Murray decided the close match, in which neither opponent led by double digits, with a hard one-footed shot from the corner of the six. In total, the hero of the team, who similarly decided the second duel, collected 32 points and seven assists, when he converted one six-pointer, five of 10 three-pointers and a total of 13 of 28 attempts from the field.
“I have no words. To decide in front of our fans, for the second time… I don’t know what to say, I’m just happy for our team,” said an emotional Murray immediately after the match. The Nuggets point guard was seconded by Michael Porter Jr. with 26 points, Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists.
LeBron James led the guests with 30 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, Austin Reaves scored 19 points and Anthony Davis had 17 points and 15 rebounds. He injured his hand during the match, but was finally able to finish. The Lakers hit 10 of 35 three-pointers and dropped nine sixes out of 27, while the home team shot just nine of them.
After previously eliminating Golden State and Phoenix, it will be the first time since 2005 that fans will not see Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant or LeBron James in the second round of the playoffs. In the second round, the Nuggets will face Minnesota, which has already knocked out the strong Phoenix clearly 4-0 for the games.
Oklahoma, which ended the series with New Orleans in the shortest possible time, is also heading to the conference semifinals. The fourth duel was decided only in the last part, which the guests won 27:18. The Thunder were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, both with 24 points, the former adding 10 rebounds.
At the same time, the Pelicans were not far from winning in the final quarter, but everything was decided by the visitors’ 18:2 streak. It didn’t help the home team that they fought without the injured Zion Williamson throughout the series, this time the team was led by CJ McCollum with 20 points and Lithuanian pivot Jonas Valanciunas with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
The Thunder advanced past the first round for the first time since reaching the conference finals in 2016. In the second, they will face the winner of the series between Dallas and the Los Angeles Clippers (2:2).
The only win away from advancing is Boston, which led by as many as 28 points in the fourth game in Florida. In the end, they succeeded 102:88, although they finished without Kristaps Porzingis, who had to withdraw due to a suspected Achilles tendon injury. He should be fine though.
Derrick White shined in particular, scoring a career-high 38 points, making 15 of 26 shots from the field and eight of 15 three-pointers. “I hit a few shots early on, that always helps. The basket then looks bigger than it actually is,” said White after the duel. He was followed by Jayson Tatum with 20 points.
The Heat relied on Bam Adebayo with 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists, Tyler Herro added 19 points and Caleb Martin added 18. Even this time, the team could not rely on Jimmy Butler, who has not yet played in the series due to injury.
| NBA Playoffs Round 1: |
|---|
| Eastern Conference – Game 4: |
| Miami – Boston 88:102, series status 1:3. |
| Western Conference: |
| Game 4: New Orleans – Oklahoma City 89-97, final series 0-4. |
| Game 5: Denver – LA Lakers 108:106, final series 4:1. |
