The favored Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks in the west and the Philadelphia 76ers in the east fixed promotion in the first round duels of the NBA playoffs. The Suns scored 115:109 against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday (local time) in the best of seven, as did the Mavs, who beat the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City with 98: 96 won. Philadelphia clearly won the Toronto Raptors with 132:97.
The Suns struggled but could count on Chris Paul. The 36-year-old playmaker showed a “perfect” throwing performance, he hit all 14 attempts from the game and was also successful with his four free throws. No player in NBA playoff history had done that before. Paul threw a total of 33 points. Phoenix’s best player, Devin Booker, came back from a hamstring injury with 13 points. Brandon Ingram’s 21 points and 11 assists didn’t help the Pelicans either.
Phoenix now meets Dallas in the semifinals of the Western Conference. The Mavericks advanced to the second round for the first time since winning the 2011 title. Star player Luka Doncic wrote 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the win against Utah. The game was in limbo to the end. Bojan Bogdanovic freely missed a three for the Jazz 1.9 seconds before the final siren.
The 76ers completed the semifinal duels in the Eastern Conference. The team around the two stars Joel Embiid and James Harden is now dealing with Miami. Embiid finished the game in Toronto with 33 points and 10 rebounds, Harden with 22 points and 15 assists.
(APA) / Image: Imago
