Jamal Murray hit a tiebreaking 14-footer with four seconds left to send the host Denver Nuggets to the Western Conference semifinals with a 108-106 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of a first-round playoff series on Monday.
The second-seeded Nuggets won the best-of-seven series 4-1 and will face the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals beginning Saturday in Denver.
As he did in Game 2, Murray came alive in the fourth quarter and beat Los Angeles with a clutch jumper. He finished with a game-high 32 points, 12 in the fourth quarter, despite playing on a strained left calf.
Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 20 rebounds, nine assists and seven turnovers, Michael Porter Jr. scored 26 points and Aaron Gordon grabbed 13 rebounds for the Nuggets.
LeBron James put up 30 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for the seventh-seeded Lakers. Anthony Davis had 17 points and 15 rebounds while playing through an injured left shoulder. Taurean Prince missed a long 3-point attempt for the win at the buzzer.
Celtics 102, Heat 88
Derrick White scored a career-high 38 points on 15-for-26 shooting, including 8-for-15 success from 3-point range, and Boston cruised to a win at Miami.
Jayson Tatum added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who seized a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. However, Boston lost Kristaps Porzingis to a calf injury in the first half.
Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists. Tyler Herro contributed 19 points and Caleb Martin had 18 for Miami.
Thunder 97, Pelicans 89
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams scored 24 points each, Gilgeous-Alexander added 10 rebounds and visiting Oklahoma City completed a first-round playoff sweep of New Orleans.
Williams put up eight of his points during a pivotal 10-0 fourth-quarter run for the top-seeded Thunder, who advance to face either the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers or the fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals.
CJ McCollum registered 20 points while Jonas Valanciunas had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the eighth-seeded Pelicans, who didn’t score more than 92 points in any game of the series.
–Field Level Media
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