Michael Malone described Damian Lillard's staggering record-breaking performance as "superhuman" in the Portland Trail Blazers' dramatic playoffs defeat to the Denver Nuggets.
The Nuggets took a 3-2 series lead at Ball Arena on Tuesday after edging a double-overtime thriller 147-140.
That was despite an incredible display from Lillard, who scored 55 points – including a playoffs-record 12 three-pointers – from only 24 shots.
Lillard's points haul was his best in the post-season and the third-highest in a defeat in playoff history behind Michael Jordan's 63 against the Boston Celtics in 1986 and Donovan Mitchell's 57 versus the Nuggets last year.
The point guard also provided 10 assists and Nuggets coach Malone saluted his exploits.
Malone said: "Damian Lillard was superhuman tonight."
Nikola Jokic led the way for the Nuggets with 38 points as they got their noses in front in the series.
The center was full of admiration for Lillard and warned the Nuggets must try and find a way to stop the six-time NBA All-Star from making such an impact.
Jokic said: "He was incredible. He made some top shots, he put his team on his back and he was just carrying in.
"We tried, but we need to be better just to take the ball off his hands, especially later in the game, but it was kind of a pleasure to be on the court to witness that."
The Phoenix Suns are hopeful but unsure about Chris Paul's availability for Game 6 after he injured his shoulder again in Tuesday's 115-85 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Suns took a 3-2 series lead over the Lakers with a victory that was soured by Paul's injury, which leaves his availability for Game 6 on Thursday in doubt.
The 36-year-old went down in pain, clutching his right shoulder halfway through the third quarter after a minor collision with Laker Wesley Matthews.
Paul left the court and did not return to action, although he sat on the bench in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, with coach Monty Williams revealing he said he still had strength in the shoulder which has troubled him all series.
Williams preferred not to offer any official update, instead stating the Suns medical staff will assess Paul on Wednesday.
"He went in the back and got some treatment," Williams said. "When I talked with him when he came back out, he said he still had his strength.
"He seems to be okay but we want to wait until tomorrow after he wakes up and our medical team can make an assessment."
Paul, who played almost 23 minutes and scored nine points to go with six assists, said that the injury felt "very uncomfortable", leaving him "helpless".
"It scared me," Paul said during his post-match video conference. "It was just a very uncomfortable feeling. I felt helpless. When it happened, I was looking up and didn’t know what happened with Wes.
"But after I'd seen it I came back out on the court and I told Wes it was a clean play and it was unfortunate my neck and arm snapped again like it did."
The Lakers were missing their own star, with forward Anthony Davis absent due to a left groin strain.
Four-time NBA MVP LeBron James said he was preparing for Game 6 without Davis being available.
"My mindset is as if AD won't be in the game in Game 6, if something changes we go from there," James said post-match. "I'm preparing as if he's not."
The Phoenix Suns moved 3-2 ahead in their NBA first round playoffs series against the Los Angeles Lakers with a 115-85 victory but star guard Chris Paul went down after re-injuring his shoulder.
Devin Booker top scored for the Suns with 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Suns move within one win of knocking out the reigning champions.
The Suns, however, will be sweating on Paul's fitness ahead of Game 6 after going down clutching his sore right shoulder, having played 23 minutes, with nine points and six assists.
Phoenix blew the game open with a remarkable 32-10 second quarter, opening up a 32-point half-time lead which the Lakers, who were without Anthony Davis, never threatened in the second half.
LeBron James top scored with 24 points including six three-pointers along with five rebounds and seven assists, while Andre Drummond had seven points and 13 rebounds.
The series returns to Los Angeles for Game 6, before the final match in Arizona if required.
Nugs win in double over-time, Nets progress
Nikola Jokic and Damian Lillard traded blows as the Denver Nuggets edged the Portland Trail Blazers 147-140 in a double over-time thriller.
Jokic finished with 38 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, while Michael Porter Jr had 26 points, including a clutch late three-pointer along with 12 rebounds and three assists.
Lillard remarkably scored 55 points for the defeated Blazers, along with six rebounds and 10 assists, although he may regret passing to CJ McCollum with nine seconds left at 143-140 down. McCollum mis-controlled and stepped out of play, forcing the decisive turnover.
In a back-and-forth encounter, McCollum had earlier drained a three-pointer to send the game into over-time.
The Brooklyn Nets finished the job in their first round series against the Boston Celtics with James Harden starring in a 123-109 win which completed a 4-1 victory.
Harden produced a triple-double, scoring 34 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Nets.
Kyrie Irving added 25 points, while Kevin Durant contributed 24, including four three-pointers shooting at 66 per cent from beyond the arc.
The Nets will next face the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Wayward Tatum's radar off
Jayson Tatum was a lone hand for the Celtics, managing 32 points, although he shot poorly, albeit regularly under intense heat, at 12-from-27 from the field and 36.4 per cent from beyond the arc.
History-making haul in losing cause
Lillard's 55 points came in a losing cause, making history as the third most in a defeat in NBA playoffs history behind Michael Jordan's 63 against the Celtics in 1986 and Donovan Mitchell's 57 against the Nuggets in 2020. He also had a record 12 threes.
Tuesday's results
Brooklyn Nets 123-109 Boston Celtics
Denver Nuggets 147-140 (OT) Portland Trail Blazers
Phoenix Suns 115-85 Los Angeles Lakers
Hawks at Knicks
The New York Knicks will look to stay alive as their first round playoffs series returns to Madison Square Garden against the Atlanta Hawks trailing 3-1.
James Harden says the Brooklyn Nets are a "very, very special group" after securing a 4-1 NBA first round playoffs series win over the Boston Celtics with a 123-109 win on Tuesday.
