The Phoenix Suns defeated the Denver Nuggets 129-124 in Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday, tying the series 2-2.

The Suns continued with the style of offense that produced the victory in Game 3: having Devin Booker attack via isolations instead of calling for screens and allowing Kevin Durant to charge quickly instead of setting up for half-court offense. In this way, the Nuggets had no one able to contain Booker by himself; Durant wouldn't struggle to deal with the ball in front of the opponents' trapping defense.

Booker shot 14-for-18 from the field to drop 36 points and 12 assists. Durant contributed a double-double as well of 36 points and 11 rebounds after making 12 shots at the free throw line. Moreover, Landry Shamet stood out off the bench to drain five triples for the Suns, leading their bench unit to outscore their Nuggets counterpart 40-11.

The Nuggets nearly matched the Suns in firepower in Sunday's fast, high-scoring game. Nikola Jokic dropped a career playoff-high 53 points in addition to 11 assists after going 20-for-30 from the field. Whether the Suns double-teamed him or not, he always found a way to knock down shots from anywhere all over the half court.

Jamal Murray had a cold touch only in the first quarter during which he missed six of his nine attempts. From then on, he shot 10-for-16 from the field to score 21 of his 28 points in the following three quarters. Though Murray was not as superb as Booker or Durant was on Sunday night, he did well enough to take some of the offensive load off Jokic's shoulders.

Though the Suns wiped the 2-0 deficit in the series thanks to the incredible performances by Booker and Durant in the previous two competitions, it's hard to imagine that Booker can maintain his unreasonable efficiency of going 58-for-91 from the field. Moreover, this is already the third straight game in which 34-year-old Durant played more than 43 minutes. How long can he keep dashing from coast to coast and continuously charging to earn fouls with his knees and ankles that went through so many injuries and surgeries?

Game 5 will happen at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on May 9.

Have James Harden and Joel Embiid figured out how to work as a pair?

The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 116-115 in overtime (OT) in Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, tying the series 2-2.

Having performed poorly enough to go 5-for-28 from the field in the 76ers' previous two losses, Harden bounced back to drop 42 points for the team on Sunday. Not only did he make the game-tying floater in regular time, he also knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer in the OT, assisted by Embiid.

After the lost Game 3 on Friday, the 76ers' head coach Doc Rivers told Harden that he must shoot the ball when he had the chance, that the team can take it even if he misses those shots. In fact, that problem has been haunting Harden since he left the Houston Rockets in 2021. As a three-time NBA scoring leader, Harden overdid it in trying to prove that he can play as a facilitator in the Brooklyn Nets and the 76ers. It's true that the Embiid is the 76ers' first scoring option and Harden has been doing a good job of feeding him to score easy shots, but in the playoffs, the 76ers need Harden to be more than a playmaker.

Harden responded to the team's expectations in Sunday's game, yet without stealing Embiid's limelight. When Embiid had exuberant strength, Harden gave him the stage for him to go 4-for-6 in FGs to get 12 points in the first quarter or make five free throws to score nine points in the third period. When Embiid took a break on the bench or was too tired to maintain his firepower, Harden stood out to take over by dropping 15 and 10 points in the second and fourth quarters respectively.

Having made 16 of his 23 attempts on Sunday, Harden achieved a remarkable efficiency with a 14-for-18 jump-shooting performance. Not only did he drain six triples, he also made good use of the Celtics' drop coverage in guarding screen plays, making eight of his nine jumpers in the middle range. For a 33-year-old guard who used to be the NBA's icon for playing money ball – focusing on shooting 3-pointers and charging the rim to maximize efficiency – it is not easy for Harden to pick up the old-school skills of working in the middle range.

Compared with the 76ers that saw Harden and Embiid do most of their offensive work, the Celtics had more equal distributions among their roster on this end of the game. Six of their players reached double-digit points, led by Jayson Tatum who got 24. Though Tatum didn't match Jaylen Brown in efficiency, nor Marcus Smart or Malcolm Brogdon in 3-point production, he was still the best-performing Celtic in Sunday's game because of his excellent defense.

Having played as the team's starting power forward, Tatum shouldered the biggest duty of both help defense and rebound protection as Al Horford had to focus on shutting Embiid out of the paint. Not only did Tatum grab court-high 18 rebounds, he also switched to mark nearly every of the 76ers' attackers, ranging from Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, to Harden and even Embiid.

Moreover, Tatum contributed 13 key points by going 5-for-5 from the field in the third quarter to keep the game alive and for the Celtics to rally 24-15 in the fourth period. He also made his only triple in the final minute of the OT to place his side onto a lead of 115-113. They would have won if Smart had released the ball in time in their final attack.

Game 5 will take place at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 9.