2024 NBA playoffs Wikipedia

In a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals, the Nuggets won their ninth consecutive game against the Lakers, fueled by Nikola Jokić’s 32 points and 12 rebounds on 65% from the field. Jamal Murray contributed 22 points and 10 assists, as the two-man game of Jokić and Murray yielded 17 assists to zero turnovers. Aaron Gordon secured a double-double while Michael Porter Jr. finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. On the Lakers‘ side, LeBron James scored 27 points and Anthony Davis added 32, as Los Angeles led for the majority of the first half. But a 13–0 run late in the third quarter by the Nuggets, which included three Kentavious Caldwell-Pope three-pointers, allowed them to seize control of the game.

Series Preview: What to expect in NBA Finals

Dončić’s 13 assists primarily went to centers Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II, who combined for 30 points on 14-of-16 shooting. Following Dončić’s go-ahead three with 3.0 seconds left, Naz Reid, who was previously 7-of-8 from deep, missed a potential buzzer-beating three for the Timberwolves. Gobert notched a double-double, while Mike Conley added 18 points, but the All-Star duo of Edwards and Towns continued to struggle, as they combined to shoot 9-for-33 (27%) from the field, with Towns benched during the fourth quarter. Jalen Brunson recorded his fourth consecutive 40-point game and rallied the Knicks from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win the series opener. Myles Turner finished with a team-high 23 points for the Pacers, while Pascal Siakam finished with 19 points as Indiana got strong support from their bench, as they outscored New York’s bench 46–3. Tyrese Haliburton had eight assists and four steals but finished the fourth quarter with zero points and three turnovers.

Postponed games due to other reasons

After averaging just 22 points on 39% shooting over the first four games, Luka Dončić delivered a 31-point triple-double and made 12-of-22 shots to give the Mavericks a pivotal 3–2 series lead heading back to Dallas. On the road facing a hostile crowd, the Mavericks trailed by six early but seized the lead midway through the first quarter and maintained it for the rest of the game. Derrick Jones Jr. recorded 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, Kyrie Irving added 12 points, and both P. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points and dished out eight assists, but no one else on the Thunder scored more than 13 points, as his teammates combined to shoot 8-of-36 (22%) from deep. After missing the entire second quarter due to a foot injury and trailing by ten at halftime, Jalen Brunson’s return in the second half sparked a 21–4 run and propelled the Knicks to a 2–0 series lead.

( New York Knicks vs. ( Indiana Pacers

The Pacers, who averaged a league-high 123.3 points per game, finished with a season-low 94 points and shot 8-of-38 (21%) from three-point range. After vowing the 76ers were “going to win this series”, Joel Embiid scored a playoff career-high 50 points, with 18 of them coming in a decisive third quarter to win 125–114. Embiid, who’s been battling Bell’s palsy, was 13-of-19 from the floor, made 19-of-21 free throws, and hit five three-pointers, with four of them coming during Philadelphia’s 43–27 third quarter. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 39 points and 13 assists on an improved 48% from the field, while Josh Hart and OG Anunoby recorded 20 and 17 points, respectively.

• Josh Hart recorded a double-double and hit multiple three-pointers late in the fourth quarter, while Jalen Brunson had seven rebounds and seven assists.
• The Mavericks, led by their trio of Dončić, Irving, and Washington, protected homecourt and secured a 2–1 series lead over the top-seeded Thunder.
• All rounds were a best-of-seven series; a series ended when one team won four games, and that team advanced to the next round.
• Evan Mobley tied his season-high with 33 points as Cleveland were left without Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert.

Western Conference finals

Donte DiVincenzo scored 39 points on 9-of-15 from deep, and Alec Burks added 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Luka Dončić recorded his fourth triple-double in five games and drained a game-winning three-pointer over the Defensive Player of the Year (Rudy Gobert), securing a 2–0 series avatrade review lead for the Mavericks. Trailing by as much as 18 late in the second quarter, the Mavericks shot 60.5% from the floor (23-for-38) after halftime, with Kyrie Irving scoring 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter.

The Heat, who trailed by as much as 29, struggled to find an offensive rhythm, with Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro combining on 13-of-34 (38%) from the field. With the win, the Celtics improved to 15–4 immediately following a loss this season and improved to 6–1 in their last seven road playoff games against Miami. The Mavericks, led by their trio of Dončić, Irving, and Washington, protected homecourt and secured a 2–1 series lead over the top-seeded Thunder. Dončić contributed 22 points and 15 boards while Irving finished with 22 points and seven assists, as the pair made key plays down the stretch. Washington scored 27 points and spearheaded a 16–0 run in the third quarter that gave Dallas a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, while rookie Dereck Lively II, being fouled intentionally in the fourth quarter, finished 8-of-12 on free throws.

