Defending champion Boston and fourth-seed Indiana joined East no. 1 Cleveland in the East semifinal round on the same night Denver put the LA Clippers on the brink of elimination and Detroit living to fight another day.
CELTICS, PACERS ADVANCE TO EAST SEMIS; NUGGETS LEAD 3-2 AND KNICKS EXTEND SEASON
- Indiana Pacers (4-1) def. Milwaukee Bucks (1-4), 119-118: The Pacers erased a seven-point deficit in the final 40 seconds of overtime to eliminate the Bucks anew in Game 5.
Indiana now arranged a must-see East semifinal showdown with the no. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers.
- Ice in His Veins: Tyrese Haliburton scored Indiana’s final five points, including the game-winning lay-up with 1.1 seconds left in the extra period, to help the Pacers complete a 20-point comeback.
- Boston Celtics (4-1) def. Orlando Magic (1-4), 120-89: Jayson Tatum and defending champion Celtics became the latest team to enter the semifinal round, stamping class over the Magic via dominating Game 5 series clincher.
- Just Got JT’ed: Tatum fell two rebounds shy of a triple-double behind his 35 points, 10 assists, and eight for Boston, who awaits the winner of the New York-Detroit showdown.
- Denver Nuggets (3-2) def. LA Clippers (2-3), 131-115: Jamal Murray delivered the goods with 43 points — his sixth 40-point career playoff game – in a commanding Nuggets home rout of the Clippers to seize a 3-2 series lead in a pivotal Game 5 clash.
[ALSO READ: Jamal Murray’s 43 torches Clippers as Nuggets dominate in Game 5, knock on West semis door]
- Detroit Pistons (2-3) def. New York Knicks (3-2), 119-118: Cade Cunningham bucked a rough shooting to drop 20 of his 24 points in the second half, helping the Pistons to squeak past the Knicks to force a Game 6.
[ALSO READ: Gutsy Pistons live to fight another day, deny Knicks to force Game 6]
