LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Paul Millsap scored 14 of his 17 points in the third quarter, Michael Porter Jr. made a late 3-pointer and the Denver Nuggets overcame a 15-point, second-half deficit to stun the Los Angeles Clippers, 111-105, on Friday in Game 5.
Denver — down 16 in the first half — trailed 61-46 with 9:42 remaining in the third before rallying behind the 35-year-old Millsap.
The Nuggets took their first lead on Nikola Jokic’s 3-pointer with 7:06 left and extended it to eight. After the Clippers pulled within a basket, Porter hit a deep 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining to all but wrap it up.
Jamal Murray finished with 26 points, and Jokic added 22 points and 14 rebounds to help the Nuggets pull to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Game 6 is Sunday.
This marked Denver’s fourth elimination-game win of this postseason, the team’s most since capturing six win-or-go-home games during the 1994 playoff run. The Nuggets came back from a 3-1 deficit to win their first-round series against Utah.
Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points and Paul George added 26 for the Clippers, who are searching for the franchise’s first appearance in a conference finals. They’re 0-6 in games where they could clinch a trip to the conference finals.
Millsap and Marcus Morris jawed at each other face-to-face late in the first half and had to be separated. Morris was given a technical foul.
Celtics advance to East final
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — It took every bit of seven games, but Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics are headed to the Eastern Conference finals.
And they dethroned the NBA champions to get there.
Tatum scored 29 points, Jaylen Brown had 21 and the Celtics topped the Toronto Raptors, 92-87, on Friday night in Game 7 of the East semifinal series.
Marcus Smart scored 16 points and Kemba Walker added 14 for third-seeded Boston. The Celtics will face the fifth-seeded Miami Heat in the East finals.
Fred VanVleet scored 20 points for Toronto, which got 16 from Kyle Lowry, 14 from Serge Ibaka, 13 from Pascal Siakam and 11 from Norman Powell. The Raptors were bidding to become the seventh franchise in NBA history to win four consecutive Game 7’s.
Powell had a chance to tie it on a drive with just less than a minute left, his layup erased by Smart with a block that preserved an 89-87 lead. Lowry fouled out on the next possession, a call the Raptors argued and challenged to no avail. Grant Williams missed both free throws, but Powell fouled Tatum going for the rebound.
Tatum made one of two, the lead was three and all Boston needed was one more stop.
The Celtics got just that; VanVleet was well short on a 3-point try, Kemba Walker sealed it with free throws with 7.9 seconds left, and Toronto’s reign was about to end.
NBA Playoff Glance
All Times Eastern
All games in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
(Best-of-7); x-if necessary)
Eastern Conference
Miami 4, Milwaukee 1
Monday, Aug. 31: Miami 115, Milwaukee 104
Wednesday, Sept. 2: Miami 116, Milwaukee 114
Friday, Sept. 4: Miami 115, Milwaukee 100
Sunday, Sept. 6: Milwaukee 118, Miami 115, OT
Tuesday, Sept. 8: Miami 103, Milwaukee 94
Boston 4, Toronto 3
Sunday, Aug. 30: Boston 112, Toronto 94
Tuesday, Sept. 1: Boston 102, Toronto 99
Thursday, Sept. 3: Toronto 104, Boston 103
Saturday, Sept. 5: Toronto 100, Boston 93
Monday, Sept. 7: Boston 111, Toronto 89
Wednesday, Sept. 9: Toronto 125, Boston 122, 2OT
Friday, Sept. 11: Boston 92, Toronto 87
Western Conference
L.A. Lakers 3, Houston 1
Friday, Sept. 4: Houston 112, L.A. Lakers 97
Sunday, Sept. 6: L.A. Lakers 117, Houston 109
Tuesday, Sept. 8: L.A. Lakers 112, Houston 102
Thursday, Sept. 10: L.A. Lakers 110, Houston 100
Saturday, Sept. 12: Houston vs. L.A. Lakers, 8 p.m.
x-Monday, Sept. 14: L.A. Lakers vs. Houston, 9 p.m.
x-Wednesday, Sept. 16: Houston vs. L.A. Lakers, TBD
L.A. Clippers 3, Denver 2
Thursday, Sept. 3: L.A. Clippers 120, Denver 97
Saturday, Sept. 5: Denver 110, L.A. Clippers 101
Monday, Sept. 7: L.A. Clippers 113, Denver 107
Wednesday, Sept. 9: L.A. Clippers 96, Denver 85
Friday, Sept. 11: Denver 111, L.A. Clippers 105
Sunday, Sept. 13: L.A. Clippers vs. Denver, 1 p.m.
x-Tuesday, Sept. 15: Denver vs. L.A. Clippers, TBD
CONFERENCE FINALS
(Best-of-7); x-if necessary)
Eastern Conference
Teams/Dates & Times TBD
Western Conference
Teams/Dates & Times TBD
NBA FINALS
(Best-of-7); x-if necessary)
Teams/Dates & Times TBD
