Stephen Curry reserved special praise for Klay Thompson despite his own latest spectacular performance for the Golden State Warriors on Friday.
The Warriors extended their winning streak to six games as they beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-103 to move to 17-2 for the season.
Curry led the way with 32 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, surpassing Scottie Pippen for 62nd place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
The Warriors' impressive form has come despite the continued wait for the return of star shooter Thompson, who this week returned to full-team practice for the first time in more than two years.
Thompson, a key part of the championship-winning sides in 2015, 2017 and 2018, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear during the Warriors' failed 'three-peat' attempt in 2019 and then injured his Achilles tendon during recovery.
Thompson, who was serenaded by the crowd at Chase Center where he stayed on the bench for more than 20 minutes, is now going through perhaps the most difficult part of his journey back to the court, according to Curry.
"I kind of predicted this would be the hardest part of his journey because he's got the basketball back in his hands every day, he's feeling like himself, he's playing pickup and he's around our practices and back with us in those type of situations, but he's still not on the court," Curry said.
"The good thing is we're talking weeks instead of months now. I'm super proud of just the way he's approached this two-year window because unless he wants to write a book and [explain] every step, nobody will understand what he's been through away from the game so long. And it shows how much this game matters to him."
Portland threatened a late comeback when they moved to within eight points in the final six minutes, but the Warriors are nothing if not resolute, two Curry three-pointers helping to safeguard their lead.
"We know these type of nights where we play at home, do the defence, get the crowd into it. It's all about just trying to create an identity here. We've got to do our part throughout the season to win games," he said.
"The defence is huge. We always pride ourselves on being a top-five defensive and we got to that level quickly. We've got to sustain it, obviously.
"Integrating our new guys, the shooting we have, ball movement, there was no guarantee that was going to be a smooth process. I'm proud of everybody stepping up, understanding how we play and everybody enjoying themselves."
Brunson: Injuries and fatigue 'no excuse' for Knicks' heavy Game 4 defeat
Jalen Brunson refused to make excuses for the New York Knicks after injuries and fatigue hampered them in their Game 4 defeat to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
The Pacers recorded a dominant 121-89 win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to level the teams' Eastern Conference semifinal series at 2-2, with Tyrese Haliburton scoring a team-high 20 points.
Haliburton was one of six Indiana players in double figures but it was their defense that did the hard yards, limiting Brunson to just 18 points in support of Alec Burks, who had 20 points of his own.
Brunson entered the contest averaging a league-high 34.6 points this postseason, but he was 6-of-17 shooting and received little support from elsewhere as Josh Hart had two points in 24 minutes and Donte DiVincenzo tallied seven.
The Knicks were sluggish from the off as they played a second straight game without defensive stopper OG Anunoby, who sustained a hamstring injury in Game 2.
Brunson, however, was not about to excuse their poor performance.
"We can talk about fresher legs and you can give us all the pity that we want," he said. "Yeah, we're shorthanded, but that doesn't matter right now.
"We have what we have and we need to go forward with that. There is no excuse. There's no excuse whatsoever. If we lose, we lose. That's what that was."
The series will now head back to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday for Game 5, and Pacers coach Rick Carlisle expects a strong response from their opponents.
"New York is a team that has shown that it has an indomitable will to compete and rise above anything people say they can't do," Carlisle said.
"We've seen it throughout the season. We've seen it in this series. We're believers in that, and so we've got to focus on us.
"Everything is going to be a situation where you've got your hands completely full."
'Never underestimate the heart of a champion' – Malone hails Nuggets after series-levelling win
Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone quoted former Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich after watching his team level their Western Conference semifinal series on Sunday, saying: "Never underestimate the heart of a champion."
The Nuggets levelled their series with the Minnesota Timberwolves at 2-2 with a dominant road performance, triumphing 115-107 at Target Center.
Denver never trailed after taking a 23-22 lead on Aaron Gordon's three-point play near the end of the first quarter, stretching their advantage to as many as 18 points early in the third.
While Minnesota pulled within seven with just under two minutes remaining, they failed to make another basket as the Nuggets levelled things up ahead of Game 5 on Tuesday.
Gordon amassed 27 points on 11-of-12 shooting while NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 35 points, with 16 of those coming in the fourth quarter.
