Denver and Oklahoma City close their respective series, send the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans on holiday and reach the second round of the NBA playoffs. Boston mortgages it by winning again in Miami, going up 3-1 in the series against the Heat. These are the verdicts of the Italian night, the reigning champions Nuggets will play against Minnesota in the 2nd round, the Thunder await the winner of Los Angeles Clippers-Dallas Mavericks, series currently at 2-2, Game 5 in Boston is scheduled from 1.30 in the Italian night between Wednesday and Thursday.
DENVER-LA LAKERS 108-106 (4-1)
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Jamal Murray wasn’t even supposed to play, but instead he wins the game and the series for the Nuggets. The Canadian guard, suffering from a muscle problem in his left calf, scores the winning basket in Game 5 for the Nuggets with 3 seconds left. Relentless as already at the photo finish in Game 2. Then he says: “The doctors are always cautious, they don’t want to take risks, but I told them that they couldn’t keep me out, I wanted to play, I couldn’t abandon my teammates.” Denver has an intense, vibrant match. The Big 3 of the Nuggets, Murray, Jokic, with 25 points and 20 rebounds, and Porter, 26 points shooting 8/12 from the field, did not betray Coach Malone on the most important evening. But LeBron James at 39 years old exhibited another galactic performance: 30 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds, 106 free throws tied with the season in the balance. He, a superb Reaves and the 18 more free throws shot by the yellow and purple (27 to 9) kept them in the game – despite an ailment limiting Davis – until Prince’s desperate attempt at the siren. Short. Like the season of Los Angeles which won the In Season Tournament, but had the mistake of not having continuity in the regular season and being forced into a complicated 1st round match as the seventh seed. Against different opponents the Californians could have made progress. Instead, Denver advances: the 2nd round with Minnesota is succulent. 53-50 Lakers at half time. Davis hurts his left shoulder at the beginning of the 3rd quarter after a contact with Porter, at 56-50: he will play the rest of the match, but not at his best. The Lakers go up +9 on LeBron’s triple to 67-58, but the defending champions don’t lose their composure: a drive to the basket by Jokic makes them overtake at 72-71. 81-79 Denver at the end of the 3rd quarter. And then +6 with 10′ to play, the Lakers remain in contact by systematically going to the line. Murray and Reaves perform a repeated back-and-forth of sprint baskets. 99 all. Murray scores the triple for +2 then LeBron equalizes with free throws. Murray has the last word, scoring the winning basket with a stop and a mid-range shot with 3″ to go, Prince’s mid-court reply is a prayer not answered by the basketball gods. Denver wins the series 4-1.
Denver: Murray 32 (8/18, 5/10, 1/1 TL), Porter 26, Jokic 25. Rebounds: Jokic 20. Assists: Jokic 9.
Los Angeles: James 30 (8/14, 3/7, 5/7 TL), Reaves 19, Davis 17. Rebounds: Davis 15. Assists: James 11.
MIAMI-BOSTON 88-102 (1-3)
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Everything easy. Boston wins by a landslide in Miami for the second game in a row in these playoffs, always with the same recipe: defending strong. And thus limiting the Heat’s attack, to a minimum without the unavailable Butler and Rozier, to just 88 points, after the 84 scored in Game 3. In attack, Coach Mazzulla’s team only needed the evening of grace from Derrick White who scored 38 points, his personal best in the playoffs, hitting 8 triples. Without even going to the line. Miami doesn’t really have a hand in the offensive half of the field: after all, it is the number 8 seed in the East opposite to the 1st, and what’s more without Jimmy Buckets, its best player. Adebayo ends the match with 25 points and 17 rebounds, but they are figures that are as decorative as they are of very little substance, with his players always chasing, far behind him. 53-36 Boston at halftime. Game already decided, Miami never scores a basket, finishing 9/33 from 3 points. In the second quarter Kris Porzingis gets hurt: the Latvian big man goes out at 47-31, injures his right calf, alone, going for an offensive rebound. Horford replaces him well, as a reliable veteran, Boston comfortably controls the lead and goes up to an 18-0 record when he holds his opponents under 100 points. White commented at the end of the race: “I got a couple of shots at the start, I got into a rhythm. My growth over the years? I have always believed in myself, I have never stopped working hard.” Series at 3-1, Game 5 at the Garden: first match point for Boston to qualify for the second round of the playoffs.
You love me: Adebayo 25 (10/19, 1/3, 2/3 tl), Herro 19, Martin 18. Rebounds: Adebayo 17. Assists: Adebayo 5.
Boston: White 38 (7/11, 8/15), Tatum 20, Brown 17. Rebounds: Tatum 11. Assists: Holiday 6.
NEW ORLEANS-OKLAHOMA CITY 89-97 (0-4)
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The Thunder aren’t just the regular season revelation. The playoff impact is worthy of applause: the first seed in the West, 24 years of average age, the youngest team to win a playoff series, closed the game against New Orleans 4-0, winning the second game in a row in Louisiana. Celebrating as best as you can Coach Daigneault, just voted coach of the year. Oklahoma hadn’t won a playoff series since 2016, closing this one thanks to the defense that limited the Pels to 36% from the field, even. New Orleans pays for Ingram’s 2/14 shot, reduced by Dort’s defense, and the absence of Zion Williamson, injured in the play-in against the Lakers: he has never played in this series. 44-43 Thunder at halftime. Then 71-70 Pelicans after 36′, then 80 all on Giddey’s triple. A 16-2 run inspired by Jalen Williams puts the Thunder ahead 93-82: it turns out to be the decisive extension. The Pels make a short circuit in attack: it is the final blow to their series and their season. Fair, with an epilogue difficult to evaluate due to the absence of the best player. Without it, they flopped.
New Orleans: McCollum 20 (7/9, 2/7), Valanciunas 19, Marshall 16. Rebounds: Valanciunas 13. Assists: Ingram 6.
Oklahoma City: Jalen Williams/Gilgeous-Alexander 24, Holmgren/Giddey 14. Rebounds: Gilgeous-Alexander 10. Assists: Holmgren 5.
