Tyrese Maxey erupted for a career-high 50 points as the red-hot Philadelphia 76ers extended their winning streak to eight games with Sunday's 137-126 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Maxey finished 20 of 32 from the field and 7 of 11 from 3-point range to help Philadelphia remain unbeaten since a season-opening loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Oct. 26. The fourth-year guard added five assists and blocked three shots in a superb all-around effort.
Joel Embiid contributed 37 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, though the reigning NBA MVP yielded the spotlight on this night to teammate Maxey, who scored 16 of his points in the fourth quarter to help the Sixers prevail after Indiana grabbed a 105-104 lead with 10 1/2 minutes left.
The 76ers went ahead for good with a 10-2 run that put them up 114-107 with under seven minutes remaining.
Tyrese Haliburton had 25 points and 17 assists for the Pacers, who entered the contest on a three-game winning streak. Myles Turner recorded 22 points in defeat.
Surging Rockets down champion Nuggets for sixth straight win
Fred VanVleet had 26 points and the Houston Rockets overcame another dominant performance from Nikola Jokić in a 107-104 victory over the Denver Nuggets that extended their winning streak to six games.
Alperen Sengun added 23 points and eight rebounds as the upstart Rockets recorded their longest stretch of consecutive wins since a six-game run from Jan. 22-Feb. 2, 2021. Houston went just 22-60 in 2022-23, tied for the second-lowest win total in the NBA last season.
The Rockets had to withstand Jokic's fourth triple-double of the season, as the two-time league MVP racked up season highs of 36 points and 21 rebounds along with 11 assists.
Reigning NBA champion Denver had cut a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit down to one when Jokic's 3-pointer with 19.5 seconds left brought the Nuggets within 103-102. VanVleet then made two free throws on the ensuing possession, and Denver then turned it over before Jalen Green went 1 of 2 from the foul line to give Houston a four-point advantage with 9.1 seconds remaining.
Michael Porter Jr. had 25 points and 10 rebounds as Denver lost for only the second time in 10 games this season. The Nuggets had won four straight coming in.
Timberwolves get past Warriors to extend winning streak
The Minnesota Timberwolves are also on a six-game winning streak following their 116-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors behind Anthony Edwards' 33 points and seven assists.
Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in 21 points and 14 rebounds to help the Timberwolves improve to 7-2 and deal Golden State a third consecutive defeat.
The Warriors got 38 points from Stephen Curry but had an overall off-shooting night, connecting on just 12 of 43 attempts (27.9 per cent) from 3-point range.
Minnesota, on the other hand, shot 66.7 per cent from the field in the third quarter and outscored the Warriors by a 35-22 margin for the period to build an 89-73 lead into the fourth. The Timberwolves maintained a double-digit advantage into the final minute.
The game was the first of two straight meetings between the teams in San Francisco, where the Warriors will host Minnesota again Tuesday.
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.
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."
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