Devin Booker scored 22 of his 47 points in a phenomenal first quarter, and the Phoenix Suns won their first playoff series since 2010, eliminating the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers with a 113-100 victory in Game 6 on Thursday night.
Jae Crowder scored 18 points for the second-seeded Suns, who won three consecutive games to send LeBron James to a first-round series loss for the first time in his 18-year NBA career.
Phoenix will meet Denver in the second round. Game 1 is Monday in Phoenix.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) sit on the bench during the fourth quarter of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Los Angeles. The Suns won the game 113-100, and the series 4-2. They will move on to round 2. (AP PhotoAshley Landis)
Chris Paul had eight points and 12 assists for the Suns, who jumped to a huge early advantage in the opening minutes of Game 6 while Anthony Davis struggled and eventually left due to his groin injury.
Although the Suns lost much of their early 29-point lead, they patiently held off the Lakers and James, who had 29 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Dennis Schröder scored 20 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 19 for the Lakers.
NUGGETS 126, TRAIL BLAZERS 115
Nikola Jokic had 36 points and Denver eliminated Portland in six games to reach the Western Conference semifinals for the third straight season.
Michael Porter Jr. added 26 points, including 22 in the opening quarter, for the third-seeded Nuggets. Denver will take on Phoenix, which eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6, 113-100. Game 1 in the series is Monday in Phoenix.
Damian Lillard finished with 28 points and 13 assists for the sixth-seeded Blazers. They led by 14 points in the third quarter but couldn’t stave off elimination.
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Trae Young hit a floater in the lane with 4.4 seconds left and the Atlanta Hawks overcame a 16-point deficit in the second half to beat top-seeded Miami 111-110 on Friday night, cutting the Heat’s series lead to 2-1.
Jimmy Butler missed a jumper with 12.6 second left that could’ve given the Heat a three-point cushion. He missed again on an off-balance 3 at the buzzer with De’Andre Hunter in his face to give the Hawks a burst of hope in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Sunday night in Atlanta.
P.J. Tucker led a 21-0 run in the third quarter that pushed the Heat to an 84-68 lead and seemingly on cruise control to a 3-0 lead. But Young and the Hawks would not let them get away.
The Heat also were dealing with an injury to point guard Kyle Lowry, who went out in the third quarter with a hamstring problem and did not return. He’ll undergo tests Saturday to determine the severity of the injury.
Young finished with 24 points despite another stout defensive effort by the Heat. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 18, Hunter 17 and three others scored in double figures to take some of the pressure off the star guard.
Coming off a 45-point effort in Game 3, Butler was held to 20 in this one and missed a golden chance to give Miami a stranglehold on the series. Tyler Herro led the Heat with 24 points, and Max Strus also had 20.
The start was delayed about 45 minutes after a suspicious package was found outside State Farm Arena before the game.
BUCKS 111, BULLS 81
Grayson Allen made five 3-pointers and scored 22 points and Milwaukee dominated Chicago to take a 2-1 series lead without the injured Khris Middleton.
Giannis Antetokounmpo added 18 points, Bobby Portis had 18 points and 16 rebounds and the defending champion Bucks made it look easy coming off two shaky performances at home.
Middleton is expected to miss the rest of the series after spraining his left knee in Wednesday night in a loss. Game 4 is Sunday in Chicago.
Antetokounmpo scored all but two of his points after the first quarter. The two-time MVP finished with nine assists and seven rebounds.
Nikola Vucevic led Chicago with 19 points.
