NIKOLA Jokić drained a go-ahead basket as Denver Nuggets escaped with an 80-78 win over Utah Jazz in the do-or-die Game 7 of the 2019-2020 NBA Western Conference first round playoffs on Wednesday at Lake Buena Vista in Orlando, Florida.
With the score tied at 78-all following a dunk by Jazz’s Rudy Gobert, Jokić drained a difficult turn around shot to surge the Nuggets ahead before tightening its defense down the stretch to escape the win.
Jokić finished the match with 30 points and 14 rebounds, Jamal Murray cooled down with 17 markers, while Michael Porter Jr. contributed 10 points for Denver.
The Nuggets, which overcame a 1-3 deficit in the best-of-seven series, advanced to the Western Conference semifinals against the no. 2 ranked Los Angeles Clippers.
Meanwhile, Marcus Smart ignited the offense for Boston Celtics in the fourth period to pull off a 102-99 victory over Toronto Raptors and take a 2-0 edge in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Down by as much as 12 points, Smart anchored Celtics’ fight back with three straight triples in 73 seconds before hoisting another triple and a four-point play to surge his team ahead 86-85.
Boston went on to establish a 95-87 advantage but Toronto countered with a rally to come to within 99-102 and had a chance to tie the score but Fred Van Vleet missed his 28-foot attempt. Smart finished the match with 19 points, Jayson Tatum led the way with playoff career-high 34 points, while Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown added 17 and 16 markers, respectively, for Boston./PN
