Starting 5, May 19: Two Game 7s hours away, Mavs advance in thriller – NBA.com

Dallas beat OKC to reach West Finals. Mavs will play winner of Nuggets-Wolves, while Celtics will face the Knicks-Pacers winner.

When you clinch your 2nd trip to the West Finals in three years.

Mavs Move On: Dallas rallied from 17 down to reach the West Finals for the 2nd time in 3 years
Right On Time: P.J. Washington got off to a slow start, but delivered in the clutch for Dallas
A New Chapter: The Knicks-Pacers rivalry gets to add another Game 7 to its lore
Roller Coaster: The Nuggets-Wolves series has seen massive swings, but gets settled today
7th Heaven: Get ready for today’s Game 7s with the best plays and pics from past Game 7s

Buckle up for two Game 7s to close out the Conference Semifinals.
Knicks-Pacers (3:30 ET, ABC): The latest chapter in this storied rivalry gets written today at Madison Square Garden. | How We Got Here
Nuggets-Wolves (8 ET, TNT): The Nuggets look to keep their title defense alive, while the Wolves look to advance on the 20-year anniversary of their last Game 7 win. | How We Got Here

Dallas Clinches At Home: Trailing by 17 in the 3rd quarter, the Mavs refused to let this series go back to OKC for a winner-take-all Game 7 — setting up a wild finish in Dallas.
Luka Doncic posted his 3rd straight triple-double (29 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast) to lead the comeback, as Dallas won the 2nd half 69-52 to come away with a 117-116 win on P.J. Washington’s free throws with 2.5 seconds left.

Dallas advances to its 2nd West Finals in three years with Luka as the only starter remaining from the 2022 squad. His new supporting cast delivered in the series-clincher over the West’s No. 1 seed.

SGA’s Playoff-Best Not Enough: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led OKC with a playoff career-high 36 points with eight assists in 43 minutes.
Historically Close Series: While the Mavs won the series four games to two, the composite score over six games was dead-even at 636-636.
What’s Next: The Mavs await the winner of today’s Game 7 between the Nuggets and Wolves to see who they will face in the West Finals, which tip off Wednesday with the Mavs on the road.

P.J. Washington entered Game 6 as Dallas’ 2nd-leading scorer in the series (19.4 ppg), but got off to a slow start in the series-clincher.
Clutch time was a much different story. He scored all nine of his points in the final 5:19 of the game, including two clutch 3s and the game-clinching free throws.


Washington, who joined the Mavericks at the trade deadline along with Daniel Gafford to bolster the Dallas frontline, provided the ultimate definition of “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”

Reggie Miller. Patrick Ewing. Rik Smits. John Starks.
Jalen Brunson. Tyrese Haliburton. Josh Hart. Myles Turner.
The names may be different in 2024 than they were in 1994 and 1995. But the Knicks-Pacers rivalry is burning as bright as ever as the teams meet in their 3rd Game 7 today in NYC (3:30 ET, ABC).
In a rivalry already filled with iconic moments – Reggie’s eight points in nine seconds, Ewing’s tip-in dunk to reach the Finals, Reggie’s 25-point 4th quarter – who will deliver the next performance that will be discussed decades later?
We’ve already had a few candidates earlier in the series:

Home Is Where The Hart Is? The home team has won each of the first six games of this series. For the playoffs, the Knicks are 5-1 at MSG, while the Pacers are just 1-5 on the road.
One team is 48 minutes away (or maybe more with overtime) from a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals and a matchup with Boston.

The winding unique path to tonight’s Game 7 (8 ET, TNT) began a year ago when the No. 1 Nuggets eliminated the No. 8 Timberwolves in the first round in five games.
Starting with that series, these teams have met 15 times over the past 13 months heading into tonight’s series finale. They are separated by a total of six points.
Minnesota 1,588; Denver 1,582.
The regular season saw Denver, Minnesota and OKC in a battle royal for the top seed in the West. The Thunder edged out the Nuggets via tiebreaker and the Nuggets finished one game up on the Wolves – giving Denver home-court advantage tonight.
Both teams have proven they can win on the other’s court in this series.

It sets up Minnesota’s first Game 7 in exactly 20 years. On May 19, 2004, Kevin Garnett led the Wolves to an 83-80 win over the Kings to advance to Minnesota’s first (and, so far, only) West Finals.
Can Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and the Wolves celebrate that 20-year anniversary with the franchise’s second Game 7 win ever … and become the 6th team since 2007 to eliminate the champs a year after losing a series to them?
Or will Jokic, Jamal Murray and the Nuggets avenge their lopsided Game 6 loss and keep their title defense alive?
It’s a special Sunday.
Game 7s don’t just decide series — they define legacies.
Moments become memories, finishes evolve into fairy tales, and triumphs turn timeless.
Get Ready: Feeling the Game 7 vibes? Same. Looking for a little extra hype this morning? Our video team’s got ya, with a few choice Game 7 cuts to start the day.

🔥 Fire Photos From Recent Game 7s





The 2024 NBA Playoffs Presented by Google Pixel concluded with the Boston Celtics winning their 18th championship.
The Pacers defended home against the Knicks to force Game 7 back at The Garden. Plus, tonight’s Thunder-Mavs Game 6 in Dallas.
With their season on the line, the Wolves raced past the Nuggets to force Game 7 back in Denver on Sunday.
The Celtics are headed back to the East Finals, while the Mavs move within one win of the West Finals.
The 2024 NBA Playoffs Presented by Google Pixel concluded with the Boston Celtics winning their 18th championship.
The Pacers defended home against the Knicks to force Game 7 back at The Garden. Plus, tonight’s Thunder-Mavs Game 6 in Dallas.
With their season on the line, the Wolves raced past the Nuggets to force Game 7 back in Denver on Sunday.
The Celtics are headed back to the East Finals, while the Mavs move within one win of the West Finals.
GG Jackson II continues leveling up, Colby Jones carves up the Jazz & rookie bigs stuff the stat sheet at the NBA 2K25 Summer League.
Neemias Queta rocks the rim while scoring a game-high 22 points, along with 8 rebounds & 3 blocks at the NBA 2K25 Summer League.
Kings guard Colby Jones carves up the Jazz, scoring a game-high 25 points (10-21 FGs) at the NBA 2K25 Summer League.
No. 7 overall pick Donovan Clingan continues stuffing the score lines, posting 8 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks.
GG Jackson II and Scotty Pippen Jr. show out for the Grizzlies in a wire-to-wire victory at the NBA 2K25 Summer League.
Heat rookie Kel'el Ware racks up a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double as Miami rolls at the NBA 2K25 Summer League.

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