Portland: Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday each achieved career playoff scoring highs as the New Orleans Pelicans held off the Portland Trail Blazers 131-123 on Saturday at Smoothie King Center.
Davis scored 47 points and Holiday 41 as the Pelicans clinched the best-of-seven playoff series with a four-game sweep. Rajon Rondo dished out 16 assists to go with seven points and seven rebounds for New Orleans.
CJ McCollum had 38 points, Al-Farouq Aminu scored 27 points, Damian Lillard added 19 and Jusuf Nurkic contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Trail Blazers.
Portland lost despite shooting 52.6 per cent from the field and turning the ball over just six times. But the Blazers could not stop New Orleans, which shot 57 per cent and assisted on 28 of their 45 baskets.
Sixers 106, Heat 102
JJ Redick scored 24 points and Ben Simmons added a triple-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to carry Philadelphia past host Miami.
Simmons is the fifth rookie in NBA history with a triple-double in the playoffs and the first since Magic Johnson had five in 1980.
Joel Embiid had 14 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots and Dario Saric added 11 points as the Sixers took a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 25 points while Goran Dragic added 20. Game 5 will be on Tuesday at Philadelphia.
Timberwolves 121, Rockets 105
Jimmy Butler and Jeff Teague combined for 51 points, and Minnesota finally produced a terrific offensive performance to blow past visiting Houston.
The starting backcourt of Butler and Teague outplayed the Rockets’ tandem of James Harden and Chris Paul, helping the Timberwolves cut the series deficit to 2-1 with Game 4 on Monday at Target Center. Andrew Wiggins added 20 points and Karl-Anthony Towns posted a double-double (18 points and 16 rebounds) as Minnesota shot 50 per cent and rode a 69-point second half to victory.
Harden paired 29 points with seven assists while grabbing seven boards. Chris Paul scored 17 with six assists. Ryan Anderson, in his first action since April 3 after recovering from a sprained ankle, added four 3-pointers for 12 points in 18 minutes off the bench.
Jazz 115, Thunder 102
Ricky Rubio recorded 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career postseason triple-double to lead Utah to a home victory over Oklahoma City. Game 4 is on Monday at Salt Lake City.
Donovan Mitchell contributed 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Jazz took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round playoff series. Joe Ingles made five 3-pointers while scoring 21 points, Rudy Gobert added 18 points and 12 rebounds and Derrick Favors tallied 11 points. Paul George led Oklahoma City with 23 points while Russell Westbrook made just 5-of-17 shots while producing 14 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton scored 14 points apiece.
Westbrook committed eight of the Thunder’s 17 turnovers. — Reuters
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
