Pistons Force Game 5, Nuggets Cruise vs. Clippers to Take 3-2 Lead; Pacers, Celtics Advance

Pistons Four first round games took place on Tuesday night, with the Detroit Pistons winning in New York to force a Game 5 on Thursday back in Detroit, the Denver Nuggets comfortably defeating the Los Angeles Clippers to take a 3-2 series lead, and the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers clinching second round appearances. 

At Madison Square Garden, the Pistons prevailed 106-103 behind Cade Cunningham’s 24 points (8 rebounds, 8 assists, 6-for-17) and Ausar Thompson’s 22 points and 7 rebounds (8-for-10). Tobias Harris was 6-for-13 (3-of-5 from deep) for 17 points and 8 rebounds, and Jalen Duren played a strong inside game with 14 rebounds to go along with 9 points and 6 assists on 4-for-8 shooting. Dennis Schroder added 14 points off the bench (6-for-13) in 22 minutes while Malik Beasley scored 10 on 4-of-11 shooting. The Pistons shot 42.4%, slightly worse than the Knicks’ 43.3%. Both teams shot poorly from deep - the Pistons 8-for-29 and the Knicks 9-for-25. 

Karl-Anthony Towns put up a double-doubke of 17 points and 11 rebounds but made just of five of 14 attempts, and Jalen Brunson was 4-for-16 for 16 points and 7 assists. Mikal Bridges scored 17 points with 6 assists (7-for-16, 2-for-6 from deep). Josh Hart played a solid all-around game once again - 15 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists on 7-for-13 - and Mitchell Robinson in 23 minutes was great off the bench with 13 points and 11 rebounds on 5-for-8 shooting. 

In Indianapolis, the Pacers went on an 8-0 run to end the game, and the series, with a 119-118 win in overtime.

Despite Giannis Antetokounmpo’s superhuman 30 points, 20 rebounds, and 13 assists in 44 minutes (9-for-17, 11-for-17 from the line), and Gary Trent Jr.’s 33 points (8-for-17 from deep), the Pacers had six players in double-figures, led by Tyrese Haliburton’s 26 points, 9 assists, and 5 rebounds though he was 10-for-22 overall and 2-for-10 from 3-point range. Myles Turner was 5-for-11 (3-for-6 from deep) for 21 points and 9 rebounds, Aaron Nesmith was 8-for-15 for 19 points and 12 rebounds, and TJ McConnell was 7-for-11 off the bench in 17 minutes for 18 points. Andrew Nembhard was 5-for-14 for 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. 

The Pacers shot 42.6% and 36.4% from downtown while the Bucks shot 45.6% and made 19 triples to the Pacers’ 12. The Bucks had a 53-45 rebounding edge, but committed 17 turnovers to the Pacers’ 12. 

The Pacers will now face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, while the Bucks’ season ends in disappointment. Any time you have a superstar like Antetokounmpo, you expect to go deep into the playoffs. However not having Damian Lillard at full strength upon his return from deep vein thrombosis and not having him mostly for Game 4 and all of Game 5 because of his torn Achilles suffered in Game 4 raises questions about the roster and franchise going forward. A lot of things will change over the offseason. 

The Nuggets put on an impressive showing at home, defeating the Clippers 131-115 and taking a 3-2 series lead. Jamal Murray in 40 minutes scored 43 points (17-for-26, 8-for-14 from downtown), and Russell Westbrook scored 21 points in 25 minutes off the bench (8-for-15) on a night where Nikola Jokic struggled (if you can call it that considering his still ended the evening with a triple-double) going 4-for-13 from the field. Jokic put up 13 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds. 

Westbrook made 3-of-6 triples, and Aaron Gordon scored 23 points on 7-for-11 and while Michael Porter Jr. scored 14 points on 3-for-5 from downtown. Christian Braun was 5-for-8 for 11 points with 12 rebounds. 

Denver shot 55.8% from the field and made 17-of-33 from downtown and slightly won the turnover battle 9 to 10. 

Kawhi Leonard was 8-for-15 for 20 points, 11 assists, and 9 rebounds, but his scoring impact was not felt as much. Ivica Zubac was 11-for-15 for 27 points and 5 rebounds, scoring well inside. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 18 points in 23 minutes on 5-for-11 off the bench and Kris Dunn played a solid game with 15 points on 6-for-7 (3-for-4 from deep). Norman Powell struggled, 12 points on 5-for-12, while James Harden shot 3-for-9 for just 11 points. 

The Clippers got as close as nine points, 116-107 with minutes remaining, but could not close the gap. The Nuggets continued to hit shots, led by Murray. 

The Celtics advanced to the second round with a dominant performance over the Orlando Magic 120-89. The Celtics ended the game on a 50-29 run after leading 70-60 in the third quarter. Trailing 49-47 at halftime, they outscored the Magic 36-13 in the third and 73-40 overall in the second half. 

Boston shot 56.6% from the field to the Magic’s 37.5%, and made 13-of-24 triples to the Magic’s 21.1% (8-for-38). Jayson Tatum was 10-for-16 and 4-for-5 from downtown for 35 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds, and Jaylen Brown put up 23 points and 6 assists on 9-for-18. 

Franz Wagner (10-for-22) led the Magic with 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists while Paolo Banchero registered 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists but shot just 6-for-15. Wendell Carter Jr. registered a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Magic outrebounded the Celtics 44-38, and committed nine turnovers to the Celtics’ 11, but the long distance shooting and free-throw disparity (21-of-24 for the Celtics, 15-of-22 for the Magic) made a difference. 

Orlando gave an admirable effort (Games 2 and 4 were each decided by nine and they gutted out a 95-93 win in Game 3) but the Celtics’ scoring is difficult to overcome. The Celtics play the winner of the Pistons-Knicks series in Round 2.