Mathieu Warnier, Media365, published on Tuesday April 30, 2024 at 8:10 a.m.
Oklahoma City signed a fourth success in a row against New Orleans and reached the Conference semi-finals. Boston, for its part, only needs a victory against Miami when the die is cast for the LA Lakers, eliminated by Denver.
The Thunder ended the suspense. After its victories in the first three games of the series, the Oklahoma City franchise finished sweeping the New Orleans Pelicans. A meeting which, however, was indecisive almost until the end. Led by CJ McCollum (20 points, 6 rebounds) and Jonas Valanciunas (19 points, 13 rebounds), the Louisiana franchise gave everything in front of its supporters to try to extend this series. During the first three quarters, neither team was able to have a lead of more than five lengths even though it was the Thunder who were in the lead most of the time. But, after starting the last twelve minutes of regulation time on fire, the Pelicans ended up burning their wings. An 18-2 run in just under six minutes allowed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (24 points, 10 rebounds), Jalen Williams (24 points, 8 rebounds) and their teammates to make the decision. The Thunder won by eight units (89-97) and won the series four victories to nothing. Either the Clippers or the Mavericks will be on their way to the Western Conference Semifinals.
The Celtics reach the goal
On the Eastern Conference side, the Celtics were able to make the break against the Heat. The second match played in Florida saw the New England franchise leave very little to its opponent. Indeed, Bam Adebayo’s teammates (25 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists) were only able to lead the score for 56 seconds between a three-point shot from Nikola Jovic (3 points) and the response from Jaylen Brown (17 points, 5 rebounds). From there, the Boston players led the way. Before halftime, the Heat tried to put up resistance by staying below fifteen lengths behind to return to their locker room with a disbursement of 17 units. However, upon returning to the floor of the Kaseya Center, Derrick White (39 points), Jayson Tatum (30 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists) and their teammates changed their tone. Which allowed the Celtics to reach a maximum lead of 28 lengths at the very end of the third quarter. The die was cast despite all the good will of the Miami players. Boston signs a third success in four games (88-102) and will have the opportunity to conclude this Wednesday on its floor at TD Garden.
End of game for the Lakers
The Lakers couldn’t delay the deadline any longer. After their home victory last Saturday, LeBron James’ teammates (30 points, 9 rebounds, 11 assists) were able to believe in the impossible for a time on the Nuggets floor. In a match that was tight from start to finish, the California franchise was able to respond to each acceleration of the Colorado players, without making a difference. In fact, the maximum gap has never exceeded nine lengths. A margin that was built gradually and reached midway through the third quarter. It was enough to make Denver react. Michael Porter Jr (26 points) and Nikola Jokic (25 points, 20 rebounds, 9 assists) did what was necessary for their team to take control again. The final quarter saw the two teams going blow for blow. We had to wait until the very last seconds to know the outcome of this meeting. Thanks to two free throws, LeBron James tied the two teams with 26 seconds still on the clock. However, Jamal Murray (32 points, 7 assists) had the match point. Four seconds from the buzzer, he gave a definitive advantage to the Nuggets, who won by a short margin (108-106) but it made them happy. The Colorado franchise won four victories to one and will meet the Minnesota Timberwolves in the semi-finals of the Western Conference.
2024-04-30 12:20:15
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