NBA playoffs: Celtics take 3-1 lead on Heat; Lakers knocked out by Nuggets again
Miami — Derrick White scored a career-high 38 points, Jayson Tatum added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat 102-88 on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Jaylen Brown scored 17 points and Jrue Holiday had 11 for the top-seeded Celtics, who lost Kristaps Porzingis in the first half to what the team said was a right calf injury. Boston won at Miami for the sixth straight time and improved to 14-3 in their last 17 games on the Heat's home floor.
Bam Adebayo finished with 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists for Miami, which had a sellout crowd – including Lionel Messi – but played again without injured starters Jimmy Butler (knee) and Terry Rozier (neck). The Heat managed only 84 points in Game 3 and struggled again on offense in Game 4. Tyler Herro scored 19 points and Caleb Martin had 18 for the eighth-seeded Heat.
The Celtics can advance to the second round on Wednesday when they host Game 5. The Boston-Miami winner will meet the Cleveland-Orlando winner in the East semifinals; that Cavaliers-Magic series won't end until at least Friday.
But the Celtics now have an injury concern, with Porzingis lifting his jersey over his face in exasperation after getting hurt late in the first half. And with 5:04 left, the drama ramped up again when Tatum tried to shoot a 3-pointer after a foul was called. Adebayo defended the dead-ball play, and Tatum rolled his left ankle – but stayed in the game – after Adebayo stepped into his landing area. Referees called a flagrant-1 on Adebayo, and a technical on Al Horford.
The good news for Boston: History says this series is just about over.
This is the 29th time a Boston team has taken a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series. The Celtics won all 28 of the previous series, including seven times in the NBA Finals and a first-round series against Miami in 2010 – the last games the Heat played before luring LeBron James and Chris Bosh to South Florida and forming a superteam around Dwyane Wade.
Oklahoma City 97, (at) New Orleans 89
Jalen Williams highlighted a 24-point performance with a back-breaking 3 with three minutes left, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 97-89 on Monday night to complete a four-game sweep of their first-round playoff series.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which trailed by five in the fourth quarter before suddenly seizing control with a combination of stifling defense and opportunistic shooting.
New Orleans led 80-75 and had a chance to take what would have been the biggest lead for either team when Jose Alvarado blocked Gilgeous-Alexander and sent CJ McCollum the other way on a two-on-one break.
McCollum could not convert at the rim, however. Soon after, Chet Holmgren’s putback and Josh Giddey’s 3 tied it at 80 and ignited a decisive 18-2 run, capped by Williams’ second-chance 3, that put the Thunder up 93-82 with 3:08 left.
New Orleans, which played the entire series without star power forward Zion Williamson, never recovered.
(At) Denver 108, L.A. Lakers 106: Jamal Murray scored 32 points despite a strained calf and sank the game-winner with 3.6 seconds left as the defending NBA champion Denver bounced LeBron James from the playoffs again with a win over Los Angeles.
James’ two free throws tied it at 106 with 26 seconds left and the Nuggets, just as they did in Game 2, eschewed the timeout and Murray took the ball on a high screen and roll to his left, shaking Austin Reaves and he crossed through the lane and swished the 14-footer.
It was Murray’s buzzer beater that won Game 2.
“This one was a little better,” Murra said as confetti swirled around him and his celebrating teammates.
Nikola Jokic, who committed an uncharacteristic seven turnovers, narrowly missed his 19th career playoff triple-double with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists and Michael Porter Jr. scored 26.
James had 30 points and 11 assists and Davis had 17 points and 15 rebound but appeared bothered down the stretch after banging his left shoulder into MPJ in the second half.
The Nuggets advanced to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round starting next weekend. That series starts in Denver, where the Nuggets are a Western Conference-best 36-8, including 3-0 in the playoffs.
James, Ham face uncertain futures
The futures of LeBron James and Darvin Ham (Saginaw) with the Los Angeles Lakers are murky after their first-round playoff exit.
One might choose to leave and the other might not have a choice.
For James, the decision is his – whether he wants to wear purple and gold again in his 22nd NBA season.
For Ham, it's about whether the team brings him back for a third season as coach after back-to-back series losses to Denver.
Big decisions loom after the defending champion Nuggets eliminated Los Angeles from the playoffs with a 108-106 win in Game 5 on Monday. Soon after, James was asked if he had given any thought that this could very well be his last time pulling on his No. 23 Lakers jersey.
“I'm not going to answer that,” said James, who had 30 points and 11 assists.
