By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
Ja Morant took over in the final two minutes of Memphis Grizzlies’ Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves to lead his team to a 111-109 victory with a game-winner in the final second of regulation.
Morant scored the Grizzlies’ final 13 points, leading it back from an 11-point deficit to take a 3-2 lead in the series, while he was just an assist short of a triple-double, as he exited the game with 30 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists. Desmond Bane added to the efforts of Memphis with 25 points and Brandon Clarke posted a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds.
On the opposing end, Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 28 points and 12 rebounds and Anthony Edwards posted 22 points. The series next travels back to Minnesota for Game 6 this upcoming Friday (April 29).
The Miami Heat held on in the final seconds to beat the Atlanta Hawks 97-94 to win the series 4-1 and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they will be matched with the winner of the Philadelphia 76ers-Toronto Raptors pair. Amid the absences of stars Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry, Victor Oladipo stepped up to score 23 points for the Heat, Bam Adebayo posted a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds and Tyler Herro added 16 points. DeAndre Hunter led the Hawks with 35 points, 11 rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth quarter, Danilo Gallinari had 12 points in 21 minutes from the bench and Trae Young followed with 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Mikal Bridges was in full swing to lift the Phoenix Suns to a 112-97 win against the New Orleans Pelicans in Game 5 with a 31-point performance. The Suns grabbed a 3-2 lead in the series before traveling back to New Orleans this Friday (April 29) for Game 6. Chris Paul added a double-double with 22 points and 11 assists for the Suns, while DeAndre Ayton scored 19 points along with 9 rebounds. Brandon Ingram paced the Pelicans with 22 points, CJ McCollum had 21 and big man Jonas Valanciunas added a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
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