum became the hero of the game, scoring 16 of his game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter. Before that, he had been fighting, but had only hit one of his 14 attempts from the ground. His four three-pointers helped the Celtics thwart Philadelphia’s comeback attempt.
The Celtics now have home-court advantage in Game 7, where they would like to prevent the 76ers from reaching their first conference final since 2001. Joel Embiid, who just won the NBA MVP award, performed admirably for the 76ers.
Results
Nuggets 125 – 100 Suns
Celtics 95-86 76ers