(Basketball news) The Phoenix Suns qualified for the Western Conference semifinals as they beat the Los Angeles Clippers 136-130 in game 5. For the Suns, Booker scored 47 points, including 25 in a spectacular third quarter as shot 19 of 27 from the field while Durant finished with 31 points as Deandre Ayton had 21 points and 11 rebounds.

For the Clippers, Norman Powell led the scoring with 27 points while Mason Plumlee scored 20 off the bench. It was a tough night for Russell Westbrook, who scored 14 points on 3 of 18 shooting and had a costly turnover in the final minute. The Suns will play the top-seeded Denver Nuggets in the second round. Game 1 is Saturday in Denver.

“It was spiritual,” Durant said of watching Booker’s third quarter. “I don’t scream too much in games as I get older, but when he hit that 3 at the top of the key, I felt that energy and I know everyone in the crowd felt it. We feed off his aggression.”

“I think it’s a good lesson for us moving forward,” Booker said. “Don’t play with your food. Finish out as strong as you can. Keep playing all the way until the whistle blows.”

“When he’s going like that, we’re not calling any plays,” Suns coach Monty Williams said.

The Denver Nuggets sealed the series against the Minnesota Timberwolves as they beat 112-109 in game 5. For the Nuggets, Jokic had a triple-double and scored 28 points despite missing 21 of 29 shots, and Murray scored 35 points to help them overcome an early 13-point deficit and hand Malone his record 25th career playoff victory for Denver.

For the Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards, who led the scoring with 29 points as he hit a 27-foot 3-point attempt at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime but missed while Karl-Anthony Towns added 26 points f Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 15 rebounds before fouling out and Nickeil Alexander-Walker chipped in 14 points.

“Our team was kind of like the crowd tonight – we were late arriving,” Malone said

“And they still managed to be in every game except Game 1. That was the only game that was an easy win for us,” Jokic said. “They did a good job. We were just a little bit better this time.”

“I looked up, there’s a lot of empty seats and coaches said, well, the weather’s really bad. But the way we played that first quarter was like a regular-season game,” Malone said. ‘And then slowly but surely, I felt Jamal made a couple of shots. And Jamal plays with so much emotion. And I think he got our team going. … Jamal just wouldn’t quit, you know? And he made big shot after big shot.”

“Guys were super-engaged and it showed,” Wolves point guard Mike Conley said. “And that showed that we’re going to fight no matter what”

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