Devin Booker hit a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds remaining to give the Phoenix Suns a 116-113 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday that extended their winning streak to seven games.
Booker finished with 28 points and 11 assists and Eric Gordon had 25 points as the Suns continued their winning ways despite star Kevin Durant missing a second straight game with a sore right foot.
Phoenix also overcame a 35-point, eight-assist effort from New York's Jalen Brunson to snap the Knicks' four-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden.
Booker's deciding shot came after the Knicks scored four straight points to pull even, with Brunson hitting a fadeaway jumper with 21.9 seconds left following a Phoenix turnover to tie the contest at 113-113.
Brunson had a chance to force overtime in the final seconds, but his long 3-point try as time expired missed the mark.
The Suns led by as many as 15 points in the first half and owned a 79-66 advantage in the third quarter, but the Knicks went on an 18-5 run later in the period and the game remained tight into the latter stages.
Julius Randle added 28 points for New York and Immanuel Quickley contributed 18 off the bench.
Bucks put forth big rally to win Lillard's first meeting with Blazers
Giannis Antetokounmpo also came through with a tie-breaking basket with time winding down, as his tip-in with 18.5 seconds left helped the Milwaukee Bucks to a stirring 108-102 comeback victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Bucks rallied from a 26-point deficit to win the first meeting between the teams since the Blazers traded franchise icon Damian Lillard to Milwaukee in September. Lillard, who spent his first 11 seasons with Portland and is the Trail Blazers' all-time scoring leader, had 17 of his 31 points in the second half to aid the comeback.
Antetokounmpo finished with 33 points, 16 rebounds and six assists in the Bucks' seventh win in eight games.
The rebuilding Blazers shot 52 percent over the first two quarters to build a 68-52 halftime lead, then extended the margin to 81-55 three minutes into the third quarter.
Milwaukee responded with a 17-2 run, however, and continued to cut into the deficit until Lillard's 3-pointer with 2:53 remaining created a 97-97 tie.
The game remained deadlocked until Antetokounmpo tipped in teammate Bobby Portis' putback attempt to put the Bucks up by a 104-102 score. Lillard then sealed the win by making four free throws in the closing seconds.
Jerami Grant had 22 points in Portland's ninth loss in 10 games, while Malcolm Brogdon recorded 18 points and 12 assists.
Magic get past Hornets for seventh straight win
The Orlando Magic are also riding a seven-game winning streak following Sunday's 130-117 victory over the Charlotte Hornets behind 30 points from both Franz Wagner and Cole Anthony.
Paolo Banchero added 23 points, seven rebounds and eight assists to help Orlando to its longest winning streak in nearly 13 years. The Magic last won seven in a row during a franchise-record nine-game run from Dec. 23, 2010-Jan. 12, 2011.
Anthony scored 18 of his points in the fourth quarter as Orlando gradually pulled away before putting the game out of reach with a 12-3 run that gave the Magic a 120-104 lead with four minutes remaining.
Charlotte got guard Terry Rozier back from a groin injury that caused him to miss the team's previous nine games, but played the second half without star point guard LaMelo Ball after he injured his right ankle late in the second quarter.
Rozier had 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go along with nine assists in his return. Miles Bridges led the Hornets, who came in having won a season-high two straight, with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
NBA: Nuggets end Timberwolves' perfect postseason with rout, Pacers edge Knicks
Nikola Jokić had 24 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists and Jamal Murray bounced back with 24 points as the Denver Nuggets rolled to a 117-90 rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals on Friday.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 21 points and Aaron Gordon had 13 for the Nuggets, who cruised to an easy win on the road after dropping the first two games at home.
They are the 30th team in the history of the NBA playoffs to lose the first two games at home in a best-of-seven series. Five of them have rallied to win, most recently the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round in 2021.
Game 4 is Sunday in Minneapolis.
Murray totalled just 25 points on 9-of-32 shooting over the first two games but was 11 of 21 in this one.
Denver shot 14 of 29 from 3-point range with Gordon and Porter combining to hit 7 of 9.
Anthony Edwards was held in check with 19 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 14 for a Wolves team that suffered its first loss in seven playoff games.
Minnesota shot 10 of 33 from long range and fell behind by as many as 34 points down the stretch.
