Haliburton sinks Cavs, Warriors down Wolves

LOS ANGELES, May 8 ------ The Indiana Pacers defeated the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers 120-119 as the Golden State Warriors shrugged off a Stephen Curry injury to claim victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves, 99-88, in the NBA playoffs. Tyrese Haliburton’s 24-foot three-pointer with just 1.1 seconds remaining sealed a remarkable comeback from fourth seeds Indiana as they took a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. Donovan Mitchell had almost single-handedly dragged an injury-depleted Cleveland to victory with a masterful performance, scoring 48 points in a game the Cavs led by 20 midway through the third quarter. 

In Minneapolis, the Golden State Warriors were forced to dig deep before battling to a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in their Western Conference semifinal series opener. The Timberwolves had dismantled the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the previous round, but struggled to get to grips with a steely Golden State defense in a low-scoring contest at the Target Center. Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards had a rare off-night, sinking just one three-pointer in his 23-point total. 

The Warriors made 18-of-42 from three-point range with Buddy Hield draining five threes to lead the Golden State scoring with 24 points. Jimmy Butler added 20 points while defensive linchpin Draymond Green also chipped in with an important 18-point haul. 

Source: philstar.com