NBA highlights on April 29: Nuggets sweep Lakers out like gentlemen

The Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 108-106 in Game 5 of the NBA Western Conference first-round playoffs at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on Monday, winning the series 4-1 and advancing to the Western semifinals to play the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The game was tied at 106-106 with 26.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Jamal Murray dribbled to the right wing and faced Austin Reaves. Nikola Jokic tussled with Anthony Daivs in front of the free throw line. Davis tried to push Jokic out of the 3-point line. Meanwhile, Jokic made a fake move of moving in then dashed out to set a screen for Murray.

Jokic's screen didn't stop Reaves, but it slowed him down for Murray to break in. Davis didn't switch to guard Murray because he had to watch out for Jokic, who was rolling toward the rim. Reaves tried but still failed to arrive in time to deflect Murray's shooting. The ball went into the hoop for the Nuggets to lead 108-106 with 3.6 seconds left on the clock for the Lakers to launch a rally with no timeout.

After Murray made the game-winning shot, Jokic stayed in the front court to keep LeBron James from getting there too quickly. James passed the ball to Taurean Prince, who missed a logo 3-pointer. The Lakers suffered their 12th loss of their past 13 games against the Nuggets and could begin their offseason.

Murray shot 13-for-28 from the field to score a court-high 32 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter. He and Michael Porter Jr. combined to drain 10 triples out of 17 attempts, making significant offensive contributions for the Nuggets when Jokic was not in his best form. "The Joker" had a double-double of 25 points and 20 rebounds plus nine assists, but he also committed seven turnovers. He attacked with good individual efficiency, making 11 of his 16 field goals (FGs) in the paint, but his seven turnovers led to many easy buckets by the opponents in fast breaks.

The Lakers changed their defense on Jokic in Monday's game. They still double-teamed him when he was guarded by a smaller defender in mismatch, but that job would be assigned to James, whose job was to make sure that Aaron Gordon didn't have many open shots. Moreover, James had to switch to guard Jokic from time to time.

As a result, Gordon only took seven shots, including two from downtown, on Monday night and made three of them. However, he grabbed five offensive rebounds, including one that led to three key 3-pointers by Murray in the final two minutes of the fourth period. The Nuggets trailed 11-9 in total on the offensive glass, but they had more offensive rebounds than the opponents in the second half.

Both James and Davis played for over 40 minutes in Monday's game. James had 30 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists and four steals. He read the Nuggets' ball movement well and did his best in attacking it. Davis' performance was perfect in the first half, during which he made eight of his 10 FG attempts to get 16 points and nine rebounds. Nonetheless, he was injured in the shoulder after colliding with Porter Jr. early in the third quarter. Since then, the purple and gold's defense fell apart even after Davis came back.

Other games on Monday (away teams appear first):

Boston Celtics 102-88 Miami Heat

The Celtics now have the chance to finish the Eastern Conference first-round playoffs against the Heat at home on Wednesday after beating their opponents in Game 4 of the series at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.

Derrick White was the best-performing Celtic on both ends of Monday's game. He went 15-for-26 in FGs, including making eight triples out of 15 attempts, to score a court-high 38 points and got three blocks. His side led by 10 points (34-24) in the first quarter and extended it to over 20 points in the third period. The Heat launched the final counterattack in the fourth quarter, but they had no one able to score consistently to wipe away the huge deficit.

The Celtics' win might have been soured when Kristaps Porzingis exited the game in the second quarter with a non-contact calf injury. He limped to the locker room and didn't play again on Monday night.

Oklahoma City Thunder 97-89 New Orleans Pelicans

The Thunder advanced to the Western semifinals after sweeping the Pelicans 4-0 in the first-round series. Game 4 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, was close in the first three quarters, after which the Pelicans led by one point (71-70). However, they shot as poorly as 33.3 percent from the field in the fourth period. None of their players could step up to carry the team's offense. Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas all tried and failed.

By contrast, Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey reversed the situation for the Thunder in the final quarter. First, Giddey made three straight shots from downtown within three minutes to gain the lead back (83-80) for his side early in the period. Then Williams added 11 points, including making a key 3-pointer to extend the Thunder's lead to 11 points (93-82) with three minutes left in the game.

The Thunder will play the winner of the game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks in the Western semifinals.