Pinoyliga Daily NBA Recap: Toronto Survives, Clippers Take 3-1 Lead

Two games were played Thursday (Manila time). One needed two extra periods while the other one saw a team lead by double digits most of the time. Another typical day in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Entering Thursday's game, the Boston Celtics only needed one win to eliminate the defending champions, Toronto Raptors, and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Instead, they will play one more time on Saturday (Manila time) to determine who will face the Miami Heat in the next round after the Raptors won a nail-biting 125-122 Game Six win against the Celtics in their Eastern Conference semifinals to keep their title defense alive. The Raptors went up by four points after Kyle Lowry hit a difficult turnaround jumper with 11 seconds left in the second overtime but Jayson Tatum nailed a three-pointer to make it a one-point deficit. Norman Powell iced the final score with a pair of freebies as Marcus Smart missed on Boston's final possession.

Kyle Lowry finished with 33 points, eight rebounds, and six assists in 53 minutes. Norman Powell came up big off the bench with 23 points while Fred VanVleet added 21 points despite shooting three for 11 from the three-point line. Serge Ibaka and OG Anunoby each had 13 points. Pascal Sikam was the last Toronto player to score in double figures with 12 points. 

Boston had four stars with at least 18 points led by Jaylen Brown's 31 points to go along with 16 rebounds. Tatum added 29 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists but also turned the ball over six times. Marcus Smart had 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists while Daniel Theis scored 18 points. The Celtics lost despite outrebounding the Raptors, 58-46. 

The game between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers was an entirely different story with a different ending as the Clippers took a 26-12 lead after the first quarter and never looked back, en route to a 96-85 win to move one win away from securing a seat in the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. Seven Clippers scored at least 10 points led by Kawhi Leonard who finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds, nine steals, four steals, and two blocks. Montrezl Harrell showed why he's the Sixth Man of the Year this season with a 15-point outing while Lou Williams added 12 points. Marcus Morris and Ivica Zubac each scored 11 points with Zubac pulling down nine rebounds and blocking two shots. Paul George finished with 10 points for Los Angeles who won by outscoring Denver, 38- 22 in the paint that offset their 28% shooting from beyond the arc.

Nikola Jokic had 26 points for Denver while Jamal Murray scored 18 points. Michael Porter Jr. had 15 points off the bench for the Nuggets who shot 39% from the field including a woeful 33% from the three-point line. Denver also committed 17 turnovers from which the Clippers scored 13 points. 

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