What if the Atlanta Hawks make another deep playoff run?
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Aaron Gordon scored 27 points, Nikola Jokic added 23 and the Denver Nuggets moved one win away from their first NBA championship by beating the Miami Heat 108-95 on Friday night to take a 3-1 lead in the title series. Bruce Brown scored 21 off the bench for the Nuggets, who took both games in Miami to grab complete command. They’ll have three chances to win one game for a title, two of those in Denver, the first of them coming there in what’s sure to be a raucous atmosphere for Game 5 on Monday night.
Jonathan Marchessault scored twice and started an early blitz that chased the NHL’s hottest postseason goalie, and Adin Hill continued his stellar play as the Vegas Golden Knights seized control of the Stanley Cup Final with a 7-2 victory over the Florida Panthers to take a 2-0 series lead. Hill made 29 saves and Marchessault had an assist to finish with three points.
DENVER — Staring down a 2-0 deficit in the NBA Finals, as the visitors in a hostile arena where no road team had prevailed in more than two months, the Miami Heat decided to do what they’ve done throughout the postseason.
LAS VEGAS — Back in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in five years and trailing the Florida Panthers less than 10 minutes into Game 1, the Vegas Golden Knights sent a very clear message.
NBA fans queued up to roast Mark Cuban after he tweeted asking those illegally streaming an NBA game to come forward.
Jimmy Butler scored 28 points and Caleb Martin gave Miami 26 points and 10 rebounds in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals to help the Heat beat the Celtics 103-84 and turn back Boston’s attempt at an unprecedented comeback. The Heat recovered after blowing a 3-0 lead in the series and advanced to the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons. They will face the Western Conference champion Nuggets. Game 1 is in Denver on Thursday night.
William Karlsson scored two goals and had an assist as the Vegas Golden Knights advanced to their second Stanley Cup Final with a 6-0 rout over Dallas. The Stars had extended the Western Conference Final to six games after losing the first three. William Carrier, Keegan Kolesar and Michael Amadio each had a goal and an assist for the Knights.
Derrick White scored on a putback with 0.1 seconds left and the Boston Celtics moved to the brink of the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history, holding off the Miami Heat 104-103 to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference finals. Jayson Tatum scored 31 points, Jaylen Brown scored 26 and Marcus Smart added 21 for the Celtics.
Ty Dellandrea scored twice in a 1:27 span midway through the third period and the Dallas Stars beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 on Saturday night to stay alive in the Western Conference Final. The Stars escaped elimination for the second game in a row and head to Dallas for Game 6 on Monday night down 3-2. Dallas is attempting to become the fifth team in NHL history win a series after being down 3-0.
Joe Pavelski scored on a power play at 3:18 of overtime and the Dallas Stars avoided a sweep in the Western Conference final with a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night. Jason Robertson scored twice for his first career multigoal playoff game for Dallas, which played without suspended captain Jamie Benn. Jake Oettinger had 37 saves, two nights after he was pulled 7:10 into Game 3 after allowing three goals on five shots.
Derrick White had 24 points, including six 3-pointers, helping lead the charge as the Boston Celtics dominated the Miami Heat 110-97 in Game 5 on to extend the Eastern Conference finals. Marcus Smart had 23 points and five steals. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown finished with 21 points apiece as the Celtics claimed their second straight win and trimmed Miami’s series lead to 3-2.
Jayson Tatum scored 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Derrick White and Jaylen Brown each added 16 points and the Boston Celtics staved off elimination in the Eastern Conference finals by running away in the second half to beat the Miami Heat 116-99 in Game 4 on Tuesday night. Grant Williams scored 14, Al Horford added 12 and Marcus Smart scored 11 for the Celtics, who still trail the series 3-1 — but sent it back to Boston for a Game 5 on Thursday.
Jonathan Marchessault and the Vegas Golden Knights are one more win from reaching another Stanley Cup Final. Marchessault had the first of three goals in the game's first 7 1/2 minutes for Vegas in a 4-0 win over the Dallas Stars to take a 3-0 series lead in Western Conference Final. Game 4 is Thursday night.
The Denver Nuggets are going to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists as the Nuggets swept the Western Conference finals with a 113-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4. Jamal Murray scored 25 points for the top-seeded Nuggets, who overcame LeBron James’ 31-point first half and a 15-point halftime deficit to earn their first conference title in 47 seasons in the NBA.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 32 shots for his first career playoff shutout, Sam Reinhart scored a power-play goal midway through the second period and the Florida Panthers moved one win away from a most improbable trip to the Stanley Cup Final by blanking the Carolina Hurricanes 1-0. Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett had the assists on Reinhart's goal for Florida, which now leads the Eastern Conference final 3-0.
Gabe Vincent scored a career-high 29 points, Duncan Robinson added 22 and the eighth-seeded Miami Heat are now just one win from the NBA Finals after rolling past the Boston Celtics 128-102 on Sunday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference title series. Caleb Martin scored 18, Jimmy Butler finished with 16, Bam Adebayo had 13 and Max Strus added 10 for Miami, which leads the series 3-0.
Chandler Stephenson jumped on a rebound 1:12 into overtime and hit the back of the net to complete a rally and give the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars and a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Final. Jonathan Marchessault forced overtime with a shot from the slot with just 2:22 left in the third period. Stephenson, Marchessault and Mark Stone each had a goal and an assist for Vegas, and Adin Hill saved 26 shots.
Matthew Tkachuk finished a feed from Sam Reinhart at the 1:51 mark of overtime to help the Florida Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 for a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference final. He had scored the winner in a four-overtime thriller less than two days earlier in Game 1. Florida won on the road for the eighth straight time in the playoffs and improved to 6-0 in overtime in the postseason.
Jamal Murray scored 37 points, Nikola Jokic added 24 points and eight assists, and the Denver Nuggets rolled to a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals with a 119-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Bruce Brown scored 15 points for the top-seeded Nuggets, who have never been this close to the NBA Finals in 47 years in the league. No team in NBA history has rallied from a 3-0 playoff series deficit.
Jimmy Butler scored 35 points, including 23 after halftime, and the Miami Heat rallied in the second half to beat the Boston Celtics 123-116 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. Miami trailed by nine at the half before outscoring Boston 66-50 over the final two quarters. It was Butler's fifth game with 30 or more points this postseason. Bam Adebayo added 20 points and eight rebounds. Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin and Gabe Vincent and Max Strus all added 15 points apiece.
Nikola Jokic's powerful display at both ends of the court propelled the Denver Nuggets past the Los Angeles Lakers 132-126 in the opener of the Western Conference Finals. The Nuggets led by as many as 21 points before the Lakers made a late push before falling short of winning an opener on the road for the third time in these playoffs. Anthony Davis scored 40 points for the Lakers.
Jonathan Marchessault scored three goals for his second career postseason hat trick as the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 in Game 6 of their second-round series to advance to the Western Conference final. Reilly Smith and William Karlsson also scored for the Golden Knights, and Ivan Barbashev had two assists. Adin Hill finished with 39 saves.
Jayson Tatum scored 51 points and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 112-88 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year. Tatum’s total is the most in a Game 7 in NBA history. Tatum had a slow start in the past two games but he scored 25 in the back-and-forth first half and 17 more in Boston’s 33-10 third quarter that turned a three-point lead into a runaway.
Jayson Tatum scored 51 points and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 112-88 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year. Tatum’s total is the most in a Game 7 in NBA history. Tatum had a slow start in the past two games but he scored 25 in the back-and-forth first half and 17 more in Boston’s 33-10 third quarter that turned a three-point lead into a runaway.