The reigning champions are now slight favourites to reach the NBA Finals as they prepare to host Game 5, leading Malone to hail their mentality.
"What I found is Rudy T is right, man, 'never underestimate the heart of a champion'," Malone said, referring to Tomjanovich's infamous quote in the aftermath of Houston's 1995 championship.
"They were quick to write us off, but these guys, we won a championship a year ago. We went into Miami [in the Finals], won two games in a row.
"This team has been tested time and time again, and we found a way to solve whatever's been thrown at us.
"This series is a long way from being over. We're not celebrating. It's 2-2, but what I found about our group is that they do believe in themselves.
"More importantly, they believe in the man next to them. We have a group that is acting as you would hope a championship team would act."
Gordon echoed his coach's sentiments, saying: "I love it when people count us out.
"A lot of these guys have been counted out before in their careers. They've been the underdogs or the dark horse in their careers before.
"So, I don't think it was anything new to the individuals. It was new to our collective, but I liked the challenge, and I'm glad we accepted it and put ourselves in a good position with home court."
NBA: Nuggets, Pacers win to even series
Nikola Jokić scored 16 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter as the Denver Nuggets held off the Minnesota TImberwolves to earn a critical 115-107 win in Sunday's Game 4 of a Western Conference semifinal series.
Aaron Gordon also provided the Nuggets a huge lift by amassing 27 points on 11-of-12 shooting as the reigning NBA champions evened the series at 2-2. Jamal Murray added 19 points, 12 of which came in the third quarter, to help Denver to its second straight victory in Minnesota after the TImberwolves won Games 1 and 2 on the road.
The best-of-seven series will return to Denver for Tuesday's pivotal Game 5.
Denver also overcame another superb performance from Minnesota's Anthony Edwards, who put up a play-off career-high 44 points for his third 40-point effort in this post-season.
Edwards' All-Star teammate Karl-Anthony Towns struggled, however, as he was held to 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds.
The Nuggets never trailed after taking a 23-22 lead on Gordon's three-point play with 2:39 left in the first quarter. They led 29-24 after one period, then scored the final eight points of the first half to own a 64-49 advantage at intermission.
Murray capped the opening half by draining a 3-point shot from half-court as the buzzer sounded.
Denver's lead swelled to as many as 18 points early in the third quarter, but the Timberwolves gradually chipped away and cut their deficit to 111-104 when Edwards followed teammate Jaden McDaniels' 3-pointer with a running layup with 1:41 left to play.
Minnesota didn't make another basket the rest of the way, though, and Jokic sealed the outcome by scoring off a Gordon feed out of a timeout with 25.8 seconds remaining to make the score 115-107.
Pacers clamp down on Knicks to even series
The Eastern Conference now has a series all even at two games apiece as well after the Indiana Pacers came through with a dominant 121-89 Game 4 rout of the New York Knicks.
Tyrese Haliburton led a balanced Indiana scoring attack with 20 points, but it was the Pacers' defence that provided the biggest reason why the series is now all tied as it heads back to New York for Tuesday's Game 5.
The Knicks shot a meagre 18.9 per cent (7 for 37) from 3-point range, their lowest accuracy rate in a play-off game since 2000, and 33.7 per cent overall in by far their most lopsided defeat of this post-season. Star guard Jalen Brunson, who entered the contest averaging a league-leading 34.6 points per game in the post-season, was held to 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting.
T.J. McConnell added 15 points and 10 assists for Indiana, which immediately assumed control by opening the game on a 19-6 run and shooting 60.9 per cent in the first quarter.
New York, on the other hand, went 6 of 23 from the field in the opening period and trailed 34-14 entering the second.
The Pacers continued to dominate in the second quarter, building a lead as large as 30 points and taking a commanding 69-41 advantage into the break. Five Pacers scored in double figures in the first half, led by Haliburton's 13 points.
New York failed to mount a challenge in the second half as well, as the Pacers extended the margin to 101-63 after three quarters and led by as many as 43 points in the fourth.
Alec Burks finished with 20 points to lead the Knicks, who played without defensive stopper OG Anunoby for a second straight game due to a left hamstring injury he sustained in Game 2.
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