Blog

  Philadelphia 76ers 119 – Boston Celtics 115  (PHI leads series 1-0)

Highlights:  The 76ers entered TD Garden on Monday night facing an uphill climb against the Celtics with MVP favorite Joel Embiid out with injury. Philadelphia fans, have no fear: The Beard is here. James Harden rose to the occasion and turned in a star performance, erupting for 45 points to stun the Boston crowd and lead the Sixers to a 119–115 Game 1 win. Harden made clutch plays throughout the second half, though none was bigger than his step-back, go-ahead three-pointer that gave Philadelphia a two-point lead with eight seconds remaining. Harden became the fifth player in 76ers history to score 45 or more points in a playoff game. The others are Allen Iverson, Lee Shaffer, Wilt Chamberlain and Billy Cunningham. Read more at:  https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2023/05/02/james-harden-45-points-celtics-76ers-nba-twitter-reactions  (Nick Selbe/SI)

Phoenix Suns 87 – Denver Nuggets 97  (DEN leads series 2-0)

Highlights:   May is off to a solid start for the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets defeated the Phoenix Suns, 97-87, to take a 2-0 lead in the second round of the NBA playoffs. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic scored a game-high 39 points and had 16 rebounds in a dominant performance.  Suns shooting guard Devin Booker led Phoenix with 35 points and Kevin Durant had 24 points in the loss.  The Nuggets have a 2-0 advantage in the best of seven semifinal series. Read more at:  https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2023/05/02/denver-nuggets-nba-playoff-series-game-2-phoenix-suns/70173285007/  (Tyler Dragon/USA Today)