The Nets progress to the Eastern Conference semi-finals where they will face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks who swept the Miami Heat 4-0.
Harden had a 34-point triple-double as the Nets' 'big three' got more game-time together, with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving having 24 and 25 points respectively.
"We're a special group especially when we lock in defensively," Harden told ESPN post-game.
"When we can get three-four stops in a row, we're a very, very special group. Offensively we can get it going, we've got that much firepower."
Harden was also delighted to get more minutes alongside Durant and Irving, having missed 18 games late in the season with a hamstring injury.
"We've had so much adversity, injuries, COVID protocol, whatever it may be, we've dealt with a lot of adversity throughout the regular season so it felt good to get some meaningful games in," Harden said about the Boston series.
"Obviously in playoffs you don’t want to lose. It helped us out in the sense that it's time to lock in now.
"Tonight was a really good job. They're a really good ball team. They were down a few players but they kept fighting."
Boston Celtics pair Kemba Walker and Rob Williams have both been ruled out of Game 5 on Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets with their NBA first round playoffs series on the line.
The Nets lead 3-1, having won 141-126 on Sunday in Game 4 over the Celtics who were without Walker (knee) and Williams (ankle).
Point guard Walker had played in Friday's 125-119 Game 3 win but is battling bone bruising in his left knee and coach Brad Stevens confirmed he would not take his place on Tuesday.
Bigman Williams only managed six minutes in Game 3 due to a sprained left ankle.
Boston are already without forward Jaylen Brown for the rest of the season due to a wrist injury, leaving a heavy burden on star Jayson Tatum.
Brooklyn can wrap up the series on Tuesday with victory and were aided by their 'big three' firing in Game 4.
Kevin Durant scored 42 points had four rebounds and five assists, while Kyrie Irving added 39 points and 11 rebounds and James Harden had 23 points and 18 assists in the win.
Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins insisted only the finest of margins separate his team from the NBA's best after a 120-113 loss to the Utah Jazz in Game 4 of their playoff series.
Donovan Mitchell had 30 points and eight assists to lead the top-seeded Jazz to the brink of the conference semi-finals.
The Jazz survived another spirited effort by the eighth seeds to take a 3-1 series lead and can advance with a win in Game 5 on Wednesday.
But Jenkins believes the Grizzlies are still in with a shot.
"We are right there," Jenkins said. "We are literally going toe-to-toe with the best team in the NBA.
"We are doing a lot of things great. We gotta find ways to do more.
"This season isn't over."
Ja Morant scored 23 points and had 12 assists but made just one of seven three-pointers for Memphis, who were 10 of 35 from distance as a team.
Jenkins acknowledged that, while the Grizzlies fell short in some areas, they were close to perfection.
"You are never going to play a perfect game," he said. "We have to play a perfect game against this team, and we are so close.
"Two games in a row it comes down to the last couple of minutes. I would not say I am frustrated. I am so encouraged.
"All we gotta do is go and win one game on the road. We have won there before.
"Our mentality all season long is to continue to fight, be the most competitive team, the most together team.
"I have the utmost faith in this group that when we go out and get on a plane tomorrow, we will be ready for Game 5."
The Washington Wizards have shown their confidence in Rui Hachimura from the very beginning, and he rewarded them Monday with one of the best games of his career.
Hachimura scored 20 points on eight of 12 shooting from the field and grabbed 13 rebounds to play a key role in the Wizards' 122-114 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 4 of their playoff series.
Though the 23-year-old forward from Japan has started every game he has played for Washington in his two NBA seasons, his performance Monday had his team-mates and head coach Scott Brooks raving.
"He's growing up right in front of our eyes. Sometimes I want these guys to be 27 right now and four seasons of playoff experience, but you get it by going through it," Brooks told reporters.
"He was a big, big part of us on both ends of the floor. He's a multi-defender, he can guard many different types of player, and we need his rebounds. We can't just rely on our point guard getting rebounds.
"He was good on guarding, he was good on making shots. He had a big three and had a big defensive possession not too far from one another."
Hachimura had a pair of key baskets late in the game, capped by a three-pointer off a pass from Bradley Beal that gave Washington a six-point lead over the top-seeded 76ers with 45.8 seconds to play.
"It was a great pass by Brad. ... He trusted me and he passed to me, so I had to shoot with confidence," Hachimura said. "That was a big three for sure, especially at this moment.
"I was just trying to be aggressive on both ends, defensively and offensively. As a team I think we played together tonight, and that's why we got a win."
Getting contributions from players beyond the star back-court of Beal and Russell Westbrook is critical to the Wizards' chances, and Hachimura was the player who stepped up for Washington's first win in the series.
After logging 27 and 26 minutes the previous two games, he played 41 Monday, making himself indispensable on both ends of the court.
"For me, we always just want him to be aggressive and accept his challenges on the defensive end," Beal said. "That's when he has a good game, when he's locked in on defence, he's guarding somebody, he's making it tough on them, he's guarding Ben [Simmons], making it tough on him.
"Then he rebounded the ball really well tonight, too. I think him just being engaged in all facets of the game kind of propelled him on the offensive end and boosted his confidence. Once he seen one [shot] go in, he was making them all night."
The key going forward is for Hachimura to play this way more consistently, but his coach liked what he saw in Game 4.
"We're all trying to figure things out, with Rui and with everybody," Brooks said. "This has been a season of figuring it out on the fly at times, but when Rui gets that gear, that's what we need.
"He's had it, it's been choppy at times through some of his unfortunate injuries and safety protocol. He seems to ramp up and then something unfortunate takes place. But he's in a good place."
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