A buzzer-beating three-pointer from Damian Lillard earned the Portland Trail Blazers a place in the second round of the NBA play-offs as his side clinched a narrow 118-115 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The point guard amassed a play-off career-high 50 points but the night will no doubt be remembered for the last-gasp 37ft shot which sent his team into the Western Conference semi-finals.
Damian Lillard (50 PTS) buries the three for the #TissotBuzzerBeater and the @trailblazers advance to the Western Conference Semifinals with the 118-115 Game 5 victory! #ThisIsYourTime #RipCity#NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/cVqLJkHLR4 — NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2019
Lillard's heroics had the crowd on their feet as they chanted "MVP" and included 34 points in the first half and a total of 10 three-pointers.
THE SHOT. #NBAPlayoffs#RipCity pic.twitter.com/Cajge8Cb3E — NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2019
In Toronto, the Raptors advanced to the Eastern Conference semi-finals with a 115-96 win over Orlando Magic.
Kawhi Leonard top-scored with 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Pascal Siakam added 24 points and Kyle Lowry finished with 14.
🏀 FINAL SCORE THREAD 🏀 The @Raptors advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals with a 115-96 win in Toronto! #WeTheNorth Kawhi Leonard: 27 PTS, 7 REBPascal Siakam: 24 PTS, 6 REBKyle Lowry: 14 PTS, 9 AST pic.twitter.com/3sCutfMVa2 — NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2019
The Raptors took the series 4-1, progressing to the second round of the play-offs for the fourth year in a row, where they will meet the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 76ers booked their place in the next round with a 122-100 win over the Brooklyn Nets, with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris combining for a total of 48 points.
On to the next one.#PhilaUnite | #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/K9KAcJzH0h — Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 24, 2019
After going down 0-1 in the series opener, the Sixers went on a four-game winning streak to progress in game five.
And in the night's other game, the Denver Nuggets beat the San Antonio Spurs 108-90 to move within one win of a series victory.
ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Sport staff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'eb385316-971c-44a9-a7fc-045027b06a71');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:basketball,sport:other');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Lillard\u2019s last-gasp three-pointer sends Trail Blazers into play-off second round'});
