The Game 4s of the NBA playoffs conference semis are all done and dusted with the three of them tied at two games apiece, while the other one is now at 3-1.
The Mavericks, Celtics, and the Sixers all won their respective games after being down by 2-1. Meanwhile, the Warriors are one game away from advancing to the Western Conference finals.
Elsewhere, Nikola Jokic was recently named as the league’s Most Valuable Player for the second straight season while Suns head coach Monty Williams won his first Coach of the Year award.
Today at SBOTOP, let’s take a look at the most recent NBA 2022 updates to keep you abreast of what’s going on around the Association.
Celtics tie the series, Warriors now up 3-1
The Celtics got a solid outing from Al Horford in Game 4 to beat the Bucks, 116-108, to tie the series to two games apiece.
The 35-year-old forward finished with 30 points along with Jayson Tatum, including an emphatic poster dunk over Giannis Antetokounmpo to cap off a 10-0 run that ultimately swung the game towards the Celtics’ favour.
In plays prior to the said play, Horford was on the receiving end of an Antetokounmpo jam, and the Celtics big admitted that the Greek Freak’s staredown after the dunk motivated him.
“I don’t really know what he said to me, but the way he was looking at me and the way he was going about it, really didn’t sit well with me,” Horford said. “At that point, I think just something switched with me in the game.”
Boston’s Game 3 ended on a whimper as they failed to convert on a potential game-tying basket after Marcus Smart intentionally missed his second free throw. After bouncing back in Game 4, the Celtics are keen to take the 3-2 series lead when they’ll fly back to Boston.
In San Francisco, the Warriors overcame a poor shooting night to take a 3-1 lead over the Grizzlies in the Western Conference semi-finals, 101-98.
Steph Curry took charge for Golden State as he finished with a game-high of 32 points and eight assists, including eight free throws over the final 45 seconds to help ice the game.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 21 points, while Tyus Jones finished with 19 as he filled in for Ja Morant, who injured his leg in Game 3.
Despite their winning record in games played without Ja Morant this season, the Grizzlies are going to need his services in Game 5 to extend the series, although his status remains unclear as of the moment.
Vintage James Harden shows up in Game 4
The James Harden of old finally showed up as he gave the Sixers a much-needed boost during their Game 4 victory over the Heat.
The Beard – who looked like a shell of himself in the games prior – dropped 31 points, and it also helped that Joel Embiid was back and recorded 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Philadelphia fans are hopeful that James Harden is back to his dominant form and that it would be sustainable for the rest of the playoffs because he makes the Sixers a force to be reckoned with.
Chris Paul must bounce back in Game 5
Since Chris Paul couldn’t get going, the Suns find themselves in a tense situation as their series against the Mavericks is now level after being up 2-0 earlier.
Turnovers was the story for Paul during their Game 3 loss, but in Game 4, he had more fouls than points against the Mavericks. Meanwhile, his much-younger counterpart Luka Doncic had 26 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds.
The Suns are still favoured by the NBA 2022 odds to progress through the WCF, but Chris Paul needs to break out of his mini-slump in these next few games.
Nikola Jokic is back-to-back MVP
What’s amazing about Nikola Jokic’s 2021/22 campaign is that he outdid himself last year when he first won the MVP trophy.
This season, the Serbian center averaged career highs of 27.1 points, and 13.8 rebounds per game while tallying 7.9 assists – which is good for eighth in the league.
He did it by carrying the whole team on his back as they were without Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray due to their injuries. Despite that, Denver finished as the sixth seed in the West before losing in five games against Golden State in the first round.
Jokic is the 15th player in league history to win MVP multiple times and second straight to go back-to-back since Giannis Antetokounmpo did so in 2019 and 2020.
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