The Brooklyn Nets came back from a 21-point deficit to storm home in the second half, defeating the New York Knicks
The Nets' defense struggled early on, conceding 38 points in just the second quarter on the way to trailing 67-50 at half-time.
Knicks' R.J. Barrett was the best player in the first half, and went on to finish with 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, but after his side peaked at a 71-50 lead one minute into the third period, it was all downhill from there.
Brooklyn would hold New York to just 31 points in the entire second half, snatching the lead in the fourth quarter and riding a hot shooting performance from Patty Mills in his return to form.
Mills hit five-of-seven from long range off the bench, including a deep contested step-back with the shot clock winding down late in the fourth quarter, while superstar Kevin Durant was spectacular throughout.
Durant scored 32 points on 11-of-22 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds to go with his 11 assists, while Barrett's shooting tailed off badly, finishing with figures of seven-of-27 from the field and two-of-11 from deep.
The win moves Brooklyn's record to 42-38, which is the same record as the Atlanta Hawks, but the Nets hold the tie-breaker and would finish in the eight seed if the season ended today.
Trae Young leads his Hawks in style
Atlanta has been arguably one of the league's most disappointing teams this year, but last season's Eastern Conference Finalists have found some form heading into the play-in tournament, beating the Washington Wizards 118-103 behind another spectacular showing from All-NBA point guard Trae Young.
Young, who in his past 10 games is averaging 29.7 points and 11.1 assists on shooting splits of 48/40/91, was again the best player on the floor against the Wizards, racking up an efficient 30 points (eight-of-17 shooting, 11-of-12 from the free throw line) to go with 11 assists.
Washington's Kristaps Porzingis also deserves a mention for his 26 points (eight-of-16 shooting) and 18 rebounds as the Wizards nearly broke even (minus three) in his 32 minutes played.
Celtics stifle struggling Bulls
The Boston Celtics have been the best defensive team in the NBA this season, and made life miserable for the Chicago Bulls for a 117-94 road win.
Both teams will make the playoffs, but while the Celtics have thrived in the second half of the season and look like a contender, the Bulls have stumbled, with no Chicago player scoring more than DeMar DeRozan's 16 points on six-of-16 shooting on Wednesday.
On a down night for Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown picked up the scoring load, finishing with 25 points on 10-of-21 shooting to go with four assists and four steals.
'I'll support whatever he decides' - Davis backs LeBron James ahead of decision on NBA future
Anthony Davis says he will give LeBron James the space he needs to make the right decision on his NBA future.
The Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in a 4-1 series defeat to the Denver Nuggets, who won Game 5 108-106 on Monday.
James led the Lakers with 30 points and 11 assists and hit a pair of free throws to tie the game in the final 30 seconds.
But with 3.6 seconds remaining, Jamal Murray, who was playing through a calf strain, hit a pull-up 14-footer to condemn the Lakers to an early exit.
After the game, James said that “he does not have an answer” on his NBA future after 21 years in the league.
However, Davis is confident that James will take his time over the decision, make the correct call for himself and tell everyone else when the time is right.
“I mean, he has been in this position numerous times in his career, where he had to make a decision ultimately for himself and his family. I'll be right there supporting whatever he decides to do,” Davis told ESPN.
“It's still fresh. I mean, I'm pretty sure it's not even on his mind right now.
"But I'm pretty sure he'll come talk to me, tell me what's going on before he becomes public with the situation, just to keep me in the loop.
“Obviously, it's been a great five seasons with him. If he does decide to come back, obviously this isn't what we want to be left at, losing in the first round.
"If he does, obviously our goal is to come back and be a championship contender, stay healthy and give Laker Nation what they deserve."
The Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals last year, with their late-game execution proving to be the difference once again in this series.
Murray, who also hit a buzzer-beater to win Game 2, was advised to sit the game out by management due to his calf injury but proved decisive as he scored 12 of his 32 points in a fourth quarter in which the teams repeatedly traded leads.
Asked if he had debated sitting the game out, Murray said: "I came in a little earlier to see if I was going to be able to go, and I felt like I could.
"They [management] just didn't want me to risk it. They told me no.
"And I didn't say no. I didn't want to leave my teammates out there. We've been battling all season.
"Everybody's hurt at some point, everybody's going through something, and I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if I wasn't able to play this game.
"I'm just glad they listened to me - and listened to me listening to my body - and just trusting me with it."
Nikola Jokic finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists, while Michael Porter Jr. concluded his impressive series with a 26-point performance for Denver.
Davis had 17 points and 15 rebounds for Los Angeles but was not involved much in the offence late while playing through a shoulder injury.
The Nuggets will continue their championship defence with a second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who advanced on Sunday by completing a sweep of the Phoenix Suns.
Denver eliminated Minnesota in the first round of last year’s playoffs with a five-game series win.
LeBron James undecided on NBA future after Lakers elimination
LeBron James says he "does not have an answer" on his NBA future after the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in their first-round playoff series.
The Nuggets emerged triumphant with a 4-1 series win after beating the Lakers 108-106 in an entertaining Game 5 on Monday.