Pacers rally to cut deficit to 2-1
Andrew Nembhard drilled a 31-foot, tiebreaking 3-pointer with 16 seconds left and Tyrese Haliburton had 35 points with six 3-pointers as the Indiana Pacers rallied for a 111-106 win over the banged-up New York Knicks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Knicks lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 on Sunday in Indianapolis. New York held a nine-point lead with 9:45 remaining but was unable to hold the lead with star guard Jalen Brunson slowed by a right foot injury.
Nembhard scored all five of his points in the final minute, connecting on a long 3 as the shot clock expired to give the Pacers a 109-106 lead.
Brunson missed a potential tying 3 with 14 seconds left and finished with 26 points on 10-of-26 shooting.
Donte DiVincenzo scored 35 points and was 7 for 11 on 3s, while Alec Burks, who came in having played just 1 minute in the playoffs, scored 14 points in 21 minutes for the Knicks, who played without starting forward OG Anunoby.
It’s unclear whether Anunoby can recover from his injured left hamstring to play Sunday.,
Haliburton triggered Indiana’s comeback in the fourth quarter. He completed a three-point play and then made back-to-back layups to make it 98-96. After Brunson made a free throw, Pascal Siakam tied the score with a three-point play.
The teams traded the lead four more times, with Brunson’s 3 tying it at 106 with 42 seconds remaining.
Budenholzer agrees to five-year contract to coach Suns
The Phoenix Suns are making Mike Budenholzer their next head coach with the sides agreeing to a five-year contract, according to reports.
A formal announcement is expected to come Saturday.
Budenholzer, 54, last coached the Milwaukee Bucks before he was let go after they were upset by the Miami Heat in the first round of the 2022-23 season.
He led the Bucks to the 2020-21 NBA title in his third season with the team and began his coaching career with the Atlanta Hawks in 2013-14, compiling a 213-197 record in five seasons.
Budenholzer is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, winning with Atlanta in 2014-15 and 2018-19 with Milwaukee.
He replaces Frank Vogel, who was fired on Thursday after one season with the Suns. Phoenix went 49-33 in the regular season but was swept in the opening round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Vogel was unable to fulfil lofty expectations after injuries limited the number of games the star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal could play together. His dismissal came after reports surfaced that Vogel had lost the locker room and Durant was unhappy with his role in the offense.
Budenholzer becomes the third Suns’ coach in three years under new owner Mat Ishbia, who inherited Monty Williams as the team’s leader when he took over the franchise in February 2023.
Doncic battles through 'hardest game' as Mavs level Thunder series
Luka Doncic described Thursday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder as one of the hardest of his career after battling through injury to help the Dallas Mavericks to a 119-110 win.
Doncic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as Dallas levelled their Western Conference semifinals series with the top-seeded Thunder at a game apiece.
Doncic – who finished third in 2023-24 NBA MVP voting this week – had been limited to 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting in Game 1, struggling with soreness in his sprained right knee.
However, he was 11 of 21 from the field and 5 for 8 from 3-point range at Paycom Center, handing a huge boost to Dallas' hopes of progression ahead of a two-game homestand.
"It was just my mentality," Doncic said after the win. "I think today was one of the hardest games I had to play. I'm battling out there.
"I try and do my best to help the team win just with my mentality. I had a great start, and then the team's going to follow me."
P.J. Washington also had 29 points with seven 3-pointers and grabbed 11 rebounds and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 17 points off the bench for the Mavs.
Fellow Dallas star Kyrie Irving said Doncic's team-mates always trusted him to get back to his best, claiming he was simply unfortunate in Game 1.
"Some of those shots are a centimetre off or an inch off," Irving said. "We know Luka very well, so we're not worried relatively, but we understand that we have to continue to feed him confidence.
"It starts with him, and he knows that in order for us to be successful, he's going to have to play his role and be a star of the team. When it's our time to star in our role, he gives us that chance."
Thursday's defeat was not only the first loss Oklahoma City had suffered this postseason, but also the first time they had conceded more than 95 points.
Coach Mark Daigneault accepts this series represents a step up from their first-round sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans, saying: "This is just part of the deal.
"It's the playoffs, and we're playing against a really good team. This is deep waters. You're going to throw some punches, you're going to take some punches. We've got to eat one."
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