LeBron James sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer Wednesday, lifting the Cleveland Cavaliers to 98-95 victory and a 3-2 first-round series lead over the visiting Indiana Pacers.
James scored 44 points, hitting 14 of 24 field-goal attempts and all 15 free throws. He contributed 10 rebounds, eight assists and a huge blocked shot on the Pacers' final possession just before his game-winner. Game 6 in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series is Friday at Indianapolis.
Kyle Korver hit 5 of 9 3-point attempts en route to 19 points for the Cavaliers, who shot 41.3 percent from the floor. Kevin Love contributed 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavs.
Domantas Sabonis led the Pacers with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting. The offensive struggles of Indiana's leading regular-season scorer, Victor Oladipo, continued as he put up 12 points on 2-of-15 shooting. Oladipo is 12 of 50 from the field in the past three games.
Rockets 122, Timberwolves 104
James Harden and Clint Capela recorded double-doubles, and Houston used another third-quarter blitz to top visiting Minnesota and complete a 4-1 victory in a Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Harden scored 15 of his 24 points in the third quarter and added 12 assists on the night. Capela capped a strong series with 26 points and 15 rebounds. All five Houston starters scored in double figures while Eric Gordon chipped in 19 points off the bench.
The top-seeded Rockets will await the winner of the Utah-Oklahoma City series. Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 23 points and 14 rebounds.
Thunder 107, Jazz 99
Russell Westbrook recorded 45 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, and Oklahoma City recovered from a 25-point, third-quarter deficit to stay alive in its first-round series against visiting Utah.
Paul George added 34 points and eight rebounds as Oklahoma City cut Utah's lead in the best-of-seven series to 3-2.
Jae Crowder made six 3-pointers and had 27 points and eight rebounds for the Jazz. Donovan Mitchell tallied 23 points, Joe Ingles had 16, Rudy Gobert added 11 points and 10 rebounds and Ricky Rubio had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Raptors 108, Wizards 98
DeMar DeRozan put his team on his back, pouring in 32 points for host Toronto against Washington to give the Raptors a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round series.
In a close, back-and-forth affair, the Raptors led 79-78 heading into the fourth quarter. Kelly Oubre Jr. converted a three-point play off a dunk that gave the Wizards an 87-82 lead with nine minutes to play. Toronto answered with eight consecutive points, capped by a dunk from DeRozan, to regain the lead.
Kyle Lowry had 17 points and 10 assists for the Raptors, who got 14 points and 13 rebounds from Jonas Valanciunas. John Wall paced the Wizards with 26 points, and he added nine rebounds and nine assists.