Top Seeds Falling Fast—thunder Survive, but the East Is Cracking
Top seed OKC holds serve on the road while two top seeds in the East are on the brink of elimination.
WESTERN CONFERENCE-Semifinals
(1) Oklahoma City vs (4) Denver, Series tied 2-2
The Oklahoma City Thunder regained home court advantage beating the Nuggets 92-87 Monday in Denver.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored nine of his 25 points in the fourth to help the top-seeded Thunder avoid a 3-1 hole against a Denver team known for closing, ahead of Game 5 Tuesday in OKC.
Nikola Jokic had 27 points and 13 rebounds but his three assists were a low for this playoff run and gave him 22 assists to go with 23 turnovers in this second-round series.
Next: Game 5 @ OKC May 13 – 830pm, TNT/TruTV
(6) Minnesota vs (7) Golden State, Minnesota leads 3-1
The Timberwolves head back to Minnesota up 3-1 over the warriors as they look to close out the boys from the bay at home.
Anthony Edwards scored 30 points, Julius Randle had 31 and the Timberwolves beat the Golden State Warriors 117-110 on Monday night for a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference playoff series.
The Warriors will still be without Stephen Curry, who sat out his third game in a row and is scheduled to have his strained left hamstring re-evaluated gameday. Golden State has now dropped three in a row since Curry strained his hamstring early in Game 1 last Tuesday night.
Jonathan Kuminga came off the bench to score 23 points and convert 11 of 12 free throws for the Warriors, following up his 30-point performance in Game 3 with another gem. Jaden McDaniels added 10 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota.
Next: Game 5 @ Minnesota May 14 – 830pm, TNT/truTv
EASTERN CONFERENCE-Semifinals
(1) Cleveland vs (4) Indiana, Indiana leads 3-1
The #1 seed in the East find themselves between a rock and a hard place as they find themselves down 3-1 to the Pacers following Sunday’s Game 4 loss on the road in Indiana.
Pascal Siakam scored 21, while Myles Turner and Obi Toppin added 20 each as the Pacers tied a playoff record with a 41-point halftime lead and beat the Cavs 129-109 for a 3-1 series lead. Darius Garland had 21 for Cleveland, while Donovan Mitchell scored 12 before leaving with an ankle injury.
The No. 4-seeded Pacers can close it out Tuesday in Cleveland, where they’ve already won twice.
Next: Game 5 @ Cleveland May 13 – 6pm
(2) Boston vs (3) New York, New York leads 3-1
The defending champs find themselves with their backs to the wall as they head back to Boston to try to stave off elimination.
Jalen Brunson dropped 39 points and 12 assists as the Knicks beat the Celtics 121-113 in Game 4, pushing the champs to the brink. Jayson Tatum scored 42 before exiting late with a leg injury. Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns added 23 each, and OG Anunoby had 20. The Knicks can close it out Wednesday in Boston. Derrick White made six 3-pointers and scored 23 points for the Celtics. Jaylen Brown had 20.
The Knicks need one more victory to reach the conference finals for the first time in 25 years. The Celtics need to match the biggest comeback in NBA history to extend their title reign.
Next: Game 5 @ Boston May 14 – 6pm, TNT/TruTV