All of it was difficult for James to process so soon after Jamal Murray drained the winning floater in the closing seconds. It was the second game in the series that Murray hit the game-winning shot. It was another game in which the Lakers blew a decent lead and a series in which they were oh-so-close to making it look even closer than a 4-1 win by Denver.
Not that James takes solace in that, or even uses it going forward should this team stay together.
“We lost. I’m not participation guy,” James said. “You move on. … It’s hard to say who we are or who we can be, because we have yet to be whole (due to injuries).”
Ham is on the hot seat after a second straight postseason exit at the hands of the Nuggets. He was asked how he would sum up what it's been like leading James and Anthony Davis, in this organization, as a first-time head coach.
“It’s a great question,” Ham said. “My mind is all over the place right now. Maybe at some point I'll give you an answer. It's been a hell of a two years, I'll tell you that. Ultimately, you want to win that ultimate prize.”
What's next for James at the moment is family time. His son, Bronny, has a decision to make on whether he's going to stay in the NBA draft or go back to school. LeBron James plans to rest and then prepare for training camp with USA Basketball, in order to get ready for the Paris Games this summer.
James demurred when asked about his longtime goal of playing alongside Bronny in the pros.
“I haven’t given much thought lately. I thought about it in the past,” James said. “The kid has to do what he wants to do – and I don’t want to say kid no more, young man has to decide what he wants to do. I just think the fact that we’re even having the conversation is pretty cool.”
James doesn't exactly know what factors will weigh on his decision to return for a seventh season with the Lakers.
Not now, anyway.
“I’ll sit down with Rich (Paul), my agent, and sit down with my family, see what’s best, what’s best for my career," James said. "We’ll cross that when we need to.”
Should he want to chat, Davis is always available.
“We complement each other,” said Davis, who played through a shoulder stinger in Game 5 to finish with 17 points and 15 rebounds. “He knows how I feel about him. … His goal is obviously to win and I feel like we can do that here.”
James, the league’s all-time leading scorer, will turn 40 on Dec. 30. He’s got a lot of mileage running up and down the court.
“Very taxing – mentally, physically, spiritually, everything,” James said of playing at this stage of his career. “It’s a lot of dedication, a lot of hard work and a lot of long hours. It’s very taxing, but it’s rewarding.
"Because if you love the game, you love the process and you love being great, you don’t mind taking the tax on your body and the mental and your psyche and things of that nature that comes with it.”
Messi shows up for Heat-Celtics game
Lionel Messi took a night off to watch the Miami Heat.
The Inter Miami star and eight-time Ballon d'Or winner as the world's best player – along with teammates Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez – arrived just before tip-off of the Heat playoff game with the Boston Celtics on Monday night.
Messi's group – some clad in Heat attire and Busquets wearing a Heat hoodie – arrived in the players' parking garage, then were brought in through a VIP entrance before making their way to their seats in a suite atop the lower level. Messi has been to the arena before for at least one other event, but never before had arranged to be at a Heat game since moving to Miami last year.
Inter Miami is 6-2-3 so far this season in Major League Soccer play, sitting in first place in the Eastern Conference and with the most points of any team in the league.
Messi had two goals and an assist in Inter Miami's 4-1 win at New England on Saturday, and has multiple goal contributions in five straight matches – the first MLS player ever to do that. He has nine goals and seven assists in seven matches with Inter Miami this season.
Messi, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in 2022, has more than 800 goals in his career for club and country, making him one of the greatest scorers in soccer history. He scored twice in the 2022 World Cup final against France, a match that ended 3-3 with Argentina prevailing 4-2 on penalty kicks.
Bucks, 76ers face elimination
Perhaps neither Milwaukee nor Philadelphia would've been good enough to beat a Boston team that ran away to the NBA's best record.
The Bucks and 76ers surely never thought about going out in the first round of the playoffs, though.
Both teams will be facing that possibility Tuesday on a night of Game 5s in the Eastern Conference, with the New York Knicks able to eliminate the 76ers and the Indiana Pacers in position to knock out the Bucks.
Cleveland and Orlando are tied 2-2 in the only series that can't end Tuesday.
With both clubs being led by a former MVP, the Bucks and 76ers expected to at least contend for a spot in the East finals. Milwaukee even added All-Star help for Giannis Antetokounmpo by acquiring Damian Lillard from Portland in last summer's biggest trade.
But with both players hurt, the No. 3-seeded Bucks have dropped three straight games to fall into their 3-1 hole against the No. 6 Pacers.
“We have to play as hard as we can. We have to execute our game plan. We have to keep guys in check. Even though we’ve been down before, we’re down two guys now, we’ve still got all the confidence in the world that we can get back here,” Bucks veteran Khris Middleton said Sunday after a 126-113 loss at Indiana.
