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Sunday in the 2023 NBA Playoffs made up for some recent blowouts as both games were thrillers with the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns able to tie their series at 2-2 with the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets.
The Bearded One Delivers 42 Points in Overtime Win
It looks like the 76ers have found their path to victory in this series: James Harden scoring 42 points and nailing a dagger 3. He did so in Game 1, played awful in Games 2-3, and bounced back like a Hall of Famer should in Game 4 with 42 points, 6-of-9 from deep, and the game-winning 3 in overtime.
But while Harden paced the 76ers, Boston was able to keep this one uncomfortably close despite trailing by as many as 16 points. Jayson Tatum scored 2 points in the first half and 22 in the second half. But Harden stole the show with a game-tying basket to force overtime after Marcus Smart failed to connect on a shot.
After an apparent push-off move that was not called, Tatum’s 3 with 38.1 seconds left in overtime could have been the game-winning shot. But Joel Embiid (34 points, 13 rebounds) wisely got the ball to Harden, who hit a corner 3 with 19 seconds left.
The Celtics did not call timeout and were very slow in setting up their final play, down 116-115. By the time Smart got the ball for another game-winning 3 attempt, the clock already expired well before he released the shot, which did go in too. Maybe if the Celtics showed more urgency, they would be up 3-1, but now it is tied 2-2 after Harden’s incredible game.
Jokic Scores 53 But It’s Not Enough in Phoenix
If you enjoy watching offense, Suns-Nuggets is the series for you. The 129-124 win by Phoenix was another masterclass for Devin Booker, who scored 36 points on 14-of-18 shooting. With 36 points from Kevin Durant and a surprising 19 points from Landry Shamet, the Suns had just enough to stay ahead of Denver and tie this series at 2-2.
Nikola Jokic was amazing too with 53 points and 11 assists, the 4th-most points in a playoff loss in NBA history. But Jokic did not get as much help from his teammates as they shot 5-of-18 from 3, including another struggle for Jamal Murray, who finished with 28 points on 25 shots.
But Jokic did have 6 turnovers and was involved in one of the wildest sequences of the playoffs when he got into a scuffle with Phoenix owner Mat Ishbia out of bounds, who appeared to flop after an elbow by Jokic:
Should Nikola Jokic receive more punishment for the elbow on Suns owner Mat Ishbia?
Or did Ishbia flop? 🧐pic.twitter.com/pvqagkNc83
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 8, 2023
Jokic received a technical foul but was not ejected. We will see if his status for Game 5 is affected by this, a potentially messy situation with an owner involved. But this series sure is heating up, and the offense that continues to get the most from its stars should win.
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