The Los Angeles Lakers collected their fifth win from their past six games as they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 123-111 away from home on Friday.
Lakers center Anthony Davis was the star of the show, piling up a game-high 38 points on 15-of-26 shooting while adding a game-high 17 rebounds and an equal team-high two blocks.
Superstar running-mate LeBron James was not as his offensive best, shooting seven-of-19 from the field, but he found a way to contribute with 10 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal to go with his 18 points.
The Timberwolves actually led by 10 at half-time, but the Lakers came out of the break and produced a 35-18 third period to snatch control of the contest.
An Anthony Edwards three-pointer early in the fourth period cut the Lakers' lead to nine, but from that point Davis would score 15 of Los Angeles' next 17 points, taking over when his team needed him most.
It was a disappointing performance from Edwards, finishing four-of-16 from the field for 11 points. Karl-Anthony Towns was strong with 23 points (eight-of-18), and Mike Conley led the Wolves with 25 (seven-of-11) and seven assists.
It was a costly loss for Minnesota, as they could have begun threatening the sixth-seeded Warriors with a win, but instead dropped down to ninth at 39-39.
The Lakers (39-38) jumped two spots up to seventh, and are just 1.5 games behind Golden State (41-37).
Brunson outduels Mitchell in Cleveland
Jalen Brunson put together one of the best games of his career as he carried the New York Knicks to a 130-116 victory on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Brunson set a new career-high with 48 points on 18-of-32 shooting, and he also dished nine assists. It is the fourth time this season he has scored at least 40 points after never scoring more than 34 during his four years in Dallas.
Donovan Mitchell was determined to match Brunson every step of the way, dropping 23 points in the first quarter on his way to 42 (16-of-23) for the game, but Cleveland fell away in a disappointing 25-14 fourth period.
Barring any major losing streak from either of these teams the rest of the regular season, Cleveland will host New York as the Eastern Conference's four-five first-round playoff matchup.
Banchero bullies the Wizards
Number one draft pick Paolo Banchero showed why he is the future of the Orlando Magic after a dominant display in a 116-109 road win over the Washington Wizards.
Banchero, the runaway Rookie of the Year favourite, scored a game-high 30 points, blocked a game-high three shots and snatched down a team-high 12 rebounds, while also leading the Magic with six assists.
Fellow number one pick Markelle Fultz was similarly impressive, shooting 11-of-15 from the field for his 25 points, six rebounds and four assists, while 21-year-old talent Franz Wagner chipped in 20 points (eight-of-14).
Mavs coach Kidd: Doncic is 'not a robot'
Jason Kidd reminded the media that Luka Doncic is "not a robot" after the Dallas Mavericks star turned in a peculiar display against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Doncic delivered his best performance of the playoffs on Wednesday, finishing with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a 104-92 victory.
The Mavericks are now just one win away from the Western Conference finals.
But what was different about Doncic's night was the fact he rarely remonstrated with the officials, having previously expanded a lot of energy doing just that in Game 4 of the series.
"He's human; he's not a robot," Kidd said.
"Sometimes we just pencil in that he's going to put in 30, 10 and 10. You know the playoffs are hard mentally and physically.
"Before the game, understand you are not going to get any calls on the road. You got to understand you got to play through it."
For Doncic, it was a case of just focusing on what he could control.
"Just focus on basketball," Doncic said. "Remember the thing I love, the thing I love to do. Just play basketball.
"I talked to them [the officials] normally, without complaining.
"I think it was the whole game, nothing. So I just go out there and hoop. Have fun, have fun. It was the old Luka, a smile on my face."
Doncic's teammate Derrick Jones Jr suggested the Slovenian's sharpness in the warm-up told him all he needed to know about what was to come.
"I was just sitting back saying, 'It's going to be a long day for them,'" Jones said.
"Once he gets his rhythm and he's got it going, you can't stop him."
Kyrie Irving believes Doncic can take lessons from his Game 5 performance.
"I think he can learn from this tonight as well as all of us and just continue to affirm to himself that when he is focused on just his game and he's focused on doing the right things, then we flourish as a team," he said.
"I'm not going to sit up here and complain about him. I'm not going to do that.
"I've got to give my brother a little benefit of the doubt. Sometimes it is warranted to get on the guys that are refereeing the game, but I think he found a healthy balance tonight where he was just really focused on getting us going offensively and making the right plays and making sure that we kept our foot on the gas pedal."
Return to Eastern Conference finals a sign of Boston's character, claims Tatum
Jayson Tatum believes the Boston Celtics' return to the Eastern Conference finals shows the character of the team.
Boston beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-98 on Wednesday to book their place in the Conference finals for a third straight season.
It is the sixth time in the past eight years that the Celtics have reached the finals.
"It just shows the character of the team, the organisation," said Tatum, who led Boston with 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
"People might think that it's a given that we're supposed to be here, but I give a lot of credit to everyone in the front office, the coaching staff, the trainers, the guys that hand out the equipment, the ball boys, the cooks, the chefs, the security team. We're all in this together. I do, I mean that.
"Everybody has an effect on each other, and we all impact each other to help winning and build this culture that we have.
"Everybody should be proud of themselves. Obviously, it's not the end all, be all. We want to win a championship, but we're doing something right."
Coach Joe Mazzulla lauded the mentality and attitude of his team.
"Close-out games are tough. It's a level of stress, anxiety, desperation; it takes what it takes," he said. "You've got to play 48 [minutes] hopefully, maybe more at times.
"And at the end of the day, you just got to keep going, continue to chip away at the things you can control."
The Celtics will face either the New York Knicks or the Indiana Pacers for a place in the Championship game.
NBA: Celtics advance to third straight Eastern Conference finals, Mavs take 3-2 lead
Jayson Tatum had 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and five other players scored in double figures as the Boston Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight season with a 113-98 victory over the depleted Cleveland Cavaliers.
Al Horford added 22 points, 15 rebounds and six of Boston’s 19 3-pointers to notch their third consecutive win of the series in Game 5.
Derrick White had 18 points with four 3s and Jrue Holiday scored 13 for the Celtics, who will next face either Indiana or the Knicks, with New York currently leading that series 3-2.
Evan Mobley scored a playoff career-high 33 points and Marcus Morris Sr. added 25 with five 3s for the Cavaliers, who played without All-Star Donovan Mitchell (calf), center Jarrett Allen (rib) and key reserve Caris LeVert (knee).
Cleveland pulled within 88-85 early in the fourth on Mobley’s dunk, but Boston took control with a 13-2 run that was capped by Tatum’s 3.
Doncic helps Mavericks to 3-2 lead
Luka Dončić had a 31-point triple double and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Doncic shot 12 of 22 from the field and had 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his sixth career playoff triple-double. He averaged 22 points on 39 percent shooting through the first four games of the series.
Derrick Jones Jr. added a playoff career-high 19 points and P.J. Washington had 10 points and 10 boards for Dallas, which shot 52.6 percent from the floor and had a 46-33 rebounding advantage.
The Mavericks can advance to the West finals with a win on Saturday at home.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points for the top-seeded Thunder, but no teammate had more than 13 points.
Dallas extended to an 18-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but Oklahoma City cut the deficit to 90-83 on Chet Holmgren’s dunk with 5:17 remaining. But Washington hit a 3 and then dunked to put the Mavs up by 10 and the Thunder never got closer than nine thereafter.
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