BASKETTBALL

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The Houston Rockets thrashed the Golden State Warriors 131-116 to fend off elimination in the NBA playoffs on Wednesday, narrowing the gap in their Western Conference series to 3-2. Fred VanVleet scored 26 points, Amen Thompson added 25 and Dillon Brooks chipped in 24 for the Rockets, who led by as many as 31 points and were up by 29 when Warriors coach Steve Kerr waved the white flag, pulling Stephen Curry and the rest of his starters with 5:50 left in the third quarter.

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The Oklahoma City Thunder, fueled by 38 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, held off the Memphis Grizzlies 117-115 on Saturday to complete a 4-0 sweep in their NBA Western Conference playoff series and become the first team to reach the second round.

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The Orlando Magic held off the defending champion Boston Celtics to cut the deficit in their playoff series to 2-1 as the Milwaukee Bucks clawed back a game against the Indiana Pacers. The Bucks, who, like the Magic, had dropped the first two games of their series on the road, also turned the tables upon returning home for game three with a victory over the Pacers.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers crushed the Miami Heat 138-83 to complete a 4-0 series sweep and cruise into the NBA Eastern Conference playoff semi-finals on Monday. A dominant all-around offensive effort from the Cavaliers laid the foundations for a lopsided victory that saw the Heat exit the postseason with a whimper in front of their home crowd.

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The Detroit Pistons snapped their NBA-record 15-game playoff losing streak with a 100-94 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday to level their Eastern Conference first-round series at one game apiece. Cade Cunningham scored 33 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Dennis Schroder added 20 points off the bench - including a go-ahead three-pointer with 55.7 seconds left as the Pistons thwarted the Knicks' rally bid.

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Golden State Warriors battled past the Houston Rockets 109-106 to move to the brink of a series victory. Jimmy Butler made a dazzling return from injury for Golden State in a pulsating Warriors victory over Houston in San Francisco.

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The Los Angeles Clippers bounced back from a game-one defeat, beating the Nuggets 105-102 in Denver behind a brilliant 39-point performance from Kawhi Leonard. Leonard made 15 of his 19 shot attempts and the Clippers withstood NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic's triple-double of 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to level their Western Conference series at 1-1.