There were four games of action on the second Sunday of the NBA playoffs, with one team being eliminated and three other teams taking commanding 3-1 leads in their respective series.
To start the day off, the Boston Celtics became the first team to advance into the second round when they took care of the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 to complete their sweep. Gordon Hayward, Marcus Morris and Terry Rozier stepped up off the bench, combining for 49 points to offset the struggles of Kyrie Irving and Al Horford.
In the second game of the day, the defending champion Golden State Warriors held off another feisty effort from the Los Angeles Clippers for their second straight win in the series. Led by 33 points from Kevin Durant and 32 points from Klay Thompson, the Warriors are now up 3-1, and will have a chance to close things out at home in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
Later on, the Toronto Raptors also claimed a 3-1 series lead when they crushed the Orlando Magic by 22 points. Kawhi Leonard led the way with a dominant performance, finishing with 34 points and six assists, as the Raptors won their third straight game after dropping Game 1.
Finally, the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena to take a commanding 3-1 lead over OKC as the series shifts back to Portland for Game 5.
Here's everything you need to know about the night's action.
NBA playoffs schedule for Sunday, April 21
*All times Eastern
- Boston Celtics 110, Indiana Pacers 106 (Box Score)
- Golden State Warriors 113, Los Angeles Clippers 105 (Box Score)
- Toronto Raptors 107, Orlando Magic 85 (Box Score)
- Portland Trail Blazers 111, Oklahoma City Thunder 98 (Box Score)
NBA playoffs schedule for Monday, April 22
*All times Eastern
- Milwaukee Bucks (-12) at Detroit Pistons, 8:00 p.m. (GameTracker) -- TV: TNT | Streaming: fuboTV (try it free)
- Houston Rockets (-2.5) at Utah Jazz, 10:30 p.m. (GameTracker) -- TV: TNT | Streaming: fuboTV (try it free)
Blazers take 3-1 series lead over Thunder
The Thunder are on the brink of being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight season. The Blazers defeated the Thunder, 111-98, to take a commanding 3-1 series lead behind C.J. McCollum's 27 points and Damian Lillard's 24 points. Game 5 will take place in Portland on Tuesday night as the Blazers look to close things out.
Adams pulls off monster jam over Blazers
This is why Steven Adams was voted the toughest player in the NBA in the annual general manager survey before the season started. As the Thunder looked to tie their series at two-all, Adams pulled off the highlight of the first half with this slam dunk.
Steven Adams runs the floor and stuffs it home!#ThunderUp 35#RipCity 35#NBAPlayoffs on @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/mHXVAUMHR2
— NBA (@NBA) April 22, 2019
Leonard dominates for Toronto
Up 2-1 in the road, and facing a feisty Magic team with real hopes of evening the series at 2-2, Kawhi Leonard showed exactly why the Raptors traded for him in Game 4. Leonard dropped 34 points and grabbed six rebounds to go along with his strong defense in a completely dominant performance.
Ross nails buzzer-beater at end of third quarter
The Magic have struggled against the Raptors during Game 4, but Terrence Ross may have just kept them in this game with this buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter.
Terrence Ross tosses it up to beat the Q3 buzzer! #NBAPlayoffs #BlueAndWhiteIgnite 70#WeTheNorth 82
— NBA (@NBA) April 22, 2019
📺: @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/G8tNUNoE2q
Kawhi leads Raptors to major lead at halftime
You can thank Kawhi Leonard for the Raptors' major lead at halftime. The former Finals MVP posted 18 points and five boards to lead Toronto to a 16-point lead at the half as the Toronto looked to gain a 3-to-1 advantage in their first-round series.
Kawhi is FEELING it 🔥
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 22, 2019
He's up to 18 PTS & 5 REB at the half as the @Raptors lead the Magic 58-42. #WeTheNorth | #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/tMp4ScHWn2
Ibaka stuffs Gordon at rim on dunk attempt
Aaron Gordon may be a slam dunk artist, but Serge Ibaka wasn't having any of it here. As the Magic forward attempted a posterizing slam dunk, the Toronto Raptors forward made sure to deny him his highlight.
SERGE PROTECTOR ⚡️#WeTheNorth | #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/0wfUs9ilTj
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 21, 2019
Kawhi pulls off dunk after nifty spin move
Who says Kawhi Leonard is a boring player? As the Raptors looked to move to a 3-1 series lead over the Magic, Leonard just pulled off one nifty highlight -- a spin move leading directly to a dunk on the fastbreak.
Kawhi got fancy on the break 👣#WeTheNorth | #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/hGZq1ApWM9
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 21, 2019
Iguodala cuts inside for the jam
Andre Iguodala turned back the clock a bit early in the fourth quarter when he cut inside and threw down a powerful slam off the feed from Andrew Bogut.
Iggy cuts backdoor for the one-handed throw down! #NBAPlayoffs#StrengthInNumbers 96#ClipperNation 91
— NBA (@NBA) April 21, 2019
8:00 remaining on #NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/5oskJIIrXU
Robinson gets the steal, and slam for the Clippers
Rookie Jerome Robinson gave the Clippers some solid two-way play in the first half against the Warriors, as he came up with the steal on one end of the floor and finished with a dunk on the other end early in the second quarter of action. It also came capped off an 11-0 run for Los Angeles in the second quarter.
J E R O M E [ R O B ] I N S O N @Rome_Coldbucks1 with the smooth theft and finish. 👏 pic.twitter.com/giMQ3m5V1s
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) April 21, 2019
Klay owns hot hand early for Golden State
The Golden State Warriors are looking to put the Los Angeles Clippers in a deep 3-1 hole in their best-of-seven first-round series with a win Sunday afternoon. They got a big boost from All-Star shooting guard Klay Thompson early on. Thompson came out on fire in Game 4 against the Clippers and started the game a scoring 7-for-7 from the floor for 17 points.
Klay Thompson (17 PTS, 3 3PM) starts 7-7 from the floor in Game 4! #StrengthInNumbers #NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/urBVN8SFVI
— NBA (@NBA) April 21, 2019
Hayward steps up for the Celtics
The Celtics' stars struggled in Game 4, but they still got the victory thanks to some strong play off the bench. That included Gordon Hayward, who looked a lot like his old self in putting up 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He also hit a number of big shots in the fourth quarter to help the Celtics pull away.
.@gordonhayward is feeling it! pic.twitter.com/MT7GWrs8v8
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 21, 2019
Kyrie crosses and scores
Kyrie Irving didn't have the best first half on Sunday, but he was determined to play better in the second. He started with a nasty crossover and jumper on Thaddeus Young.
SHEESH pic.twitter.com/M0t1BeDUag
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 21, 2019
Turner rises for the rejection, then the slam
Myles Turner was the league's leading shot blocker this season, and he showed off that ability in the first quarter with a huge block on Jaylen Brown. Later on, he threw down a ridiculous poster dunk over Gordon Hayward.
Myles Turner's DENIAL leads to the Darren Collison trey! #NBAPlayoffs #GoldDontQuit 17#Celtics 15
— NBA (@NBA) April 21, 2019
17-7 @Pacers run on #NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/rKVZwIPI7p
MYLES TURNER CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF! 😳✈️💥#GoldDontQuit 45#Celtics 47#NBAPlayoffs #NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/xqngPs1oQe
— NBA (@NBA) April 21, 2019