Every day during the NBA Playoffs, The Athletic’s NBA writers will make their picks straight up. We put our picks and all series coverage, plus the latest odds, all in one place for fans to easily digest and follow. Our in-depth coverage from every team is linked below the picks. If you’d like a free year of The Athletic (or an extension!), BetMGM is running a special offer, which also includes $100 in bonus bets.
Game 6 – Denver Nuggets at Portland Trail Blazers (-5)
Total: 227.5
GAME 5: NUGGETS 147, BLAZERS 140 in double overtime
Series: Nuggets lead series 3-2
Oh my. I don’t know how to describe this game to you if you didn’t catch it. You messed up. You messed up big-time. The Denver Nuggets managed to outlast the Portland Trail Blazers in a double-overtime thriller that only elevated the legend of Damian Lillard further. And he lost, which is insane. Everybody walks away from this game talking about Dame, and it’s well-deserved. He put up 55 points on 24 shots. You read that correctly. He was 17-of-24 from the field. He was 12-of-17 from 3-point range, setting the playoff record for 3-pointers in a game. He was 9-of-10 from the free throw line, had 10 assists, and just one turnover. And it wasn’t enough. He made clutch shot after clutch shot. And it wasn’t enough. He was a hero who saved the day and still somehow lost. Because the Nuggets just kept coming. Nikola Jokic kept coming at them. Monte Morris and Michael Porter Jr. kept scoring to help out Jokic, as the imminent MVP put up 38 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and four blocks. All the while, CJ McCollum and Enes Kanter struggled down the stretch. Jusuf Nurkic fouled out on two brutal calls in the fourth quarter, leaving the Blazers at a disadvantage in their only chance of defending Jokic straight-up. And Mike Malone kept making these highly questionable coaching decisions (not fouling, Jokic subbed out on final possession of first overtime making him out for the offensive possession, not getting the ball out of Lillard’s hands) to give Lillard a chance to win the game. The Blazers just ran out of ammo in this game and the Nuggets had enough legs to make their shots and their free throws in the second overtime period. This was easily the game of the playoffs so far, and it’s set a high bar of what to clear.
• Kosmider: Nuggets survived Damian Lillard’s Game 5 masterpiece the only way they knew how: ‘We got up’
• Quick: Damian Lillard was ‘superhuman’ and ‘God like’ but in Game 5 loss, Trail Blazers star says ‘it doesn’t matter’
• Thompson: Damian Lillard, a Nuggets-Blazers game for the ages and the ‘spiritual experience’ we all shared
Game 6 – Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Lakers (-2.5)
Total: 207.5
| Pick | |
|---|---|
|
Ethan Strauss |
|
|
Seth Partnow |
|
|
Richard Deitsch |
|
|
Sam Vecenie |
GAME 5: SUNS 115, LAKERS 85
Series: Suns lead series 3-2
This was an ugly game for the Los Angeles Lakers, and a breeze for the Phoenix Suns, aside from one big moment. As the Suns were cruising to another win in this series over the battered Lakers, we had another moment of pain and injury for Chris Paul and his shoulder. He’ll hopefully end up being just fine, but this injury sticking around right now has to worry the Suns. What doesn’t worry them is they’re now just one win away from eliminating the defending-champion Lakers. Anthony Davis missed Game 5, and the Lakers might as well have just taken the forfeit and tried to get him ready for Game 6. Because Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left the game with a knee contusion and the Lakers just got destroyed by this Suns team. LeBron James tried but it wasn’t close to enough. The Lakers scored just 10 points in the second quarter, and it was a laugher from there. Maybe it’s too tall a task for him against this Suns team or too tall a task for him with the ankle injury not that far behind him or maybe the Suns are just that good. Regardless, the Lakers now have to win two straight elimination games just to keep themselves in this season. Can they slow down Devin Booker, who lit them up? Do the Lakers have an answer for Cameron Payne off the bench? Will Davis risk further injury and throw himself into the mix in Game 6 for survival?
• Oram: ‘This is it’: Lakers face elimination after Game 5 blowout without Anthony Davis
• Slater: Can Suns get enough from Chris Paul to push them past the Lakers? Do they even need it?
NBA Playoffs
Where East NBA playoff field stands: Odds, rankings, what to like and what to worry about
Where West NBA playoff field stands: Odds, rankings, what to like and what to worry about
NBA predictions unplugged: Anonymous scout, coach and exec pick 2021’s first-round winners
John Hollinger picks: Early exit for LeBron and Lakers, Blazers over Nuggets and more
Scores & schedule | NBA podcasts | Complete NBA coverage
(Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images; The Athletic may receive an affiliate commission if you open an account with BetMGM through links contained in the above article.)
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