Knicks 112, Heat 103
Jalen Brunson scored 38 points and joined Quentin Grimes in playing all 48 minutes Wednesday night for the host New York Knicks, who staved off elimination by beating the Miami Heat 112-103 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Knicks, who led by as many as 19 points in the third quarter before the Heat whittled the deficit to two points late in the fourth, trail the series three games to two heading into Game 6, scheduled for Friday night in Miami.
Brunson pulled down nine rebounds and had seven assists. He and Grimes — who had eight points, five assists and four rebounds — became the first pair of Knicks to play all 48 minutes in a playoff game since Walt Frazier and Jerry Lucas did so against the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on April 23, 1972.
RJ Barrett had 26 points and Julius Randle added 24 points for the Knicks. The duo teamed up with Brunson to score all the points in New York’s decisive 23-5, third-quarter run.
Jimmy Butler put up 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Heat, who squandered a 10-point, second-quarter lead. Bam Adebayo had 18 points and eight rebounds while Duncan Robinson scored 17 points off the bench. Max Strus added 14 points and Caleb Martin collected 11 points in a reserve role.
The Heat ended the first quarter on a 16-4 run to take their biggest lead at 24-14 before the Knicks opened the second period by hitting their first seven shots during an 18-2 run that lasted just 2:54.
Miami scored the next nine points, after which neither team led by more than three points the remainder of the quarter. Randle’s 3-pointer just before the buzzer gave the Knicks a 50-47 lead entering halftime.
The Heat’s Kevin Love hit a jumper to begin the third quarter before Barrett, Brunson and Randle mounted the 23-5 run that extended their lead to 73-54 with 5:55 left.
The Heat began inching back by ending the quarter on a 20-11 run. Miami got within four points four times in the fourth before Butler sank one of two free throws to cut the deficit to 103-101 with 2:37 left. However, Isaiah Hartenstein dunked the putback of a miss by Barrett for the Knicks, who led by at least four the rest of the way.
Warriors 121, Lakers 106
Stephen Curry scored a game-high 27 points, Draymond Green chipped in with 20 in a rare offensive explosion and the Golden State Warriors stayed alive in the Western Conference semifinals with a 121-106 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday in San Francisco.
Still up 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, the seventh-seeded Lakers will get a second shot at advancing to the Western finals when the series returns to Los Angeles on Friday.
The Lakers might have to seek the Game 6 clincher without star center Anthony Davis, who was inadvertently belted on the side of the head by Golden State’s Kevon Looney while both were positioning for a rebound just before the midpoint of the fourth quarter on Wednesday.
Davis left the court immediately and reportedly rode a wheelchair into the Los Angeles locker room, where he was scheduled for further evaluation. Davis, who scored 23 points on 10-for-18 shooting, did not return to the game.
Seeking a 20th straight playoff series win against Western competition, the Warriors broke from a 54-all tie with a 16-5 burst to take an 11-point advantage into halftime. Curry capped the flurry with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, giving the Warriors 11 treys in 21 first-half attempts.
Sixth-seeded Golden State was able to keep the visitors at arm’s length in the second half, as Green wrapped up a 10-rebound night and Andrew Wiggins put a bow on a 25-point performance.
The 20-point game was the 15th of Green’s postseason career, but just his fourth since 2018. He had 21 in a key win against the Sacramento Kings in Game 5 of the opening round last month.
Making his second consecutive start, Gary Payton II contributed 13 points to the Golden State cause, while Jordan Poole had 11 and Klay Thompson added 10.
Curry, who also found time for a game-high eight assists, buried three 3-pointers in the win. Eight different Warriors connected from deep as Golden State enjoyed a 39-30 advantage over the Lakers from beyond the arc.
LeBron James had 25 points and matched Davis with a team-high nine rebounds to pace the Lakers, who likewise lost Game 5 on the road in their first-round matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies before returning home to wrap up a series win in Game 6.
Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell scored 15 points apiece and Dennis Schroder had 14 for Los Angeles, which is 5-0 at home this postseason.
–Field Level Media contributed to this article