The Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday eliminated Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets, while the New York Knicks put on one of the most dominant displays in NBA playoff history, destroying Atlanta to advance.
Sixth-seeded Minnesota are to play the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semi-finals after completing a 110-98 win for a 4-2 series upset defeat of third-seeded Denver.
Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic top-scored for Denver with 28, but it was not enough to fend off the dogged Timberwolves, who were playing without star man Anthony Edwards due to injury.
Photo: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
The clash in Minneapolis was tight throughout, with no team gaining a double-digit lead until the game’s dying moments. The Timberwolves edged the first half, leading 57-50 at the break, before Jokic roared to life. The Serbian superstar scored 14 points in the third quarter alone to ensure a nail-biting finish.
Having already been ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct from Game 4 after a shoving match, Jokic enraged the home crowd by sparking another brawl, with Jaylen Clark. With his Timberwolves leading by five with 90 seconds remaining, Jaden McDaniels sank a long jump-shot for two to rouse the home fans and force a Nuggets timeout.
When play resumed Denver could only turn over the ball again. McDaniels closed out the win with two free throws, ending his night with a career-high 32 points, to top-score overall.
“It’s a great night. It’s a great victory for us. Hopefully ... we’ve got 12 more to go,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “We came into these playoffs not trying to beat Denver, but trying to win a championship.”
A visibly crestfallen Jokic, whose side last won the NBA championship just three years ago, said they “just didn’t do a good job.”
“I needed to play better. I must play better,” he said.
The Knicks routed the Atlanta Hawks 140-89.
It was the most points scored and the biggest win by the Knicks in a playoff game, setting up an Eastern Conference semi-final with either the Celtics or the 76ers, who are tied 3-3.
The Knicks wrapped up their 4-2 series victory in emphatic style, leading the Hawks by as many as 61 points before benching their starters for the final quarter.
New York’s 47-point halftime lead, at 83-36, was the widest in NBA post-season history.
O.G. Anunoby top-scored with 29 points, including 26 in the first half, before he was rested. None of New York’s starters played more than 29 minutes.
“We can’t just meet the moment, we’ve got to exceed it, and I thought we did a great job of doing that tonight,” said Karl-Anthony Towns, who recorded a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Having finished third in the Eastern Conference, the heavily favored Knicks had been down 2-1 early in the playoff series, before roaring back. They are the first team to advance to the East’s semi-finals — their fourth straight year of reaching that stage.
The Hawks briefly led at the start of the game, going up 11-9 before the wheels dramatically came off. They trailed 40-15 at the end of the first quarter.
The final 51-point margin of defeat was not quite the largest in playoff history, which stands at 58 points.
“Obviously you hate to lose anything, and to lose the way we did, I think, particularly given the enthusiasm and support that we’ve had from the people in this building ... disappointed on a lot of levels,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said.
The Celtics playoff series against the 76ers is headed for a decisive Game 7 in Massachusetts after Philadelphia beat Boston 106-93.
The Celtics had held a 3-1 series lead, but the 76ers proved dominant on their home court to make it 3-3.
Tyrese Maxey top-scored with 30 points. Paul George added 23, and 2023 Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid poured in another 19, plus 10 rebounds and eight assists.
It is the 23rd playoff series between the two historic rivals — an NBA record.
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