Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets win: NBA Playoffs Monday Roundup (Part 2)
Dallas Mavericks 93 – Portland Trail Blazers 82
Portland broke through a close game in the third quarter with a 15-5 run and went up 75-63 at the end of the third. The Mavs outplayed the Trail Blazers from the charity strip as 13 of 31 points came from the paint during the quarter.
The Mavs never gave Portland a chance to notch the lead down to single-digit. Memphis went on stretching the lead and guided San Antonio by as many as 22 through the half way. Portland's Chris Johnson finished the game with two free throws, as the Trail Blazers lost Game five by 11 points.
Gerald Wallace led Portland with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Andre Miller finished with 18 points and provided seven assists. Nicolas Batum added 12 points off the bench.
Denver Nuggets 104 – Oklahoma City Thunder 101
Ty Lawson scored a playoff career-high 27 points and his team-mate Raymond Felton hit four crucial free throws to help the Denver Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-101 at the Pepsi Centre on Monday night.
The Nuggets, who lost the first three games of the seven game series, finally found a way to overcome their arch-rivals and Lawson was the man who led them there.
Lawson expressed his joy after the game by saying, "This is the biggest game of my life. I just wanted to come out and just play strong."
Besides Lawson, Danilo Gallinari scored 18 points while J.R. Smith added 15 points for the Nuggets.
The Nuggets opened the game with a 10-5 run and finished the quarter six points ahead of the Thunder at 26-20. Kenyon Martin was the major contributor for the Nuggets with nine points during the period.
After trailing the Thunder at the start of the second quarter, Denver clutched the lead with a 12-5 run to go ahead by 32-31. Oklahoma led Denver for most of the second quarter, but Lawson hit three free throws to tie the scores at 45-45 with just nine seconds to go in the quarter.
The battle for supremacy continued in the third quarter, and the scores were tied twice, before the Nuggets took a decisive lead and finished the frame at 71-69. The Nuggets then raced to a 78-69 advantage with a 7-0 blitz and never let the Thunder to get close and sealed the game by a three point margin.
Kevin Durant scored a team-high 31 points along with five boards and three assists for the Thunder. His team-mate Russell Westbrook chipped in with 30 points.
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