The Phoenix Suns are one game away from the Western Conference finals after they defeated the Denver Nuggets’ 116-102.
Recently crowned league MVP Nikola Jokic’s had 32 points but was inaccurate as he shot 13-for-29 while his 20 rebounds and 10 assists were not enough to lift the Nuggets over the Suns, whose win marked their sixth straight victory.
Devin Booker (28 points) combined with Chris Paul in an offensive-led triumph for Phoenix, who are 3-0 up in the series and can progress to their first Western finals since 2009-2010 with a win in game four on Sunday.
Joel Embiid refused to succumb to injury as his Philadelphia 76ers finished 127-111 over the Atlanta Hawks and moved ahead 2-1 in their Eastern Conference semi-final series.
The centre poured in 27 points and had nine rebounds and eight assists despite playing with a cartilage tear in his right knee, turning his ankle during a fall and landing on his back in another fall.
The Hawks did not recover after the 76ers went on an 11-0 run in the third quarter, with the 127-111 loss ending Atlanta’s run of 13 consecutive wins at home and putting them within two games of tumbling out of the post-season.
