The Phoenix Suns have clinched the fourth seed in the Western Conference after defeating the undermanned Denver Nuggets 119-115 on Thursday.
The victory was Phoenix's seventh in a row, having been ignited by the return of Kevin Durant for their past five fixtures after he missed over three weeks of action in March.
Durant has personally not played in a loss since January 5, winning his last two games for the Brooklyn Nets before being traded while injured, and he has won all eight Suns games he has suited up for.
He was again the key against the Nuggets, scoring a team-high 29 points on nine-of-18 shooting, including six-of-10 from three-point range, while adding seven rebounds and four assists in an eyebrow-raising 41 minutes as head coach Monty Williams gave his star extended run.
Chris Paul was terrific in support, tying his regular season career-high with seven made three-pointers on the way to 25 points (nine-of-15 shooting) and only one turnover.
Devin Booker was the primary playmaker for the Suns, racking up eight assists, but it was also due to a poor shooting night where he finished three-of-12 from the field for his 15 points.
Despite the loss – where starters Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope sat out – Bruce Brown showed why he will have a key role in the playoffs as he put up 31 points (11-of-18 shooting), six rebounds and four assists as the stand-in top option.
Thunder hang on to final play-in spot
The Oklahoma City Thunder kept their playoff hopes alive with a 114-98 road win against the Utah Jazz, denying the Dallas Mavericks for the time being.
If the Thunder had lost, they would have slipped to 38-43 and been overtaken by the 38-42 Mavs, but they instead rode a terrific team effort to victory as seven Oklahoma City players scored in double-figures.
The result leaves the Thunder a half-game clear of the Mavericks in the race for the Western Conference's 10th seed, with OKC's last game of the season to come at home against the Memphis Grizzlies, while Dallas will host the Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs to close out their regular season.
Miami bring the heat to Philadelphia
The Philadelphia 76ers had almost nothing to play for against the Miami Heat, and it showed, with the visitors collecting a 129-101 road triumph.
Miami (43-37) still have a small chance at avoiding the play-in tournament if they can overtake the Brooklyn Nets (44-36) in the final stages, and they got the job done in Philadelphia thanks to Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro.
Butler was rock-solid with an equal team-high 24 points on nine-of-12 shooting, adding six assists, while Herro shot seven-of-17 for his 24 points and five assists.
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."
Timberwolves demolish Nuggets to force Game 7
The Minnesota Timberwolves needed a win to keep their season alive.
They proceeded to obliterate the Denver Nuggets.
The Timberwolves rode a 20-0 run in the first quarter en route to a 115-70 thrashing of the Nuggets on Thursday to force a Game 7 in their Western Conference semi-final series.
Anthony Edwards led the way with 27 points and Jaden McDaniels added 21 on 8-of-10 shooting as Minnesota recorded the second-largest play-off win in NBA history when facing elimination.
The Wolves led by as much as 50 to send the series back to Denver on Sunday with a berth in the West finals on the line.
After winning the first two games of the series in Denver, Minnesota suddenly found itself on the brink of elimination after losing Games 3 and 4 on its home court and Tuesday's 112-97 defeat back in Denver.
The Timberwolves then trailed 9-2 early in Game 6 before turning the tables on the Nuggets.
They scored the next 20 points and went on a 27-2 run on their way to taking a 31-14 lead after the first 12 minutes.
Edwards sparked the first-quarter surge, racking up 14 points in the opening period after scoring 18 total points in Game 5.
The Wolves clamped down defensively and dominated the boards to turn Game 6 into a laugher.
Minnesota limited Denver to just 7-of-36 shooting from 3-point range (19.4 per cent) and held a 62-43 advantage on the glass, with big men Rudy Gobert (14), Karl-Anthony Towns (13) and Naz Reid (11) combining for 38 boards.
NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 22 points and nine rebounds for the defending champions, but Jamal Murray struggled mightily from the floor, making just 4-of-18 shots and finishing with 10 points.
Mike Conley returned after missing Game 5 because of soreness in his right Achilles tendon, and finished with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.
The Timberwolves opened the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run to open up a 30-point lead, prompting the Nuggets to empty their bench just over two minutes into the final period.
Less than 90 seconds later, that lead grew to 36 points and Minnesota took out its starters.
The Wolves bench picked up right where the starters left off to finish off a 24-0 run as the lead ballooned to 50.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
