PHILADELPHIA - BOSTON 116:115
Boston missed a huge chance to take a 3:1 lead in the series, and the Sixers' hero was James Harden again.
The man who single-handedly got them the win in Game XNUMX made several shots in the final quarter and overtime (including the game-winning XNUMX-pointer) and was the main reason Philadelphia isn't going to Massachusetts with its head down.
The Celtics were losing by 15 points (75:90) at the end of the third period, and then they began to slowly melt away the home team's advantage.
Three-pointers by Marcus Smart and Jalen Brown, along with a layup by Jayson Tatum, "Celts" reached a tie (96:96), while Al Horford returned the lead to Boston after a long time with a dunk (96:98).
Smart and Malcom Brogdon with two successful shots from behind the line 7,24 brought plus five to the team from Massachusetts (100:105), but Phila leveled the score with PJ Tucker's points (105:105).
Smart was then accurate from the penalty, and Harden brought a new equalizer with a floater.
In the last attack of the regular part, Smart was left alone, but it was not accurate.
The teams changed the lead in the additional five minutes, and Jayson Tatum's step-back three-pointer gave the guests plus two (113:115) with 39 seconds left.
However, in the next attack, Brown made a bad decision and doubled Embiid, who sent a good pass for Harden, who made no mistake from the right corner (116:115).
Boston once again had the opportunity to decide its own destiny, but they were slow to execute, and Marcus Smart's hit three came too late.
Harden scored 42 points (16/23 from the field), grabbed eight rebounds and dished out nine assists, Embiid added 34 with 14 steals, and Tyrese Maxey had 14.
Tatum led Boston with 24 points, 18 rebounds and six assists, Brown had a point less, Smart 21, Brogdon 19...
PHOENIX - DENVER 129:124
Nikola Jokic doesn't stop with phenomenal releases, but Devin Booker and Kevin Durant rival the two-time winner of the MVP award.
Jokic scored 53 points (20/30 from the field) and handed out 11 assists, yet the Suns, led by the Durent-Booker duo (both 36 points each), won and evened the series.
The Serbian center was very aggressive from the very beginning, he used his strength to get easy points in the racket, and the hosts had a ready answer.
Booker again had a great shooting night (14/18 from the field, 3/4 for three), to which he added 12 assists (a career record in the playoffs), and "fired up" in the third quarter, when he scored 17 points. which helped Phoenix to enter the last 12 minutes with six points (98:92).
The team from Arizona controlled the proceedings in the fourth quarter, although the Nuggets did not go down without a fight.
Although they were losing 116:106 with five minutes to go, the guests from Colorado reduced that deficit to three points (123:120) one minute and eight seconds before the end of regulation.
However, TJ Warren and Durant eliminated all dilemmas with penalties.
The X-factor of the Suns was Landry Shemet, who scored 19 points (5/8 for three), including several important baskets near the end.
Jokić set a new career record in the playoffs, and now he also holds the franchise record, overtaking his teammate, Jamal Mari, who scored 50 points for Utah twice in the "bubble"
Marie now stopped at 28 points, Michael Porter and Aaron Gordon added 11 each, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 10...
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
