Los The Minnesota Timberwolves They eliminated this Sunday the Denver Nuggets of Nikola Jokicthe current champions of the NBAand the Indiana Pacers they fired the New York Knicks in decisive games of the conference semifinals.
Los Playoffs of the best basketball league had not experienced, until this Sunday, a day in which two visiting teams won in the seventh game of their playoffs.
In his first West Final from 2004los Timberwolves will face the Dallas Mavericks of Luka Doncic. For their part, the Pacers will be measured in the It is against the Boston Celtics.
The big surprise of the day took place at the Ball Arena in Denverwhere the Nuggets allowed a historic comeback of the young people Timberwolves until falling 98-90 and get off the defense of the first ring in its history.
Minnesotawhich was 38-53 down at halftimeis the first team to neutralize more than 11 points of disadvantage in the first half of a seventh qualifying match.
The Dominican center Karl-Anthony Townswith 23 points and 12 rebounds, was the great pillar of the visitor’s victory against the erratic night in the shooting of the young figure Anthony Edwards (16 points with an effectiveness of 25%).
“I’ve been here nine years and I’ve seen it all. And now having this team is super special”declared Townsleader of one of the five franchises that have never reached the Finales from NBA.
For the Nuggets, Nikola Jokicrecent winner of his third prize MVPachieved 34 points, 19 rebounds and 7 assists and the Canadian point guard Jamal Murray another 35 points.
The rest of his teammates, however, had a disastrous performance without any exceeding 7 points.
The locals extended their distance to 20 points (38-58) before the Timberwolves began a frantic reaction with the awakening of Edwards and the contribution of the forward Jaden McDaniels (23 so many).
Taking advantage of the fatigue of Jokic y Murraylos Timberwolves They were cutting ground until they took the lead at the beginning of the last quarter and remained in the lead until the end.
With this disconcerting defeat, the Nuggets They said goodbye to the goal of being the first to repeat the title since the Warriors in between 2017 y 2018.
From 2020no defending franchise of the ring has passed the second round of the Playoffs.
“The teams are hungrier, they are better and they have more talent than last year (…) Everyone wants to beat us”he claimed Jokic.
“Today we missed a lot of good shots but it’s not just our fault. They played very well in defense, there’s a reason they’re the best at it”conceded the Serbian star.
With historic effectiveness, Indiana Pacers eliminated the New York Knicks as a visitor
With a record offense, the Indiana Pacers they won 130-109 to the New York Knicks and they advanced to the Final of the It is for the first time in the last decade.
From the hand of its stars Tyrese Haliburton (26 points) and Pascal I’m sorry (20), los Pacers were confirmed as the great surprise of these Playoffs by winning the emblematic Madison Square Garden thanks to a percentage of 67.1% on field goalsthe best mark for a postseason game.
The triumph of Indiana It was a painful end to the illusions of the Knicks to reach the Final of the It is for the first time in 24 years.
The New York franchise, which already lost another opportunity to qualify in the sixth game, on Friday, was failed for once by its leader, Jalen Brunson.
The All-Star point guard was limited to 17 points and could not lead his teammates in the fourth quarter after suffering a fracture in his left hand.
The departure of Brunson It was the final straw for a team weighed down all season by injuries and that fought in the playoffs without its other All-Star, Julius Randle.
The monumental performance of the guard Donte DiVincenzowith 37 points and 9 triples, was not enough against the offensive display of the Pacerswhich started with a beautiful first half in which they scored 70 points.
Los Knickswho were down 22 points, woke up the Madison in the third quarter when they got within 73-67, but Indiana He did not lose his nerve and quickly brought the distance back to double digits.
Sixth seed It isIndiana will face the favorites starting Tuesday Boston Celticsthe best team in the regular phase.
2024-05-20 15:34:21
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