Houston (USA), .- The individual contributions of forward Kawhi Leonard and Serbian center Nikola Jokic, who achieved a double-double and triple-double, respectively, allowed their teams of the Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets both victories in the NBA playoffs Conference semifinals with which they recovered the field advantage, which they had lost.
Leonard claimed his All-Star status and with a double-double of 39 points, 14 rebounds and five assists he led the attack of the Raptors, who won at home by 96-101 to the Philadelphia Sixers in the fourth game of the tie of the semifinals of the Eastern Conference.
The win allows the Raptors to tie the series 2-2 that play the best of seven and recover the field advantage they had lost in the second game, played at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, where the fifth will be held on Tuesday.
Leonard always imposed his class, experience and inspirational encestadora when completing the best match of the series after playing 43 minutes in which he scored 13 of 20 field goals, including 5 of 7 triples, and 8 of 10 from the line of personnel.
He was the one who always kept ahead of the Raptors on the scoreboard, who finished the first part with partial advantage of 47-45 and decided the win when with 1:01 minute remaining he scored a monumental triple that put the score in 90-94.
Before, in the absence of 1:23 minutes of regulation time, Spanish power forward Serge Ibaka, who was also decisive along with center Marc Gasol, captured a defensive rebound after the clamorous failure of Cameroonian center Joel Embiid in a penetration, to allow that Leonard had the chance of the decisive triple.
That’s where the game ended for some inconsistent Sixers, in which only the escort Jimmy Butler, could compete with Leonard.
After Leonard’s basket, his teammate, guard Danny Green, another veteran of several NBA Finals with the San Antonio Spurs – both were traded by the Texan team last summer – scored four consecutive personnel shots that ensured the victory.
The Sixers also had five players with double-digit numbers, led by Butler, who contributed a double-double of 29 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
The escort J.J. Redick was next to Butler the other player of the Sixers that was competitive in the attack of the equipment of Philadelphia when obtaining 19 points after writing down four triples of seven attempts.
Jokic emerged once again as the great star of the Nuggets to which he contributed a triple-double of 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists that helped them win at home by 112-116 to the Portland Trail Blazers in the fourth game of the semifinal round of the Western Conference.
Jokic was once again an unstoppable force in all facets of the game and achieved his second consecutive triple-double and fourth in the playoff competition.
His contribution made it possible for the Nuggets to tie the series that play the best of seven and recover the field advantage, which had been lost in the second game played at the Pepsi Center in Denver, where next Tuesday.
But the player who made the difference in the end was the Canadian base Jamal Murray, who contributed 34 points, including the 11 shots of personnel he made.
In the individual duel he also beat Trail Blazers star base Damian Lillard, who this time could not be a winning factor and the Portland team lost the first game in their field since the playoffs began.
Another player of the Nuggets that raised his level, key in the final result, was the veteran power forward Paul Millsap, who finished with a double-double of 21 points, 10 rebounds and put two plugs.
Millsap scored 6 of 10 field goals, including 2 of 3 triples, and scored 7 of 8 from the personnel line.
Guards guard Gary Harry, who left the starter, contributed 14 points with five rebounds and reserve forward Will Barton reached 11 points and completed the list of the five Nuggets players who had double-digit numbers.
The triumph of the Nuggets came after the frustrating defeat suffered in the third game, which had to be decided in the fourth overtime, the second time it was in the history of the ‘playoffs’, and lost by 140-137 when they had every opportunity to have won.
The first time a playoff game had to be decided in four overtimes occurred in the year 1953 when the Boston Celtics faced off against the Nationals of Syracuse, also in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The first time a playoff game had to be decided in four overtimes occurred in the year 1953 when the Boston Celtics faced off against the Nationals of Syracuse, also in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Celtics won with a final score of 111-105, nothing to do with the one the Trail Blazers and Nuggets established.
CJ McCollum was once again the Trail Blazers’ leading scorer with 29 points, including four 3-pointers.
While Lillard managed 28 points and seven assists, but lost the duel with Murray and in the end could not be a winning factor that would have put the Trail Blazers with the advantage of 3-1 in the first semifinal that they dispute since 2016. (EFE )