Anthony Edwards was held to under 25 points for the first time in five games, while Karl-Anthony Towns made 4-of-5 three-pointers for the Timberwolves, who endured their largest defeat of the season. The Timberwolves stunned the Nuggets in the first half, as they jumped out to a 26-point halftime lead that they rode to take a commanding 2–0 series lead back to Minneapolis. Without Rudy Gobert, the Timberwolves still held Denver to 80 points, their fewest in any game since 2020.

• Brunson shot 18-of-34 from the field and finished with an assist-turnover ratio of 10 to 1, as he surpassed the 46 points scored by Bernard King in 1984.
• For the third consecutive game, the Wolves overwhelmed the Suns in the third quarter, highlighted by Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s four three-pointers, to take a 22-point lead into the final quarter.
• Jarrett Allen led the Cavaliers with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Donovan Mitchell scored 18 points in the first half.
• Maxey finished with a playoff career-high 46 points and nine assists on 57% shooting, while Joel Embiid, who shot 7-of-19 from the field and committed nine turnovers, recorded his first playoff triple-double.

For the Clippers, Norman Powell had 20 points off the bench and Ivica Zubac recorded his third double-double of the series, while Paul George and James Harden continued to struggle, combining for 34 points on 32% (11-of-34) shooting. In a pivotal game 5, the Cavaliers edged past the Magic 104–103, with Evan Mobley blocking Franz Wagner’s layup in the final seconds to secure the victory. After the first four games had a combined eight lead changes, game 5 featured 17 lead changes. In his fifth career playoff game, 21-year-old Paolo Banchero scored 16 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter and finished 14-of-24 from the field for the Magic, who lost their seventh consecutive road game dating back to the regular season. Tyrese Haliburton’s game-winning three-point play in the final seconds of overtime gave the Pacers their first back-to-back postseason wins since 2014. Pascal Siakam had 17 points and nine rebounds, while Myles Turner’s playoff career-high 29 points and nine rebounds also bolstered the Pacers‘ effort, as they led by as much as 19 in the first quarter.

Myles Turner and Andrew Nembhard scored 22 and 20 points respectively, as the Pacers shot 55.6% in game 2 compared to 39.6% in game 1. Tyrese Haliburton also provided 12 assists for Indiana, who snapped a 10-game playoff losing streak that dated back to 2018. Damian Lillard scored 26 by halftime for the Bucks but finished with 34, continuing his second-half struggles with just eight points in two games this series. The Celtics dominated the game from start to finish, winning every quarter and blowing out the Heat for a 4–1 series win. Jaylen Brown also contributed 25 points, while Jayson Tatum completed a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Western Conference first round

The Magic overcame a 50-point performance by Donovan Mitchell to defeat the Cavaliers 103–96 and force a game 7 back in Cleveland. Paolo Banchero scored nine of his 27 points during a 14–7 Orlando run to end the game, Franz Wagner had 26 points, and Jalen Suggs made six three-pointers and finished with 22 points for the Magic. Meanwhile for Cleveland, Darius Garland scored 21 points on 59% shooting, Evan Mobley had five blocks, and Mitchell shot 22-of-36 from the field and scored the Cavaliers‘ final 22 points, including all 18 in the fourth.

Derrick White scored a career-high 38 points to move the Celtics to the brink of the second round. White shot 15-of-26 from the field and 8-of-15 from beyond the arc for Boston, who are 28–0 all-time in playoff series after taking a 3–1 lead. Despite the win, the Celtics lost Kristaps Porziņģis in the first half to a calf injury, from which he would not return until the NBA Finals. For the Heat, Bam Adebayo recorded a double-double with 25 points and 17 rebounds, while Tyler Herro recorded 19 points and five turnovers. Despite a 4-of-8 three-point shooting night from Caleb Martin, the rest of the Heat shot 5-of-25 from deep, as they managed under 90 points for the second consecutive game. For the third consecutive game, Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving delivered in the clutch for the Mavericks, finishing with 33 points each and leading a decisive 14–3 run to conclude the game as Dallas took a commanding 3–0 series lead.