Antetokounmpo, who has missed the entire series with his left calf strain, and Lillard (right Achilles tendon) were both listed as doubtful to play.
At least the Bucks will be playing at home. The 76ers aim to stave off elimination on the road, though they certainly didn't have much of a home-court advantage Sunday, when a large and loud contingent of Knicks fans watched Jalen Brunson score a franchise playoff-record 47 points in New York's 97-92 victory.
Joel Embiid played the whole second half but didn't have a basket in the fourth quarter.
The 76ers were 29-13, just a half-game out of second place, after the reigning MVP scored a franchise-record 70 points in a victory at San Antonio on Jan. 22. But he needed left knee surgery in early February, with Philadelphia tumbling down the standings in his absence and needing to win a play-in game just to make the playoffs as a No. 7 seed.
That left the Sixers with a much more difficult first-round matchup than they would have faced had Embiid stayed healthy, but he still thinks they can solve it.
“We know we’re good enough,” he said.
Unlike the Bucks' All-Stars, Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell supposedly isn't hurt anymore, though it's hard to tell by his play. He was scoreless in the second half of a 23-point loss in Game 4, attempting just four shots. The Cavaliers were outscored 37-10 in the third quarter of that one, after losing by a franchise playoff-record 38 in Game 3.
But he and his teammates remain unshaken.
“We’re very confident,” Mitchell said following Monday’s practice. “We had two games that didn’t go our way. At the end of the day, they handled home court. We have things we can improve on, obviously, but it’s our job to do the same.”
Eastern Conference
Milwaukee vs. Indiana
(Indiana leads 3-1)
▶ Game 1: Milwaukee 109-94
▶ Game 2: Indiana 125-108
▶ Game 3: Indiana 121-118 (OT)
▶ Game 4: Indiana 126-113
▶ Game 5: Tuesday @ Milwaukee, 9:30
▶ Game 6: Thursday @ Indiana, TBA
▶ Game 7: Saturday @ Milwaukee, TBA
Boston vs. Miami
(Celtics lead 3-1)
▶ Game 1: Boston 114, Miami 94
▶ Game 2: Miami 111, Boston 101
▶ Game 3: Boston 104, Miami 84
▶ Game 4: Boston 102, Miami 88
▶ Game 5: Wednesday @ Boston, TBA
▶ Game 6: Friday @ Miami, TBA
▶ Game 7: Sunday @ Boston, TBA
Cleveland vs. Orlando
(Series tied 2-2)
▶ Game 1: Cleveland 97, Orlando 83
▶ Game 2: Cleveland 96, Orlando 86
▶ Game 3: Orlando 121, Cleveland 83
▶ Game 4: Orlando 112, Cleveland 89
▶ Game 5: Tuesday @ Cleveland, TBA
▶ Game 6: Friday @ Orlando, TBA
▶ Game 7: Sunday @ Cleveland, TBA
New York vs. Philadelphia
(Knicks lead 3-1)
▶ Game 1: New York 111-104
▶ Game 2: New York 104-101
▶ Game 3: Philadelphia 125-114
▶ Game 4: New York 97-92
▶ Game 5: Tuesday @ New York, 7
▶ Game 6: Thursday @ Philadelphia, TBA
▶ Game 7: Saturday @ New York, TBA
Western Conference
L.A. Clippers vs. Dallas
(Series tied 2-2)
▶ Game 1: L.A. Clippers 109-97
▶ Game 2: Dallas 96-93
▶ Game 3: Dallas 101-90
▶ Game 4: L.A. Clippers 116-111
▶ Game 5: Wednesday @ L.A. Clippers, TBA
▶ Game 6: Friday @ Dallas, TBA
▶ Game 7: Sunday @ L.A. Clippers, TBA
Denver vs. L.A. Lakers
(Nuggets win 4-1)
▶ Game 1: Denver 114-103
▶ Game 2: Denver 101-99
▶ Game 3: Denver 112-105
▶ Game 4: L.A. Lakers 119-108
▶ Game 5: Denver 108-106
Oklahoma City vs. New Orleans
(Thunder wins 4-0)
▶ Game 1: Oklahoma City 94-92
▶ Game 2: Oklahoma City 124-92
▶ Game 3: Oklahoma City 106-85
▶ Game 4: Oklahomas City 97-89
Minnesota vs. Phoenix
(Timberwolves win 4-0)
▶ Game 1: Minnesota 120-95
▶ Game 2: Minnesota 105-93
▶ Game 3: Minnesota 126-109
▶ Game 4: Minnesota 122-116