Thursday’s NBA action saw two teams advance to the second round of the playoffs with two teams eliminated as two teams set up a blockbuster all-or-nothing game 7.
In the Western Conference, three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and his Denver Nuggets side’s playoff campaign came to an end after suffering a shock elimination against the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves.
In the east, the heavily-favoured No 3 seed New York Knicks routed the Atlanta Hawks to advance, while the Philadelphia 76ers won their second straight elimination game to set up a decider on the Boston Celtics’ patch for Saturday, live on Sky Sports.
Jokic’s Nuggets fall at first hurdle in elimination to Timberwolves
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, right, and Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert hug after Game 6
The playoffs had their first shock exit as the No 3 seed Nuggets – led by MVP contender Nikola Jokic – fell in six games to a young Timberwolves side.
Jaden McDaniels produced possibly his greatest playoff performance in six years with Minnesota to send his side comfortably through, putting up 32 points and 10 rebounds in a 110-98 victory.
Jokic capped a poor series with a return to form in the last game, notching 28 points on 58 per cent shooting, but it was too little too late for the Serbian to save his side, whose season comes to a disappointing end having been considered championship contenders by many
Minnesota’s win sets up a daunting Western Conference semi-final series against Victor Wembenyama and the No 2 seed San Antonio Spurs.
Knicks surge past Hawks with emphatic game six victory
O.G. Anunoby’s 29 points was his highest scoring total in the playoffs so far
Meanwhile in the east, the Knicks sealed their conference semi-final berth with a dominant 140-89 victory over the Hawks.
Mike Brown’s team set a record for the largest half-time lead in NBA playoff history, as a 47-point advantage at the break meant the game was as good as over by the interval.
The 51-point victory was the largest playoff win in franchise history, thanks in no small part to the performance of O.G. Anunoby, whose 29 points made sure his side will face the winner of Philadelphia and Boston’s elimination showdown on Saturday night.
Heroic Sixers force decider with shock victory
Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid played his second game back after recovering from appendicitis
The No 7 seed Sixers continued their quest to put past playoff ghosts to bed as a 106-93 victory in front of their home fans set up a mouth-watering winner-takes-all game seven against the Boston Celtics.
Philadelphia – who could still be knocked out for the fourth time in the last eight seasons by the Celtics – won their second straight game in the face of elimination and looked a different team to earlier in the series, having suffered heavy defeats by 32 points twice in the first round, buoyed by a healthy post-appendectomy Joel Embiid and a 30-point performance from All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey.
Should they win the decider, they will become only the second team in 67 years to win a playoff series after losing two games by 30 or more points – and finally claim a post-season series victory over their most bitter rivals.
