The final game of the conference semifinals ended in heartbreak for the 76ers on their own turf as the Hawks sealed their progress to the finals. Devin Booker stole the show with Phoenix Suns grabbing their first conference finals win in a decade by defeating LA Clippers.
NBA Playoffs Second Round
Suns 120-114 Clippers
Two teams vying for their maiden NBA title tussled in the Western Conference Finals. Phoenix Suns took on the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 for a place in the NBA Finals.
Chris Paul and Kawhi Leonard were major misses for their respective sides in this huge encounter.
The contest was tight from the word go as the Suns looked to shake off rust following their sweep over Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals.
Neither sides could be separated after the first quarter ended 21-21. The constant juggling action continued throughout as the sides remained equal on points even after the third quarter.
The battle of Devin Booker against Paul George lived up to its billing with both of them shining on the court.
However, it was the Suns ace who prevailed in the young. The 24-year-old registered the first triple double of his career with a fourth quarter charge that ended in a Suns 120-114 win. Booker registered 40 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists and became the first Suns player to do so since Steve Nash in 2005.
Paul George led the scoring for the visitors by posting 34 points, but the Clippers slid to their thrid consecutive Game 1 loss across the three playoff series so far.
While Kawhi Leonard has not been ruled out of Game 2, his status remains unclear. The situation with Chris Paul also remains the same.
76ers 96-103 Hawks
The final chapter of the semifinals ended up being a fairytale for Atlanta Hawks as they ousted number one seed Philadelphia 76ers to claim a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Both the sides seemingly struggled on offence in the game. The 76ers slid with a marginal lead at the at pf the first quarter, but followed it up with a horrendous second quarter that yielded only 18 points.
With Trae Young struggling to put shots away, Kevin Huerter stepped up to the task and led the scoring for the side with 27 points. Trae Young acted as the facilitator with 10 assists for the night, 7 more than any other of his teammates.
Joel Embiid led the scoring by posting 31 points, but the rest of the entourage failed to show up. Ben Simmons had a horrid night offensively and struggled through the free throws and eventually benched towards the end of the game.
Trae Young did turn up in the fourth quarter as he notched half of his total points in the final 12 minutes. He hit a sensational 28-foot three pointer and secured a couple of free throws during the end to seal Hawks’ win.
Atlanta Hawks will play Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals starting from Wednesday onwards.
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