Sports
NBA Scores: Nikola Jokic’s big night is no match for the Suns’ superstar duo – SB Nation
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Plus: Sixers get even behind Harden’s big night
Down two late, James Harden worked around some screens to find Al Horford, a matchup he liked enough to drive on. He got to a middle-of-the-lane floater that floated its way in, tying the game. Joe Mazzulla let his Celtics work into the final possession of regulation without calling a timeout first. Marcus Smart found Jayson Tatum a switch and mismatch on Tyrese Maxey, Tatum drove and kicked back to Smart on the left wing for a wide open three that hit front rim.
The drama wasn’t over yet because there was an Embiid/Smart charge that appeared to me like a solid and-one that remained a charge despite a Doc Rivers challenge. There was also an egregious no-call on Tatum pushing Maxey before a stepback three, but the Sixers were able to overcome even that with Harden hitting a three assisted by Embiid to take the final lead. Tatum found Smart for a three just after the buzzer, knotting the series at 2.
Harden was great all game, finishing with 42 points (16-23 FG), eight rebounds, nine assists to just one turnover, four steals (!!!), and one block in 47 minutes. His MVP teammate Joel Embiid was close behind with 34 points (11-26 FG) and 13 rebounds in 46 minutes. Knotted up, the series heads to Boston for a decisive game 5 on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
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This game started like every other game from the series — the stars showing out. The four of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant combined for 77 of the 124 combined first half points. When factoring in assists, that jumps up to 96 points, or 77.4 percent of the scoring.
Down the stretch of that first half, Jokic became involved with Suns owner Mat Ishbia, at one point shoving him down in an effort to retrieve the ball. Was it a little insane to see an NBA player shove what appeared to be a fan and only get a technical foul? Yes. Did Ishbia sell the charge like walk-ons can be known to? Yes.
Jokic and the Suns owner.
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By game’s end, Jokic finished with a playoff career high 53 points and 11 assists while Murray added 28 and Durant broke out for 39 and 11 rebounds. It was the efficient and calculated efforts of Booker’s 36 on 14-18 shooting with a playoff career high 12 assists that made the difference. Over the past two wins, Booker has just nine misses on 43 shots. He’ll look to continue the hot play when the series shifts back to Denver for game 5 on Tuesday at 10 p.m.
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