The Golden State Warriors stormed home to rally back from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to down the Philadelphia 76ers 120-112 despite Joel Embiid's 46 points on Friday.
Jordan Poole was clutch with 33 points off the bench including six three-pointers, while Stephen Curry added 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field with eight rebounds at the Chase Center.
Poole made a pivotal three-pointer for a 115-110 lead with 1:18 remaining in the last as the Warriors improved to 39-36 to sit sixth in the Western Conference.
The 76ers had led by 11 points with 11:32 remaining in the fourth quarter after Shake Milton laid off for Paul Reed's alley oop layup, but the Warriors launched their comeback with Poole and Curry at the heart of it.
Poole scored 19 of his 33 points in the fourth period, while Curry stepped up with eight points in the final four minutes.
Klay Thompson added six triples in his 21 points, while Draymond Green had 10 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists in a busy display.
MVP candidate Embiid was huge with 46 points on 13-of-23 shooting from the field with nine rebounds and eight assists.
Tobias Harris added 23 points for the 76ers, with Tyrese Maxey contributing 21. James Harden was absent with Achilles soreness.
Embiid scored 13 straight points for the 76ers in the fourth quarter after checking back in with 8:26 left.
Mavericks slip out of play-in spots
The Dallas Mavericks suffered their third straight loss as their playoff hopes took another hit with a disappointing 117-109 loss to the short-handed Charlotte Hornets.
Luka Doncic scored a game-high 34 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Kyrie Irving added 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, but the Mavs were undone after a slow first half, with Hornets forward P.J. Washington managing a team-high 28 points.
The loss leaves the Mavs outside the play-in tournament spots in 11th in the Western Conference with a 36-38 record.
Lakers up to .500 for first time this season
The Los Angeles Lakers squared their ledger at .500 and moved up to eighth in the West with a 116-111 triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder securing three consecutive wins.
Anthony Davis had 37 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, while Lonnie Walker impressed in his return with 20 points and Denis Schroder added 13 of his 21 points in the second half.
The Lakers improved to 37-37 with the win, getting to .500 for the first time this season, with LeBron James' return form injury reportedly not far away. LA are 8-5 during James' latest absence.
Conley return completes Timberwolves as they force Nuggets decider
Mike Conley Jr. said his return had completed the Minnesota Timberwolves after they crushed the Denver Nuggets to force a Game 7 in the teams' Western Conference semifinal series.
The Nuggets had the chance to eliminate the Timberwolves at Target Center on Thursday after going 3-2 up in the series, but the hosts roared back to tie things up with a 115-70 rout.
Anthony Edwards led the way with 27 points and Jaden McDaniels added 21 on 8-of-10 shooting, with the Timberwolves' win the second-largest NBA Playoff victory by a team facing elimination in history.
Edwards put the team's improvement down to the return of guard Conley, who missed Game 5 after suffering from soreness in his right Achilles tendon.
Asked what had changed for Minnesota, Edwards said: "We got Mike Conley back. That was it."
Conley said: "Obviously I wanted to play the last game. I just couldn't move at all. Tonight it was a no-brainer.
"I was going to try to find a way. We're just better when we're a complete team."
MVP Nikola Jokic had 22 points and nine rebounds for the defending champions, who were stunned by a 20-0 first-quarter run from the third-seeded Timberwolves.
Asked how Denver would look to forget about the loss, Jokic said: "I think we shouldn't.
"I think we need to let it sink in. It's a great loss. They destroyed us, and we should learn from it."
Timberwolves demolish Nuggets to force Game 7
The Minnesota Timberwolves needed a win to keep their season alive.
They proceeded to obliterate the Denver Nuggets.
The Timberwolves rode a 20-0 run in the first quarter en route to a 115-70 thrashing of the Nuggets on Thursday to force a Game 7 in their Western Conference semi-final series.
Anthony Edwards led the way with 27 points and Jaden McDaniels added 21 on 8-of-10 shooting as Minnesota recorded the second-largest play-off win in NBA history when facing elimination.
The Wolves led by as much as 50 to send the series back to Denver on Sunday with a berth in the West finals on the line.
After winning the first two games of the series in Denver, Minnesota suddenly found itself on the brink of elimination after losing Games 3 and 4 on its home court and Tuesday's 112-97 defeat back in Denver.
The Timberwolves then trailed 9-2 early in Game 6 before turning the tables on the Nuggets.
They scored the next 20 points and went on a 27-2 run on their way to taking a 31-14 lead after the first 12 minutes.
Edwards sparked the first-quarter surge, racking up 14 points in the opening period after scoring 18 total points in Game 5.
The Wolves clamped down defensively and dominated the boards to turn Game 6 into a laugher.
Minnesota limited Denver to just 7-of-36 shooting from 3-point range (19.4 per cent) and held a 62-43 advantage on the glass, with big men Rudy Gobert (14), Karl-Anthony Towns (13) and Naz Reid (11) combining for 38 boards.
NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 22 points and nine rebounds for the defending champions, but Jamal Murray struggled mightily from the floor, making just 4-of-18 shots and finishing with 10 points.
Mike Conley returned after missing Game 5 because of soreness in his right Achilles tendon, and finished with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.
The Timberwolves opened the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run to open up a 30-point lead, prompting the Nuggets to empty their bench just over two minutes into the final period.
Less than 90 seconds later, that lead grew to 36 points and Minnesota took out its starters.
The Wolves bench picked up right where the starters left off to finish off a 24-0 run as the lead ballooned to 50.
Mavs coach Kidd: Doncic is 'not a robot'
Jason Kidd reminded the media that Luka Doncic is "not a robot" after the Dallas Mavericks star turned in a peculiar display against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Doncic delivered his best performance of the playoffs on Wednesday, finishing with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a 104-92 victory.
The Mavericks are now just one win away from the Western Conference finals.
But what was different about Doncic's night was the fact he rarely remonstrated with the officials, having previously expanded a lot of energy doing just that in Game 4 of the series.
"He's human; he's not a robot," Kidd said.
"Sometimes we just pencil in that he's going to put in 30, 10 and 10. You know the playoffs are hard mentally and physically.
"Before the game, understand you are not going to get any calls on the road. You got to understand you got to play through it."
For Doncic, it was a case of just focusing on what he could control.
"Just focus on basketball," Doncic said. "Remember the thing I love, the thing I love to do. Just play basketball.
"I talked to them [the officials] normally, without complaining.
"I think it was the whole game, nothing. So I just go out there and hoop. Have fun, have fun. It was the old Luka, a smile on my face."
Doncic's teammate Derrick Jones Jr suggested the Slovenian's sharpness in the warm-up told him all he needed to know about what was to come.
"I was just sitting back saying, 'It's going to be a long day for them,'" Jones said.
"Once he gets his rhythm and he's got it going, you can't stop him."
Kyrie Irving believes Doncic can take lessons from his Game 5 performance.
"I think he can learn from this tonight as well as all of us and just continue to affirm to himself that when he is focused on just his game and he's focused on doing the right things, then we flourish as a team," he said.
"I'm not going to sit up here and complain about him. I'm not going to do that.
"I've got to give my brother a little benefit of the doubt. Sometimes it is warranted to get on the guys that are refereeing the game, but I think he found a healthy balance tonight where he was just really focused on getting us going offensively and making the right plays and making sure that we kept our foot on the gas pedal."
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