Victor Oladipo

Victor Oladipo led the depleted Miami Heat to a series-clinching 97-94 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday as Ja Morant produced a dazzling late ...

He had undergone surgery to treat the same problem in January 2019. "Last three games we haven't played our basketball." The win marked a return to form for Phoenix, who had been erratic over the opening four games of the series against the eighth-seeded Pelicans. The 22-year-old rising star of the NBA erupted for 18 points in the fourth quarter as Memphis outscored Minnesota 37-24 in the final period. Victor Oladipo led the depleted Miami Heat to a series-clinching 97-94 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday as Ja Morant produced a dazzling late scoring spree to give Memphis a thrilling win over Minnesota in the NBA playoffs. In the Western Conference playoffs Morant scored a gravity-defying last-gasp layup as the Grizzlies conjured an epic late fightback to stun the Minnesota Timberwolves 111-109.

It took a while, but the Victor Oladipo breakout performance finally happened. Yes, I'm aware he had a nice brief run with the Miami Heat last season before ...

But there comes a time in each marquee guy’s career when he faces a moment of truth, and it’s usually when a superior team with championship-level defense forces said player to re-assess how he operates against the best counters the opposition has to offer. There was the foul on Trae from behind that sent him to the line with under a minute to go and Miami up by 4. It’s my 9th game, so I got a lot of room to improve.” There was a switch on defense he was late to react to which allowed the hot-shooting De’Andre Hunter a clean look from deep during Atlanta’s late-game comeback. The physicality and different looks bothered Young so much that his body language looked all out of sorts. Tyler Herro converted a number of tough, contested fadeaway jumpers that were crucial in keeping Miami ahead. “Not because I quit but because I was at the lowest point I could be at. Even when Lowry and Butler return, there’s a strong case for Oladipo to remain in the rotation. It was fitting that the game’s most crucial basket, an Adebayo dunk, was courtesy of an Oladipo pass. around this time last year, I was sitting in the dark room by myself and just broke down,” Oladipo shared post-game. The Hawks entered the series almost as an “I’ll zag instead of zig” pick in some bracket predictions. Oladipo finished with 23 points on 8-16 shooting, including 3-6 from deep and 4-4 from the foul line.

Victor Oladipo scored a team-high 23 points to lead the short-handed Miami Heat to a narrow Game 5 win over the Atlanta Hawks, wrapping up the first-round ...

Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter scored 18 of his game-high 35 points over the final 12 minutes. The Heat will host the 76ers or Raptors in Game 1 of their second-round matchup on Monday at FTX Arena. The Raptors host the 76ers in Game 5 of their series at 7 p.m. EDT Thursday in Toronto. "Everybody that played had their fingerprints on this. The Heat led 54-42 at halftime in Game 5, but was outscored 52-43 over the final 24 minutes and managed to hang on in the fourth quarter. "There is still a lot more basketball left. The top-seeded Heat advanced to a second-round matchup with either the No. 4 Philadelphia 76ers or No. 5 Toronto Raptors. The 76ers lead that best-of-seven game series 3-2.

Clinging to a two-point lead with a minute remaining, Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo blew by Kevin Huerter and entered the lane.

This could lead to a potential matchup between two Hoosiers, Oladipo and OG Anunoby of the Raptors. Anunoby has had an impressive series so far, scoring 99 points across five game. Oladipo led the Heat with 23 points in this game, finishing 8-for-16 from the field and 3-for-6 from 3. "Around this time last year, I was sitting in a dark room by myself and just broke down," Oladipo said. This heady play by Oladipo, leading to a thunderous slam dunk by Adebayo, gave the Heat a four-point advantage and a lead they'd never relinquish. "When they told me I needed to start tonight I just stepped up to the plate and did everything I could to help my team win," Oladipo said in a postgame interview. Clinging to a two-point lead with a minute remaining, Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo blew by Kevin Huerter and entered the lane.

Miami Heat, Erik Spoelstra embrace NBA playoff time off, with next round not to open until Monday at FTX Arena.

The Miami Heat got a great Victor Oladipo showing in Tuesday night's closeout Game 5. It has one wondering, does this see him stick in the playoff rotation?

It’s how they’ve won and been among the best all year long in other high-pressure situations. And hey, there may be a night where he sees a hefty dosage, depending on the matchups, which takes us to our next points on the topic. Though they were up in the series with a comfortable, 3-1, lead, that’s actually just it.

On Tuesday, he proved he was back. Oladipo had 23 points in the Heat' 97-94 victory against the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round ...

"I couldn’t control the circumstance, but I could control my approach. Not because I quit, but because I was at the lowest point I could be at. I have a lot of room to improve.” “It’s a blessing at the end of the day to be able to play the game I love," Oladipo said. I can’t really explain why I’m here today, but I’m staying in the moment and making every moment mean something. I was sitting in a dark room by myself and just broke down.

Law Murray breaks down the key stat, the moment of the game and more from Tuesday's action.

The moment of the game: With 7:51 left in the first half, Ayton was called for a charge on McCollum. It looked like a borderline call, and it did get challenged by Monty Williams and overturned. And the Suns learned in Game 5 they can get away with pairing Ayton with JaVale McGee; the Suns outscored the Pelicans by nine points when those two were on the floor together. When Herbert Jones missed a 3 that could have made it a two-possession game with 1:09 left to play, CJ McCollum took a foul on Bridges, and the game was formally salted away. (The Warriors can match this Wednesday night in Game 5 against the Nuggets.) It wasn’t a great shooting game for Paul (8-for-18 field goals), but Deandre Ayton combined with Bridges to make 20-of-30 field goals. Phoenix made 43 of 86 field goals, and the Suns are the only team this postseason to make at least half of their shots in each of the first five games of the playoffs. The paint points, extra opportunities and takeaways made this a Grizzlies game in so many ways, despite the Timberwolves leading for a vast majority of Game 5. Bridges got better as the game went on, going from two first-quarter points to five in the second, 11 in the third and 13 in the fourth. The paint, as it usually is for the Grizzlies. Memphis is not a good shooting team, and it was even more pronounced than usual in Game 5, as the Grizzlies missed 25 of 33 shots outside of the paint. The Hawks were held to 28 points in the paint in Game 5 after only 26 paint points in Game 4; it was the first time all season the Hawks failed to score at least 30 points in the paint in consecutive games. The Heat split with both the Raptors and 76ers in the regular season. Miami immediately went on a 17-0 run that was only broken at the end of the half by two De’Andre Hunter free throws. But Kyle Lowry’s hamstring injury opened up a spot in Game 4, and the Heat outscored the Hawks by 28 points in Oladipo’s 23 minutes, with his defense being a major factor.