The first round of the playoffs quickly switched gears after heading into the latter half of the fixtures. Brooklyn Nets eliminated Boston Celtics to advance into the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets secured victories on the other side of the coast to take their lead in the series to 3-2.
NBA First Round Playoffs
Nets 123-109 Celtics
Celtics’ season came to an end with a loss in Game 5 that ends the series 4-1 in the favour of Brooklyn Nets.
James Harden stepped up with a triple double and also led the scoring by posting 34 points. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had eventful outings as well with 24 and 25 points respectively.
Jayson Tatum also put in a good shift by recording 32 points, but the last year’s conference finalist’s were always a step behind the Nets.
The first semifinals of the season is set as Brooklyn Nets will face the Milwaukee Bucks for supremacy in the east.
Nuggets 147-140 TrailBlazers
A double overtime instant playoff classic was witnessed at the Ball Arena as the Nuggets won a hard-earned lead in the series.
Damian Lillard stepped up with a historic performance to keep the visitors alive in the fixture. The guard scored 55 points, his playoff career-high, and also notched 10 assists. This makes it the first-ever 55-point, 10-assist performance in postseason history.
After trailing by as much as 13-points following the end of the first quarter, the Trailblazers came back strong in the second quarter. There was little to separate the two sides in the second half of the game and the first of the two overtimes.
The 30-year-old hit several clutch shots to send the game into its second overtime but eventually succumbed to a heart-breaking defeat.
Nikola Jokic led the scoring for the hosts after notching 38 points.
Suns 115-85 Lakers
Phoenix Suns won the crucial Game 5 in the series to go 3-2 up as Anthony Davis’ absence hit the Lakers pretty hard.
The Suns romped away to a 30-point lead at half-time with the defending champions only scoring 10 points in the second quarter.
LeBron James led the proceedings by posting 25 points but failed to find any support. Dennis Schroder scored 0 points in his 26-minute appearance on the court while Kyle Kuzma also had a game to forget.
Devin Booker top scored in the fixture with 30 points to his name. The Suns are only a single win away from eliminating LeBron and co. in the very first round of playoffs.
