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A dazzling show from Josh Giddey has helped Oklahoma City determination 1 crippled person to the adjacent signifier of the playoffs aft a 21-point triumph implicit the New Orleans Pelicans.
The triumph gave the Thunder a 3-0 bid pb implicit New Orleans and volition present person the accidental to adjacent retired the bid connected Tuesday (AEST).
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Giddey was 1 of the Thunder’s champion against the Pelicans, scoring 21 points and racking up 8 rebounds on with six assists.
Jalen Williams and superstar constituent defender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander besides made large scoring contributions with 21 and 24 points respectively.
Although Giddey’s postseason vocation is conscionable 3 games old, his show successful crippled 3 against the Pelicans was the champion of the batch and proved helium tin grip the occasion.
He besides sent NBA fans into meltdown with a slick determination connected the Pelicans’ CJ McCollum aboriginal successful the 2nd quarter.
Giddey picked up the shot from his ain baseline and drove up the tribunal earlier breezing past McCollum astatine the halfway enactment erstwhile helium bounced the shot astir his back, putting the Pelicans antheral into a spin.
The Aussie past got past McCollum erstwhile again with a Euro measurement earlier converting for an casual lay-up.
The Thunder Podcast reposted the imaginativeness with the caption: “MY GOODNESS”.
The Athletic’s Andrew Schlecht besides described Giddey’s determination arsenic “special”.
It was 1 of Giddey’s 8 field-goals made from 13 attempted portion besides converting 4 three-pointers from seven.
LAKERS END NUGGETS CURSE
The Los Angeles Lakers, fueled by 30 points from superstar LeBron James, stayed live successful the NBA playoffs with a 119-108 triumph implicit the Denver Nuggets.
Down 3-0 to the defending champions and facing elimination, the Lakers stood steadfast connected their location floor, weathering a triple-double from Nuggets prima Nikola Jokic to nonstop the bid backmost to Denver for crippled 5 connected Monday.
After the Lakers fto double-digit leads evaporate successful losing each of the archetypal 3 games, James scored 14 points successful the 4th fourth to guarantee it didn’t hap again.
“I emotion the 4th quarter,” James said. “I recognize it is close-out clip and we haven’t been capable to bash that versus this squad done 3 games.
“So contiguous I had an accidental to bash that and I wanted to deliver,” added the 39-year-old, who connected connected six of 8 shots successful the last period, drew a complaint and came up with a bargain that helium parlayed into a dunk astatine the different end.
But the four-time NBA champion wasn’t acceptable to observe the Lakers’ archetypal triumph implicit Denver successful 12 contests, since December of 2022, knowing that nary NBA squad has rallied from 3-0 down to triumph a playoff series.
“We’re inactive down 3-1,” helium said. “So each and each crippled volition beryllium its ain challenge. We took attraction of concern contiguous to widen the series, but we’ve got to beryllium adjacent better.”
Anthony Davis added 25 points and a whopping 23 rebounds for Los Angeles. Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell scored 21 points apiece.
Russell repaid the religion of manager Darvin Ham, who kept him successful the starting lineup aft helium went scoreless successful crippled three.
Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic scored 33 points with 14 rebounds and 14 assists.
Michael Porter Jr. added 25 points and 10 rebounds and Jamal Murray added 16 for the Nuggets successful defeat.
BOSTON BACK IN DRIVER’S SEAT
In Miami, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 22 points apiece, Tatum adding 11 rebounds and six assists arsenic the Celtics led from commencement to decorativeness successful a 104-84 triumph implicit the Heat.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 points and Derrick White chipped successful 16 for the Celtics, who allowed the Heat the fewest points of immoderate Celtics hostile this season.
“That’s wherever we’re going to triumph games at, connected antiaircraft end,” Tatum told broadcaster TNT, adding that adjacent if shots aren’t falling “if you tin get stops, you tin fig it out.” Boston appeared to person this 1 figured retired early, starring 21-12 aft the archetypal 4th earlier erupting for 42 points successful the 2nd period.
They were up by 24 points astatine halftime, having dominated each facet of the crippled and scored 19 points disconnected Miami turnovers. They pushed the pb to arsenic galore arsenic 29 successful the 2nd half.
Miami, who had conscionable 9 three-pointers aft raining 23 treys successful their crippled 2 victory, volition effort to regroup erstwhile they big crippled 4 connected Monday.
MAGIC STAR DELIVERS AS SERIES TIED
The Orlando Magic, with 32 points from Franz Wagner and a ascendant 2nd half, thrashed the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-89 connected Saturday to level their NBA Eastern Conference playoff bid astatine 2-2.
The Cavs, who were blown retired by the Magic successful crippled 3 astatine Orlando, scored conscionable 29 points aft the interval arsenic the Magic erased a nine-point halftime shortage and relentlessly pulled away.
With Magic prima Paolo Banchero struggling to conscionable 9 points and 4 rebounds, Germany’s Wagner filled the void, grabbing 13 rebounds with 4 assists and a blocked shot.
The Magic’s suffocating defence made Cleveland’s offence vanish successful the 2nd half, erstwhile the Cavs went much than six minutes without scoring.
Orlando took afloat advantage, ripping done a 31-5 scoring tally that carried them to a 92-70 pb aboriginal successful the 4th fourth earlier Caris LeVert ended the Cavs’ drought with a leap shot.
But LeVert was 1 of respective Cavs to endure a pugnacious shooting night, connecting connected 2 of 8 attempts connected the mode to 5 points.
Jarrett Allen led Cleveland with 21 points and 9 rebounds with Cavs prima Donovan Mitchell finishing with 18 points.
“Our guys made the close adjustments,” Magic manager Jamahl Mosley said of his team’s large 2nd half.
“(They) realised it was astir the assemblage and shot movement, sharing it, moving it, trusting the pass,” Mosley said, calling their antiaircraft effort “special.” The bid returns to Cleveland for crippled 5 connected Tuesday.
FULL NBA PLAYOFF RESULTS
Magic 112-89 Cavaliers (Series tied 2-2)
Pelicans 85-106 Thunder (OKC leads 3-0)
Heat 84-104 Celtics (Celtics pb 2-1)
Lakers 119-108 Nuggets (Nuggets pb 3-1)
Originally published arsenic ‘My goodness’: Josh Giddey dazzles with ‘special’ enactment arsenic OKC roll
English (US) ·