The giant with five NBA titles wins again in the playoffs - San Antonio's basketball players advanced to the second round of the Western Conference after defeating Portland 114:95 in the fifth game at home.
The Spurs thus cleared the first hurdle in the playoffs for the first time since 2017, while our Nikola Vučević's Boston missed the opportunity to secure the East semifinals after five matches.
The Celtics had the first game ball at their "TD Garden", but they did not use it as Philadelphia played a great game and celebrated 113:97. Vučević played 14 and a half minutes, and recorded eight points, three assists and two rebounds.
The evening in the NBA was also marked by another victory for New York over Atlanta (126:97), bringing the Knicks up to 3:2 in the series.
When it comes to the match in Texas, the Spurs never let go of the lead throughout the game, and were up 28 points at one point.
The winning team was led by Dearon Fox with 21 and Julian Champenyi with 19 points, while Victor Wembanyama finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks. Portland was led by Danny Avdiya with 22 points, Jeremy Grant added 12, while Robert Williams and Sidi Sissoko each scored 11 points.
San Antonio will play against Denver or Minnesota in the second round of the playoffs - the Wolves lead that series 3:2.
Philadelphia got to 3-2 thanks in large part to Joel Embiid, who scored 33 points and dished out eight assists. After scoring two points in the first quarter on one-of-six shooting, Embiid added 13 points in the second, 10 in the third and eight in the fourth as the Sixers went on a 12-0 run to turn a three-point lead into a 15-point run.
Embiid was best followed by Tyrese Maxey with 25 points and ten rebounds, Quentin Grimes added 18, and Paul George had 16 points.
The Celtics' best players were Jayson Tatum with 24 points and 16 rebounds and Jaylen Brown who scored 22 points.
The next game in this series will be played tomorrow, with Philadelphia hosting.
The New York Knicks were one step away from advancing to the second round of the playoffs, led by Jaylen Brunson with 39 points, Augie Anunoby added 18 points and ten rebounds, while Karl-Anthony Towns finished the game with 16 points and 14 steals.
On the other side, Jalen Johnson was the best with 18 points and ten rebounds, Dyson Daniels scored one less point, while Nikhil Alexander Walker and Onyeka Okonwu each scored 16 points. The next match of this series will be played on the night between Thursday and Friday.
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