Pinoyliga Daily NBA Recap: Boston Inches Closer, Clippers Bounce Back

Two games with similar situations. One team wanted to get the advantage in their best-of-seven conference semifinal series. 

The Boston Celtics, after losing the previous two games, came out firing since the opening tip and never looked back to beat the defending champions, Toronto Raptors, 111-89 in Game Five to move one win away from clinching a seat in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference Finals. All five starters of Brad Stevens scored in double figures with Jaylen Brown leading the way with 27 points. Kemba Walker added 21 points while Jayson Tatum had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Daniel Theis finished with 15 points in making all of his five attempts from the field while Marcus Smart scored 12 points. Brad Wanamaker added 15 points off the bench for the Celtics.

Toronto was led by Fred VanVleet's 18 points while Norman Powell added 16 points off the bench. Kyle Lowry only had 10 points on three for eight field goal shooting in 34 minutes while Pascal Siakam also had 10 points in 28 minutes. The defending champions couldn't get back into it after Boston led by 27 points after two quarters.

Game Three between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Denver Nuggets was unpredictable but in the end, it was the combined star power of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George that proved to be the difference as the Clippers escaped with a 113-107 victory to go up 2-1 in the Western Conference semifinal series.  Paul George erupted for 32 points on 12 for 18 field goal shooting while Kawhi Leonard added 23 points and 14 rebounds. The Clippers outscored the Nuggets in the fourth quarter, 29-19 which allowed Los Angeles to hang on with an important win.

Nikola Jokic had 32 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists for Denver who lost despite scoring 58 points in the paint. Jamal Murray was limited to 14 points on five for 17 field goal shooting. Free throw shooting played a big role in the Nuggets' loss as Denver went to the line ten times while the Clippers attempted 26 freebies- making 20 of them.

Photo is from CBS Sports