BBNBA: Heat advance, Wolves fall in Game 5 classic
Another day, another ticket punched to the NBA conference semifinals. The Miami Heat wrapped up their first-round bout against the Atlanta Hawks with another defensive clinic on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, the Suns rebounded from Sunday’s loss without Devin Booker, and the Wolves and Grizzlies delivered an instant-classic finish. Let’s dive right into it.
Tuesday’s Results
(1) Heat 97 – (8) Hawks 94 | MIA wins series 4-1
(2) Grizzlies 111 – (7) Timberwolves 109 | MEM leads series 3-2
(1) Suns 112 – (8) Pelicans 97 | PHX leads series 3-2
Short-handed Heat dust off Hawks, advance to Eastern semis
No Jimmy Butler, no Kyle Lowry, no problem for Miami. The top-seeded Heat closed out one of the more impressive defensive showings in a Playoff series Tuesday night, beating Atlanta 97-94 in Game 5 without their two biggest offensive facilitators. They held Hawks superstar Trae Young to just 11 points, his third sub-12 outing of the series after averaging 28.4 PPG in the regular season.
Bam Adebayo was excellent, collecting a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double in the win. The Hawks had no answer for him inside all night:
The Heat also benefitted from a 23-point, three-steal performance by Victor Oladipo, and of course a cool 16 off the bench from Tyler Herro. But the star of the show was their defense as a unit, with every player contributing to the effort. The final possession of Atlanta’s season summed up the series, as the ball wound up in Adebayo’s hands:
Miami will have a couple days off now, as they await to face the winner of Philadelphia and Toronto in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The 76ers had gained a 3-0 lead, but the Raptors have won the last two contests to make things interesting. Game 6 is scheduled for 7:00 Thursday night.
Butler is considered day-to-day with knee inflammation, but odds are he’ll be ready to go for the next next series. Lowry’s status is less certain, as he works his way back from a strained hamstring.
Towns, Timberwolves drop heart-breaker in Memphis
Memphis-Minnesota has arguably been the best series of the first round, and Tuesday’s Game 5 may have been the highlight of the Playoffs so far. The underdog Wolves led for most of the night, but then something happened — and that something was Ja Morant. If you haven’t seen this mind-bending dunk yet, you’d best sit down:
Starting with that dunk, the Grizzlies would go on to out-score the Wolves 39-24 in the final 12 minutes of the game. Karl-Anthony Towns had a strong night with 28 points and 12 boards, but once again, he’s remembered for the wrong reasons. In this case, he celebrated a little too early…
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Morant’s game-winning layup came after a miraculous game-tying three by Anthony Edwards, who scored 22 in the loss. But as we all know, no one remembers the shot before “the shot.“
The loss is surely a tough one to swallow, but the Wolves will have a chance to earn revenge this weekend. Game 6 is set for Friday night in Minneapolis, with the home team hoping to force a rubber match. Should be a fun one.
Suns bounce back, win Game 5 without Booker
If Wolves-Grizz has been the most dramatic series, Suns-Pelicans has been perhaps the most surprising. Nobody expected New Orleans to give the league’s top squad this much of a battle — but here we are five games in, and the result is still very much in doubt.
Of course, a major factor has been the health of Devin Booker. The 25-year-old superstar hasn’t played since injuring his hamstring in Game 5, and Chris Paul has clearly been worn out trying to carry the load without him. Credit to the Pelicans, who have risen to the challenge with their offensive versatility and scrappy play.
Still, Phoenix was able to restore some sense of normalcy on Tuesday, even without Booker. They beat the Pelicans 112-97, thanks in large part to the efforts of Villanova product Mikal Bridges:
The Suns also got 22 points and 11 assists from Paul, and a solid 12 off the bench from Murray State alumni Cam Payne. Now they’ll have a chance to close things out Thursday night, though the New Orleans crowd will be ready and eager to put a wrench in those plans.
Whatever happens, it likely won’t include Booker. He’s expected to be out another week at minimum.
Full Stats:
| Player | Result | Points | FG (3PA) | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Turnovers | Minutes | +/- |
| Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) | 111-109 L @ MEM | 28 | 7-15 (5-7) | 12 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 35 | -3 |
| Bam Adebayo (MIA) | 97-94 W vs. ATL | 20 | 7-11 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 41 | +5 |
| Tyler Herro (MIA) | 97-94 W vs. ATL | 16 | 6-12 (0-4) | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 33 | -6 |
| Jarred Vanderbilt (MIN) | 111-109 L @ MEM | 6 | 3-5 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | -10 |
| Kevin Knox (ATL) | 97-94 L @ MIA | DNP – Coach’s Decision | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Devin Booker (PHX) | 112-97 W vs. NOP | DNP – Hamstring | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Today in the NBA
7:30 (TNT) – (6) Bulls @ (3) Bucks | MIL leads series 3-1
10:00 (TNT) – (6) Nuggets (Cousins, Murray*) @ (3) Warriors | GSW leads series 3-1
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