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  Aaron Gordon  hit a crucial three-pointer at the buzzer, and Nikola Jokic scored 42 points to lead the  Denver Nuggets   to a thrilling 121-119 win over the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the opening game of the NBA Western Conference semi-finals on Monday. Gordon made a 25-foot three-pointer with just four seconds left to give the Nuggets the win. The Thunder had been leading by as much as 14 points in the third quarter at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. Despite holding a double-digit lead for most of the fourth quarter, the Thunder watched their advantage slip away as Jokic scored 18 points in the final period. The three-time NBA MVP finished with 42 points, 22 rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and one steal. Oklahoma City regretted missing two free throws from forward Chet Holmgren with 10 seconds left, while leading 119-118. Those missed shots cost them, as Denver grabbed the rebound and made a final push, ending with Gordon’s game-winning three-point...

  Gary Trent Jr . made the most of his rare chance to start for the Milwaukee Bucks. Trent tied a team playoff record with nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 37 points, leading the Bucks to a 117-101 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night in Game 3 of their first-round series. Trent, who only started nine games this season, said he learned Thursday morning that he would be starting. “My mindset was simple — come in, play hard, and help us win. We knew losing this game would hurt us,” Trent said. He made two quick 3-pointers to give the Bucks an early lead — something they never had in their last game when they fell behind 2-0 in the series. Even after briefly leaving with a shin injury, Trent kept the Bucks in the game with his shooting. Despite his efforts, Milwaukee was down by 10 at halftime. But in the second half, Trent stayed hot, hitting three quick 3-pointers to tie the game and helping the Bucks take control as fans chanted his name. Trent shot 9-for-12 from thr...

The  Cleveland Cavaliers   entered the NBA playoffs as one of four teams tied for the most 3-pointers in a quarter. On Wednesday night, they broke the record. In Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Miami Heat, the Cavaliers made 11 3-pointers in the second quarter, setting a new postseason record. Cleveland was 11 for 16 from three-point range in that period, jumping to a 68-51 lead at halftime after only leading by one point in the first quarter. The Cavaliers, who are the top seed, led by 19 late in the third quarter but had to hold off a Heat comeback to win 121-112 and take a 2-0 lead in the series. “We’ve had a lot of moments like that this year because we have highly skilled players that can shoot. Everybody was shooting,” said coach Kenny Atkinson. “It was beautiful to watch. We’ve got good passers, good connectors. There’s spacing and running and dirty work involved, and then the skill work takes over.” Max Strus  made three 3-pointer...

Boston Celtics guard  Payton Pritchard  has won the 2024-25 Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, given to the league’s best player coming off the bench. He received the John Havlicek Trophy for this honor. This is the first time Pritchard has won the award. He is the fourth Celtics player to get it, joining Kevin McHale, Bill Walton, and Malcolm Brogdon. In his fifth NBA season, the 6-foot-1 Pritchard had his best year yet. He averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 28.4 minutes per game over 80 games (he started only 3). He shot a personal best 47.2% from the field and 40.7% from three-point range. He scored 1,079 points off the bench—more than any other player in the league. Pritchard also made 255 three-pointers this season, the fifth-most in the   NBA .  Out of those, 246 came off the bench, setting a new NBA record for most threes by a bench player in one season. That’s also the second-most threes ever in a season by a Celtic. Pritchard helped Bos...