The Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the NBA Western Conference Finals after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 115-110 in Game 4 of the playoff semifinal series.
The reigning NBA champions were led 4-0 in the series against the Lakers by Shai Gilges-Alexander with 35 points and eight assists, while Azdaj Mitchell added 28 points, ten of which came in the uncertain final quarter.
Chet Holmgren, who finished the game with 16 points, dunked 32,8 seconds before the end of the match to give his team the lead and lead Oklahoma to victory (111:110).
LeBron James scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the final game of his 23rd NBA season, but missed a shot that would have given the Lakers the lead with 20 seconds left.
After that miss by James, Oklahoma basketball players were safe from the free throw line, while on the other side, Austin Reeves (27 points) missed a three-point shot.
Oklahoma will play either San Antonio or Minnesota in the Western Conference finals. The series is currently tied at 2:2.
The Cleveland Cavaliers tied the NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series against Detroit at 2-2 after winning 112-103 at home.
The Cavaliers' main scorer was Donovan Mitchell, who scored 43 points, 39 of which came in the second half, tying an NBA playoff record.
Mitchell tied Eric Floyd's 1987 record for most points in a half when he hit a free throw with 27,6 seconds left. He had a chance to break that record, but missed his second free throw.
Mitchell also scored 15 points during Cleveland's 24-0 run that lasted from the final 12 seconds of the first half to the first six minutes of the third quarter. Cleveland trailed 56-52 at halftime before taking control.
The 24-0 run was the longest in a single playoff game since Minnesota also scored 24 consecutive points in Game 6 of the West semifinal series against Denver in 2024.
It was also Cleveland's longest playoff streak since play-by-play statistics began in the 1997–98 season. Cleveland's previous record was 19–0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Boston.
In addition to Mitchell, James Harden also stood out on the winning team, recording his 40th playoff double-double with 24 points and 11 assists, while Evan Mobley finished the match with 17 points, five blocks and three steals.
The best player for Detroit was Caris Lavert with 24 points, Cade Cunningham added 19, and Tobias Harris had 16 points.
The fifth game of this series will be played in Detroit on the night between Wednesday and Thursday.
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