Cavaliers 98, Pacers 95 (Cavs lead 3-2)
LeBron James hit a three at the buzzer to break a tie and give the Cavaliers a thrilling three-point win. LeBron’s heroics — part of a 44-point scoring effort — came after a tumultuous final 30 seconds. First, he lost the ball out of bounds with the game tied, giving the Pacers a shot to win it with time running down. He responded by blocking Victor Oladipo‘s attempt at the rim:
THE SWAT! pic.twitter.com/FkVbiDxD0K
— NBA (@NBA) April 26, 2018
That gave it back to Cleveland with three seconds left, and of course, James got the ball:
GAME. WINNER. 👑 (via @Cavs) pic.twitter.com/qFXgnmCno5
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) April 26, 2018
Domantas Sabonis had 22 points to lead the Pacers in scoring. Indiana actually led by seven at halftime, but the Cavs came out of the locker room on fire to take an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter. Sabonis, however, scored eight in the final 12 minutes as the Pacers clawed back and eventually tied the game.
Thunder 107, Jazz 99 (Jazz lead 3-2)
This game should have been all over. The Jazz led by 25 points a few minutes into the second half and the Thunder seemed utterly lifeless. Utah was on the verge of moving on to the conference semifinals.
And then Russell Westbrook got going. It started with back-to-back threes to bring the deficit to 18. He scored eight more points and five minutes later, the Thunder were within eight. He hit back-t0-back threes again at the end of the quarter and suddenly the score was tied.
Russ kept going from there, putting his team ahead three separate times in the fourth quarter. He finished with 45 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists in one of the great comebacks in playoff history. He didn’t do it alone either, as Paul George scored 34 points as well.
For the Jazz, Jae Crowder had 27 points, including six threes that helped them build that massive lead. They’ll look to rebound in Game 6 at home on Friday.
ALL. THE. WAY. BACK.
Russ 👌! pic.twitter.com/lT9OSTIQLV— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) April 26, 2018
Rockets 122, Timberwolves 104 (Rockets win series 4-1)
The Houston Rockets are moving on. The 1 seed in the West dispatched of the Timberwolves in five games, this time using a 30-15 quarter to go ahead after trailing at the half. While James Harden struggled in the early going, he found a rhythm in the second half and finished with 24 points and 12 assists. Clint Capela led Houston in the scoring column with 26 points on 12-14 shooting to go with 15 rebounds.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 23-and-14 to lead Minnesota in its final game of the season. The Rockets now await the winner of the Jazz-Thunder series in the conference semifinals.
Harden about to get going? (via @HoustonRockets) pic.twitter.com/e30WtNHWwH
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) April 26, 2018
Raptors 108, Wizards 98 (Raptors lead 3-2)
DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points and Kyle Lowry had 17 points and 10 assists as the Raptors held off the Wizards to move within a game of advancing. In a close game down the stretch, Delon Wright scored nine of his 18 points in the final 3:38, including seven straight to give Toronto an eight-point lead with two minutes left. With the win, the Raptors have still avoided losing three straight games all season. To advance, however, they will need to win in Washington on Friday night. John Wall had 26 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists to lead the Wizards, while Bradley Beal added 20 points.
Off and running in Game 5 🌪 (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/GWKrZrftNK
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) April 25, 2018
