Nobody ever finished an NBA playoff game with at least 30 points, 17 rebounds and 17 assists.
That is, until Nikola Jokic did it on Friday.
Nobody ever finished an NBA playoff game with 53 points and 11 assists, either.
That is, until Nikola Jokic did it on Sunday.
And the Denver Nuggets went 0-2 in those games anyway, those stat lines — and some incredible numbers from Devin Booker, too — mostly overshadowed by Jokic getting into a bit of a thorny situation during Game 4 with a fan who just happened to be Mat Ishbia, the new owner of the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns-Nuggets Western Conference semifinal series is tied at 2-2, in large part because Booker cannot miss. He shot 20 for 25 in Game 3, 14 for 18 in Game 4 — the first player in NBA playoff history to shoot that well in back-to-back games while taking that many shots.
Booker leads the playoffs with a 36.8-point scoring average, and he’s on pace to be the first player to shoot 60% from the field, 50% from 3-point range and 85% from the foul line (while taking at least 50 field goal attempts) during a postseason.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Monday’s schedule has Miami at home and seeking a 3-1 lead on New York in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers trying to go up 3-1 on defending champion Golden State in their West semifinal matchup.
On Tuesday, it’ll be Game 5 of Suns-Nuggets and Philadelphia-Boston — those series both tied at 2-2.
The every-other-day mode of scheduling continues later in the week, so Wednesday has Game 5′s of Knicks-Heat and Lakers-Warriors, and Thursday will be Game 6 for Suns-Nuggets and 76ers-Celtics.
HOW TO WATCH
— The Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday doubleheaders are all on TNT.
— Thursday’s doubleheader is on ESPN.
— Team broadcasters will no longer air games. Everything after the first round is exclusive to national windows and not available for local telecasts.
— The NBA Finals on ABC begin June 1.
CELTICS-SIXERS CLASSIC
The first one-point game of the East playoffs was Sunday, when Philadelphia blew a 15-point lead late in the third, rallied from five points down late in regulation and topped Boston 116-115 in overtime — after James Harden gave the 76ers the lead, and Marcus Smart’s gamewinner for the Celtics came just a smidge too late.
It was the seventh one-point playoff game in Celtics vs. Sixers history; Philadelphia has won four of those seven, though one of those victories came in 1954 when the franchise was in Syracuse.
WEMBY WATCH
The NBA draft lottery is May 16, when everyone will learn which team gets the chance to draft Victor Wembanyama next month.
The French teen played in front of a crowd of 15,000 on Sunday, leading his Metropolitans 92 team to a win with 25 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
AWARD WINNERS
The All-Rookie Team gets announced Monday afternoon and the All-Defensive Team gets announced Tuesday afternoon.
TNT will unveil the All-NBA Team on Wednesday night, and on Thursday at noon, the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year will be revealed.
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid was announced as this season’s MVP, and here’s a list of the other major award-winners this season:
— Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. won Defensive Player of the Year.
— De’Aaron Fox of Sacramento won the inaugural Clutch Player award.
— Sacramento’s Mike Brown became the first unanimous Coach of the Year.
— Boston’s Malcolm Brogdon won Sixth Man of the Year.
— Utah’s Lauri Markkanen was the easy winner of Most Improved Player.
— Orlando’s Paolo Banchero was a near-unanimous Rookie of the Year.
QUOTABLE
“I don’t usually get open shots, so this is a new thing with having KD’s gravity on the floor.” — Phoenix’s Devin Booker, on how he’s benefitting from having Kevin Durant with him on the Suns.
— The Associated Press
