Defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-79 in the first round of the American Basketball League (NBA) play-offs, the New York Knicks took a 2-1 lead in the series.
NBA play-offs continued with 3 matches. Winning the first game away from the Cavaliers, the Knicks took the field advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference and won the third game of the series played in front of the audience.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 21 points, 6 assists and RJ Barrett with 19 points and 8 rebounds.
Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and Caris LeVert scored 17 points in the Cavaliers, the first team to score under 80 points in the league this season. Cedi Osman, who remained on the field for 16 minutes, could not contribute to the score.
Nuggets lead the series 3-0
Western Conference leader Denver Nuggets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-111, making the situation 3-0 in the series.
Michael Porter, who won the Nuggets with 25 points and 9 rebounds; Nikola Jokic, who scored a “triple double” with 20 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds, and Jamal Murray, who finished the game with 18 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds, carried.
Anthony Edwards’ 36 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and Karl-Anthony Towns’ 27 points, 7 rebounds performance in Timberwolves could not prevent the defeat.
Hawks get their first win in the series
The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Boston Celtics 130-122 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round series, down 2-0.
While 7 players scored in double digits in the game, Trae Young for the Hawks had 32 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds; Dejounte Murray also came forward with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
Last year’s NBA finalists, Celtics, Jayson Tatum had 29 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and Marcus Smart had 24 points, 8 assists, 3 steals.