Ibrahim Oladamola
The Denver Nuggets and the Phoenix Suns have sealed their spots in the Western Conference semi-finals.
The Nuggets won 112-109 against the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Suns beat the Los Angeles Clippers 136-130 as both clinched 4-1 series wins.
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic was once again the inspiration for the Nuggets as he scored 28 points with 17 rebounds and 12 assists.
Jamal Murray added 35 points for the Western Conference top seeds, who are through to the semi-finals for the fourth time in five seasons.
In Phoenix, Devin Booker top-scored with 47 points for the Suns, who recovered from an opening game defeat against the Clippers to reel off four straight wins.
The Clippers, without the injured Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, led by 10 points at the start of the second half but Booker scored 25 of his points in the third quarter as the Suns overcame that deficit to progress.
“Those guys don’t stop fighting,” Booker said of the Clippers afterwards.
“That’s been the story of the whole series. Even though they were down men, we knew they were going to bring it.”
In Boston, Trae Young scored a three-pointer with just 1.8 seconds remaining to seal a dramatic victory for the Hawks and keep their series against the Celtics alive.
The Celtics had looked to be easing to victory after dominating much of the second half, and led by 13 points halfway through the fourth quarter before the Hawks rallied late on.
Young finished with 38 points, 13 assists and four rebounds as the Hawks forced a game six in Atlanta on Thursday with Boston leading the series 3-2.
“We were tough-minded,” said Hawks coach Quin Snyder. “It’s tough to be down through the whole game. We were hanging in there and hanging in there. We just didn’t capitulate.”
In the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks beat the Boston Celtics 119-117 to keep their series alive.
