Sides from Eastern and Western conferences hoped to break the deadlock as a set of their series remained evenly poised at 2-2. Number one seeds across both the conferences suffered losses and trail going into the business end of the playoffs.
NBA Playoffs Second Round
76ers 106-109 Hawks
The Philadelphia 76ers endured a spellbinding defeat against Atlanta Hawks, who staged a stunning comeback that saw them take Game 5 after being behind by 26 points at one stage.
Joel Embiid and Seth Curry scored 37 and 36 points respectively for the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, but their forward Tobias Harris had a lean evening with just 4 points.
While initially being doubtful for Game 5, Joel Embiid made it to the starting five and started the game on a bright note. He was 8-for-8 on shooting in his first burst of the game. Seth Curry recorded his playoffs high with his 36-point display. The duo were the only ones to make a basket for the team in the second half.
Trae Young scripted yet another memorable playoff performance with 39 points to his name. The Hawks were severely lagging behind and were behind by 22 points at the halfway stage.
Despite a strong third quarter, the deficit was still 18 points heading into the final quarter of the game. The number five seed dropped 40 points in the fourth quarter compared to the 76ers’ 19, they scored the final 14 points of the game on their way to a win. They took the contest by 3 points and with it, a lead in the series as well by 3-2.
Jazz 111-119 Clippers
Utah Jazz were subjected to a defeat against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers and now trail 3-2 in the series they once led 2-0.
Playing without Kawhi Leonard, who may have been ruled out of the series, the Clippers were led by Paul George.
He ran the show with 37 points and 16 rebounds as his counterpart Donovan Mitchell had a relatively quiet day on the court by posting 21 points.
Both the teams went back and forth in the first quarter as the Jazz led by a single point. By half-time Clippers managed to etch a slender 3 point lead.
However, things took a turn in the third quarter as the visitors outscored their opponents 32-18.
Usually criticized for his display in playoff games, Paul George earned an unwanted name tag of ‘Playoff P’. But, he came through for the team in the absence of Kawhi Leonard and arguably put up his best performance in a Clippers jersey.
The Clippers are now only a single win away fro making it to their first ever conference finals. They came short on this stage last year after blowing out a 3-1 lead to Denver Nuggets.
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