No De'Aaron Fox, no worries for the Sacramento Kings, as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-95 on the road to improve their record to 14-10.
Fox leads the Kings in scoring at 22.8 points per game and could be on track for his first All-Star appearance, but he missed just his second game of the season on Friday with right foot soreness.
His absence was balanced out by the Cavaliers missing Donovan Mitchell, but with the Cavaliers still rolling out All-Stars Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, as well as Rookie of the Year runner-up Evan Mobley, they still had more than enough firepower.
But, lacking a true number-one scoring option, the Kings turned the contest into a slow, low-scoring grind, relying on excellent outside shooting to maximise their limited possessions and pull away with a 27-15 fourth quarter, including a 19-0 run to end the game.
Four of the Kings starters scored at least 18 points each, with Harrison Barnes' 20 points finishing as a team-high, while Domantas Sabonis played a superb all-round game to post 18 points, 18 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks.
As a team, Sacramento shot 16-of-33 (48.5 per cent) from three-point range, and six of those makes came from rookie Keegan Murray, scoring all 18 of his points from beyond the arc on just eight attempts.
Speaking after the game, head coach Mike Brown spoke about how it feels to take a road win against the team sitting third in the Eastern Conference.
"That was a big, big, big-time win for us," he said. "When you get a win like that on the road, that’s a sign you have a really good team.
"Now, I hope I’m not jumping the gun on that, but this was my favourite game of the season."
Harrison Barnes added: "To come here after losing to Milwaukee, we kind of wanted to make a statement – and we did."
The Kings have now won 11 of their past 15 games, and have a chance to break into the top-four in the Western Conference if they can handle their business in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks on Sunday.
'We played harder' – Carlisle proud of Pacers' efforts after Indiana force Game 7
Rick Carlisle hailed the efforts of his Indiana Pacers players after they forced their playoff series with the New York Knicks to Game 7.
Carlisle challenged his players directly in the wake of their loss in Game 5, which put them 3-2 down in the series.
And the Pacers responded with a fine display in a 116-103 victory, which sees the series go down to the wire, with Game 7 set for Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
"It was just activity. We played harder tonight, which was a must," Carlisle said.
"We moved the ball better and we got more rebounds, and that's obviously a big key to the series.
"We gotta brace for Sunday. And we must be ready."
Tyrese Haliburton had 15 points and nine assists for the Pacers, and said: "Coaches challenged our effort, I think that was the biggest thing.
"We had some boneheaded things happen [in Game 5].
"He [Carlisle] just really challenged our group [players] 1-15 on how can we be better."
Jalen Brunson finished with 31 points for the Knicks, but he was not overly impressed by his own performance.
"They try to make things difficult," Brunson said. "And I have to adjust as well. Show me different looks and I have to do a better job of reading it."
NBA: Siakam leads Pacers past Knicks to force Game 7 in East semifinals
Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and Myles Turner added 17 as the Indiana Pacers rolled to a 116-103 victory over the New York Knicks to force Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday.
Andrew Nembhard, Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell each added 15 points, with Nembhard grabbing six rebounds and handing out six assists. Haliburton had nine assists as the Pacers remained perfect in six home games in this postseason.
The winner of Game 7 in New York on Sunday will advance to face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
Jalen Bruson scored 31 points on 11-of-26 shooting after missing his final 11 shots in the first half. Deuce McBride added 20 points with four 3-pointers as the Knicks fell to 0-3 on the road in this series.
Already decimated by injuries, the Knicks lost starting forward Josh Hart in the fourth quarter due to abdominal soreness.
Hart was seen holding his midsection multiple times during the game and asked to be taken out after he had five points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes.
New York is already without All-Star Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Indiana used a 14-6 run in the third quarter to take control, turning a 61-56 lead into a 75-62 advantage. The Pacers maintained at least a 10-point edge the rest of the way.
Conley return completes Timberwolves as they force Nuggets decider
Mike Conley Jr. said his return had completed the Minnesota Timberwolves after they crushed the Denver Nuggets to force a Game 7 in the teams' Western Conference semifinal series.
The Nuggets had the chance to eliminate the Timberwolves at Target Center on Thursday after going 3-2 up in the series, but the hosts roared back to tie things up with a 115-70 rout.
Anthony Edwards led the way with 27 points and Jaden McDaniels added 21 on 8-of-10 shooting, with the Timberwolves' win the second-largest NBA Playoff victory by a team facing elimination in history.
Edwards put the team's improvement down to the return of guard Conley, who missed Game 5 after suffering from soreness in his right Achilles tendon.
Asked what had changed for Minnesota, Edwards said: "We got Mike Conley back. That was it."
Conley said: "Obviously I wanted to play the last game. I just couldn't move at all. Tonight it was a no-brainer.
"I was going to try to find a way. We're just better when we're a complete team."
MVP Nikola Jokic had 22 points and nine rebounds for the defending champions, who were stunned by a 20-0 first-quarter run from the third-seeded Timberwolves.
Asked how Denver would look to forget about the loss, Jokic said: "I think we shouldn't.
"I think we need to let it sink in. It's a great loss. They destroyed us, and we should learn from it."
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