BBNBA: Tyrese Maxey, Jamal Murray one win away from making Conference Finals

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bbnba-tyrese-maxey-jamal-murray-one-win-away-making-conference-finals — Photo by Tim Nwachukwu | Getty Images

A pair of former Kentucky Wildcats are on the brink of making it to their respective Conference Finals. Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers and Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets are now just one win away from advancing to the third round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs

We’ll start with Maxey, who had his best postseason performance since Game 2 of the 76ers’ first-round series. The shot-making guard went off for 30 points in Philly’s impressive 115-103 beatdown of the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 series advantage. Maxey reached his 30 points on 10-21 shooting, including a 6-12 mark from beyond the arc. He also chipped in seven rebounds and three assists in 41 minutes of action.

Tyrese Maxey on Joel Embiid, James Harden and Tobias Harris: "I got to be careful when I shoot. When I shoot sometimes and I miss, they're on me. And then I shoot, I make it and they say, 'Great shot.' I love them to death man." pic.twitter.com/wcf9WGUX6i
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) May 10, 2023

The three-seeded Sixers controlled Game 5 in Boston, outscoring the two-seeded Celtics by 16 through the first three quarters before leading by as many as 21 in the fourth frame. Boston fans booed their team as most went for the exits halfway through the final period. MVP winner Joel Embiid dished out 33 points for the 76ers, his third straight 30-point outing. James Harden added 17 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists for Philly, as well.

But back to Maxey for a second. After failing to break the 15-point threshold in any of the last three games of this series, he was due for a big night. Luckily for the Sixers, it came in the team’s biggest game of the season thus far.

Game 6 shifts back to Philadelphia where Maxey’s crew will look to polish off the series and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Tipoff for the potential series-clincher is scheduled for Thursday at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.

Booker’s 28 not enough to slow down Murray, Nuggets

Devin Booker has arguably been the best player up to this point in the postseason, but he can only do so much against the offensive juggernaut that is the top-seeded Denver Nuggets.

With Booker’s four-seeded Phoenix Suns coming off back-to-back wins at home to knot this series at 2-2, Denver came out looking like a championship contender in Game 5. The Nuggets flat-out dominated Phoenix on Tuesday night, winning by a final score of 118-102. Denver took an 11-point lead after the opening quarter and blew the doors wide open in the third quarter. Although Phoenix was able to make it a three-point game at the intermission, that was more fool’s gold than anything. Denver was in control from start to finish.

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Booker still finished with 28 points, continuing his streak of scoring at least 25 points in every playoff game so far, but he shot just 8-19 overall from the field. For reference, the one-time ‘Cat was unguardable in Games 3 and 4, shooting a mind-melting 34-43 overall during those two Phoenix wins. Booker added six rebounds and four assists to his Game 5 stat line. Kevin Durant contributed 26 points for the Suns, too.

But Denver’s two stars outshined Phoenix’s duo. The Nuggets were powered by two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who dropped 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists for his 10th career triple-double (passing Wilt Chamberlain for the most by a center in league history). Jamal Murray was important too, popping off for 19 points, five rebounds, and six assists in 36 minutes. He was knocking down tough shots in the post, which prompted a great answer from him during the postgame press conference when asked about those looks.

"I grew up playing the 5 because I was always taller than everybody…"

Jamal Murray discusses his post moves following the Game 5 win 🔊#NBAPlayoffs presented by @GooglePixel_US pic.twitter.com/prBK0BACSM
— NBA (@NBA) May 10, 2023

Game 6 will head back to Phoenix where Murray and the Nuggets will look to finish the series off and make the Western Conference Finals. Tipoff is set for Thursday at 10:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.

5/9/23 statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Tyrese Maxey (PHI)	115-103 W @ BOS	30	10-21 (6-12)	7	3	0	0	1	15	41
Devin Booker (PHX)	102-118 L @ DEN	28	8-19 (4-7)	6	4	0	0	2	-19	40
Jamal Murray (DEN)	118-102 @ vs. PHX	19	7-15 (2-4)	5	6	1	0	2	23	36