Home BASKETBALL NBA NBA Playoffs: Thunder Sweep Suns, Nuggets Beat Wolves, Magic vs Pistons

NBA Playoffs: Thunder Sweep Suns, Nuggets Beat Wolves, Magic vs Pistons

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Nuggets Vs Timberwolves
Nuggets beat Timberwolves to Keep Series alive

SGA drops 31 in Thunder sweep of Suns. Jokic posts 27-16-12 as Nuggets beat Wolves. Bane’s 22 and late 3 lifts Magic past Pistons.


Jokic’s triple-double lifts Nuggets past shorthanded Wolves 125-113. Edwards, DiVincenzo out. Thunder sweep Suns. Magic lead Pistons 3-1...

  
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 31 points as the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs Monday, beating Phoenix 131-122.

  
The top-seeded Thunder took the Western Conference best-of-seven series 4-0, securing their third straight opening-round sweep.


“We just came in ready,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Love to play basketball, a group full of great kids that have fun together.”




“We do it for each other. None of us are selfish. We all want the next man to succeed and when you have those three things and put them together you get success.”

  
Oklahoma City will face either the Los Angeles Lakers or Houston Rockets in the second round. The Lakers lead that series 3-1.


“Ultimately, we've got to get better in the days between our next opponent,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.




The Thunder were the first team into the second round on the same night the surging Orlando Magic pushed Eastern Conference top seed Detroit to the edge of elimination, winning 94-88 to take a 3-1 series lead.


The Denver Nuggets staved off elimination as Serbian center Nikola Jokic posted a triple-double with 27 points, 16 assists, and 12 rebounds to lead the hosts past Minnesota 125-113, cutting Denver’s deficit to 3-2 against the Timberwolves.


Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player who set a playoff career high with 42 points in the Game 3 win, added eight assists to lead a road Thunder team that owns the postseason’s top scoring offense and defensive numbers.




Chet Holmgren chipped in 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder, who also got 22 points from Ajay Mitchell and 18 points plus 12 rebounds from Isaiah Hartenstein.

 
In Orlando, Desmond Bane led the Magic with 22 points, going 5-of-10 from three-point range. Orlando can eliminate the Pistons with a win Wednesday in Detroit.


Franz Wagner added 19 points for Orlando before exiting with a sore right calf, while Paolo Banchero had 18 points and eight rebounds.




The Pistons, who topped the East at 60-22, must win three straight to avoid a stunning exit to eighth-seeded Orlando, which finished 45-37.


Cade Cunningham paced Detroit with 25 points and Tobias Harris added 20, but the Pistons had 20 turnovers - double Orlando’s total.


The Magic haven’t reached the second round since 2010, losing six first-round series and missing the playoffs nine times in that span.




The Pistons haven’t made the second round since 2008, losing four first-round matchups and missing the playoffs 13 times since then.


Bane’s Clutch Three Sinks Pistons

Bane banked in a three-pointer with 1:16 left to put the Magic up 92-86, and Orlando hit late free throws to close out Detroit. The Pistons went more than five minutes without a field goal.


In Denver, the Nuggets forced a Game 6 at Minnesota on Thursday with a blowout win led by three-time NBA MVP Jokic and his teammates.




Jamal Murray scored 24 points for Denver, Spencer Jones had 20, and Cameron Johnson added 18. Julius Randle led Minnesota with 27 points. 




“We did a good job of bringing the energy for 48 minutes,” Murray said. †We've got to be poised and relaxed when we go to their building.”

 
The T-Wolves were missing two key guards. Anthony Edwards is out with a bone bruise and hyperextended left knee, while Donte DiVincenzo will miss the rest of the playoffs with a ruptured right Achilles tendon.
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