OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers, the top seeds in the playoffs and owners of the best regular-season records in the NBA, find themselves in dire need of wins as they host Game 5s in the conference semifinals on Tuesday night.
Oklahoma City might have saved its season with a 92-87 win at Denver on Sunday that tied the Western Conference series at two wins apiece. The Thunder finally won a close game in the series on Sunday after losing Game 1 on a last-second shot and Game 3 in overtime.
“I think we fought, stayed the course, played the game,” Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Especially in this series, it’s been so random almost. It’s throwing different things at us. I think we’ve been able to stay the course and it gave us a chance late. We closed it out.”
The Thunder regained the homecourt advantage they worked so hard to get in a franchise-best 68-14 regular season. But lose on Tuesday, and they head to Denver down 3-2 and facing elimination.
“I mean there’s no relief at all,” Thunder forward Chet Holmgren said after Sunday’s win. “It’s still a really competitive series with a good team on the other side. There’s no relaxing until … There’s just no relaxing.”
Cleveland, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 64-18 regular-season record, is on the brink of elimination after being blown out 129-109 at Indiana to fall behind 3-1.
The Pacers, who reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season, know there’s work ahead to return.
“You’ve got to be able to go into hostile territory and be able to stay focused,” Pacers center Myles Turner said. “I think that people are going to start talking about us now, ‘We’re this, we’re this, we’re that.’ We’ve got to keep our heads down, keep our blinders on and just keep rolling.”
Indiana Pacers at Cleveland Cavaliers
When/Where to Watch: Game 5, 7 p.m. EDT (TNT)
Series: Pacers lead, 3-1
BetMGM Sportsbook: Cavaliers by 7.5.
What to Know: Cleveland All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell’s status is unclear for Tuesday’s game after he injured his left ankle during Game 4. He was limited to 12 points in 20 minutes and sat out the second half after the Cavaliers fell behind 80-39. He had an MRI on Monday. Mitchell scored 48 points in Game 2 and 43 points in Game 3 before being limited in Game 4. Cleveland’s Darius Garland scored 21 points in Game 4, but he’s still recovering from a toe injury. Indiana won the first two games in Cleveland, and the Pacers are 3-1 on the road in this year’s playoffs. The Pacers tied an NBA playoff record with a 41-point halftime lead in Game 4. Indiana has scored at least 120 points in all three wins.
Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder
When/Where to Watch: Game 5, 9:30 p.m. EDT (TNT)
Series: Tied, 2-2
BetMGM Sportsbook: Thunder by 9.5.
What to Know: Oklahoma City has bothered Denver’s Nikola Jokic more than most. In his past three games, the three-time league MVP has been limited to 21.3 points per game on 33.3% shooting from the field and 18.2% shooting from 3-point range. He exploded for 42 points and 22 rebounds in Game 1. He also has had some foul issues, with five in Game 1, fouling out of Game 2 and committing four in Game 4. Jaylin Williams, a backup center, appears to have done the best job of pestering him. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 33.5 points and shot 59% in the home games this series and 21.5 points on 36.6% shooting on the road.
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