Denver, Phoenix to meet in semis in West, Boston upset by Trae Young

Never sell the skin of the bear … But it is a bit of the mistake made by the Celtics, who saw themselves a little too early to face the Sixers, already qualified, by leading by 13 units at the start of the last quarter -time, in the wake of Jaylen Brown (35 pts) still wearing his Batman-style face mask. In the end, they had to bow (119-117), on a banderilla at long distance, planted by the leader of the Hawks, two seconds from the buzzer. Young, deprived of his attacking partner Dejounte Murray, suspended for having slightly jostled a referee in the previous match, thus pulled out all the stops in money-time. “We were missing an important element and we wanted him to play the sixth game,” commented the hero of the evening about his teammate. “I didn’t feel any pressure on me. We all had to step up, not just me, we all did that tonight. It’s a team victory.”

Cold-blooded and warm-handed, the small Atlanta leader (38 pts, 13 assists) walked with leaps and bounds on the Garden floor. His two consecutive award-winning baskets had first brought Atlanta to a tie (111-111) 2 min 30 from the end, then ensuring his free throws each time his opponents, including Marcus Smart exceeded as rarely in defense, sent him on the line.

In the end, his 16 pawns in this final period knocked out the Celtics who will have to recover from this disillusionment, even if they remain in favorable waivers, still leading 3-2. Always great favorites, they will nevertheless have to give a boost Thursday in Atlanta. And Jayson Tatum (19 pts at 8/21 in shots) will have to be a little more bleeding, while adjusting their defensive effort on Young. Because losing a match by finishing it with an address at 53.3% is enough to fuel frustration.

In the West, the expected outcomes have indeed taken place. The Nuggets nevertheless had to fight hard against the Timberwolves (112-109), who cracked in the last moments, when Jokic took things in hand, with 8 of his 28 points achieved in the last 90 seconds. The double MVP in title, however awkward (8/29), finished with a big triple-double (17 rbds, 12 assists), Jamal Murray having been the most prolific with 35 pawns.

And the two team leaders had to be concerned to contain Minnesota’s resistance, bleeding inside with 58 points scored (against 40), Karl Anthony Towns (26 pts, 11 rebounds) and Rudy Gobert ( 16 pts, 15 rebounds) doubling down. But the two twin towers collected six faults, synonymous with exclusions in the last thirty seconds, and Anthony Edwards (29 pts) narrowly missed the extension.

Qualified (4-1), Denver, seeded N.1 in the West, will therefore face Phoenix (N.4). The Suns also finished in five games with the Clippers (136-130), too weakened by the absences of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, but who made a strong impression in the first period, returning to the locker room with a nine-point lead (70-61). Devin Booker then erupted in the third quarter, scoring 25 points (10 assists), with insolent skill (10/11 on shots over this period, 19/27 in the end). Not enough to beat LA, who did not give up, reducing the gap from 20 to 2 units in the last three minutes, thanks to Nick Powell (27 pts) and Nicolas Batum (19 pts) in particular.

It was finally Kevin Durant who worked to stifle this ultimate rebellion, with 4 precious points scored in the last 58 seconds (31 in total) to make up for the sudden feverishness of his team.