Despite playing through a calf strain, Jamal Murray hit a pull-up 14-footer with 3.6 seconds remaining of a game which saw the two teams repeatedly trade leads.
LeBron hit a pair of free throws to tie the game with 26 seconds left to give the Lakers hope, but Murray drove to his left and pulled up for the go-ahead jumper over Austin Reaves.
After the painful narrow loss, LeBron was asked how he would approach any decision about Year 22 in the NBA.
"I do not have an answer to be honest, I have not given it much thought," he said, per ESPN.
"We will cross that when we need to. [I will evaluate] what's best for my career."
Asked if the Nuggets game was likely to be his last in a Lakers jersey, the 39-year-old replied: "I'm not going to answer that."
This was the earliest playoff exit in James' 17 postseason trips. The only other time he was eliminated in the first round was 2021, in a six-game loss to the Phoenix Suns.
"Tip your hat to them," James said about Denver. "Defending champions, they are a great team. Super-well coached and made the plays down the stretch to win the series.
"You give credit where credit is due, that is for sure."
Much like last year, when the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, Denver’s late-game execution proved to be the difference.
Nikola Jokic finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists, while Michael Porter Jr. concluded his impressive series with a 26-point performance.
James led the Lakers with 30 points and 11 assists. Anthony Davis had 17 points and 15 rebounds but was not involved much in the offence late while playing through a shoulder injury.
LeBron has the option to enter the final year of his contract with the Lakers or he could become a free agent.
Also facing an uncertain future after the first-round exit is head coach Darvin Ham, who has been with the team for two years.
Ham, who is now on the hot seat, hopes the defeat will make him a better coach in the long run.
"My mind's all over the place right now," he said. "It's been a hell of a two years, though, I'll tell you that. Sitting in this seat, it's been a hell of a two years.
"A lot of good things that got done, but ultimately, you want to win that ultimate prize. I know what that feels like. I had that feeling a couple of times.
"So, you want to do everything in your power to prevent and not continue to feel this feeling we're feeling now, the feeling of defeat. So again, control what I can control, continue to grow and hopefully be a better coach for it.
"I couldn’t be more proud of our crew despite everything that happened.
"Obviously, the series didn’t go in our favor, it didn’t start the way we wanted it to, but to win that one at home, fight tooth and nail to get this one, our guys showed a lot of guts and a lot of character."
Jamal Murray hits another game-winner as Nuggets eliminate Lakers
Despite playing through a calf strain, Jamal Murray hit a pull-up 14-footer with 3.6 seconds remaining, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 108-106 on Monday for a 4-1 series win.
Murray, who also hit a buzzer-beater to win Game 2, was a game-time decision due to his calf injury but scored 12 of his 32 points in a fourth quarter in which the teams repeatedly traded leads.
LeBron James hit a pair of free throws to tie the game with 26 seconds left to give the Lakers hope, but Murray drove to his left with help from a high ball screen and pulled up for the go-ahead jumper over Austin Reaves.
Without any timeouts to advance the ball, the Lakers managed only a desperation heave from Taurean Prince at the buzzer which never had a chance.
Much like last year, when the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, Denver’s late-game execution proved to be the difference.
Nikola Jokić finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists, while Michael Porter Jr. concluded his impressive series with a 26-point performance.
James led the Lakers with 30 points and 11 assists. Anthony Davis had 17 points and 15 rebounds but was not involved much in the offence late while playing through a shoulder injury.
The Nuggets will continue their championship defence with a second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who advanced Sunday by completing a sweep of the Phoenix Suns.
Denver eliminated Minnesota in the first round of last year’s playoffs with a five-game series win.
Thunder complete sweep of Pelicans
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams each scored 24 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 97-89 win over the New Orleans Pelicans and secure a four-game series sweep.
The youngest team ever to secure a conference’s No. 1 seed, the Thunder answered questions about play-off inexperience by easily securing their place in the second round, outscoring New Orleans by an average of 15.8 points per game.
Oklahoma City trailed 71-70 to start the fourth quarter but held the Pelicans to 18 points in the final frame.
Williams scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, including his own 8-0 run that put the Thunder up 93-82 with 3:08 remaining.
The Pelicans played the series without Zion Williamson due to a hamstring strain, with Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum failing to rise to the challenge.
Ingram shot under 35 percent from the field during the series and was 2 of 14 in Game 4. McCollum had 20 points on 9-for-16 shooting Monday but was just 7 of 29 from 3-point range in the series.
Celtics rout Heat for 3-1 series lead
Derrick White scored 38 points, and the Boston Celtics overcame an injury to Kristaps Porzingis to beat the Miami Heat 102-88 for a 3-1 series lead.
Porzingis exited with 2:27 remaining in the second quarter with right calf tightness and did not return. Al Horford started the second half in Porzingis’ place.
White, who is better known for his defensive contributions, went 8 of 15 from 3-point range en route to his 38 points, a career high for both the regular season and post-season.
Bam Adebayo led the way for the Heat with 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists.
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