Thunder forces Game 7
Chris Paul gave the Oklahoma City Thunder at least one more game in the bubble, scoring 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter for a 104-100 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday night in Game 6 of a Western Conference first-round series.
Paul made two free throws with 13.1 seconds left and the game tied at 100, and Danilo Gallinari added two more after a turnover by Russell Westbrook to finish it off.
Game 7 will be Wednesday night, with the winner advancing to face the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers.
In a game that was close all the way — neither team led by double digits — the Thunder bounced back from a blowout in Game 5. And nobody handles close games better than Paul, who led the NBA with 150 points in clutch situations, defined as the last five minutes of a game in which the point differential is five or fewer points.
“We expect him to make those shots, especially at the end of the game,” Gallinari said.
Gallinari added 25 points.
James Harden had 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Rockets, while Robert Covington had 18 and Westbrook 17 in his second game back from a right quadriceps strain.
But they combined for 12 of the Rockets’ 22 turnovers, saying Houston has lost the close games more than Oklahoma City won them.
“It’s kind of been on us, to be completely honest,” Westbrook said.
HEAT 115, BUCKS 104: Jimmy Butler scored a playoff career-high 40 points, Goran Dragic added 27, and Miami clamped down defensively in the final three quarters to beat Milwaukee in Game 1 of their
Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Bam Adebayo had 12 points, 17 rebounds and six assists for the fifth-seeded Heat, which is 3-1 against the top-seeded Bucks this season. Tyler Herro added 11 points for Miami, which improved to 5-0 in the postseason.
Khris Middleton scored 28 points for Milwaukee, which also dropped Game 1 of its first-round series against Orlando. Brook Lopez had 24 points on 8-for10 shooting, and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 18 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Bucks, but was just 4 for 12 from the free throw line.
Kyle Korver added 11 for the Bucks, who scored 40 points in the first quarter and managed 64 the rest of the way.
Pelicans’ Ingram named most improved player
New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram was named the NBA’S most improved player in a season that saw him bounce back from a life-altering blood clot and a trade from the team that drafted him second overall in 2016.
Ingram, who came to New Orleans as part of a blockbuster trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers, averaged a team-leading and careerbest 23.8 points per game while hitting 46.3% of his shots. He also became an NBA All-star for the first time.
Ingram received 42 first-place votes from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters and earned 326 total points. He edged Miami Heat center-forward Bam Adebayo, who finished with 295 points (38 first-place votes). Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic finished third with 101 points (12 firstplace votes).