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LeBron James saved a game. Russell Westbrook and Paul George saved a season.

And now [url=http://www.officialblues.com/authentic-adidas-jaden-schwartz-jersey]Adidas Jaden Schwartz Jersey[/url] , Game 6 awaits them all.

A trio of possible series-ending games are on Friday night’s NBA playoff schedule: Cleveland at Indiana, Toronto at Washington and Oklahoma City at Utah. For the Cavaliers and Raptors, the scenario is they advance with a road win or head back home for Game 7 on Sunday. The Thunder don’t have such a safety net; they must win in Salt Lake City, or it’ll be the Jazz going to the second round.

James went from goaltending to game-winning in a matter of seconds in Game 5 on Wednesday night, his straightaway 3-pointer at the buzzer giving Cleveland a three-point win and a 3-2 series lead. Westbrook and George looked well on their way to summer vacation in their Game 5 matchup with the Jazz , before they combined for 54 points in a 61-28 Oklahoma City run that rallied the Thunder from a 25-point second-half deficit.

The stars carried the Cavs and Thunder.

The Raptors, they have a 3-2 lead thanks to a more unsung hero. Delon Wright was fantastic for Toronto in the fourth quarter of Game 5 against Washington , and the Raptors held serve by beating the Wizards to reclaim the lead in their series.

What James did was stunning in Game 5, and his final half-minute was memorable to say the least. He went from potential goat (turning the ball over, which the NBA said was a bad call) to hero (blocking Victor Oladipo’s layup, which the NBA later said was also a bad call and should have been goaltending) to hero by hitting the game-winner.

”He’s the best player in the world,” Cleveland’s Kyle Korver said. ”He’s on our team, he’s going to give us a chance every single night. We all have to do our part but he is that good.”

Oklahoma City was finished, done, ousted – except no one told Westbrook and George. Those players alone shot 20 for 35 (and 6 for 9 from 3-point range) in the final 20 minutes of Game 5 against Utah [url=http://www.authenticsoaklandraiders.com/cheap-p.j.-hall-jersey]P.J. Hall Jersey Elite[/url] , while the Jazz shot 11 for 36, 1 for 16 from 3-point range. So a 25-point hole in the third quarter ended up as a eight-point win, and now Utah will inevitably feel pressure in Game 6.

In Toronto, Wright scored 11 points in the fourth as the Raptors pulled away.

Some other things to know going into Friday’s Game 6 matchups:

RAPTORS AT WIZARDS

Toronto leads 3-2. Game 6, 7 p.m. EDT, NBATV.

NEED TO KNOW: The Wizards have been so much better at home than on the road, winning eight consecutive playoff games in Washington, so pushing this to a Game 7 is not out of the question. But another fourth-quarter collapse like in Game 5, when coach Scott Brooks’ team gave away a lead and went more than 3 minutes without a point, could spell the end of what would amount to a disappointing season for the No. 8 seed Wizards. ”We’re having trouble closing out games in Toronto,” Brooks said Thursday at the Wizards’ arena. ”We’ve done a pretty good job of closing out games here.”

KEEP AN EYE ON: DeMar DeRozan. He has been the unquestioned star of this matchup for No. 1 seed Toronto, putting up 28.8 points and 5.0 assists, with three games of at least 30 points apiece.

PRESSURE IS ON: Washington’s trio of max-contract players. While PG John Wall has been mostly terrific all series, averaging 26.6 points, 12.2 assists and 5.8 rebounds [url=http://www.giantsfootballauthentic.com/kyle-lauletta-jersey-authentic]Youth Kyle Lauletta Jersey[/url] , his minutes (38. might be catching up to him. He faded late in Game 5, as did SG Bradley Beal, who was great in Games 3 and 4 at home, less so on the road. The biggest issue for the Wizards is a lack of production from their third-best player, SF Otto Porter Jr., who is scoring only 10 points per game and has made five 3s all series. As a whole, the Wizards need to be better from beyond the arc than in Game 5, when they went 5 for 26, 1 for 10 in the fourth quarter.

INJURY UPDATE: Porter sat out the last regular-season game with a strained right calf and his playoff problems could be connected to that. … The leader of Toronto’s second unit, PG Fred VanVleet, has played a grand total of three minutes in the series because of a hurting right shoulder.

CAVALIERS AT PACERS

Cleveland leads 3-2. Game 6, 8 p.m., ESPN.

NEED TO KNOW: When James gets a chance to land a knockout blow, he delivers. The last 11 times a James team has gotten to 3-whatever in a series, it has closed out the matchup in its very first opportunity. That’s not a great sign for the Pacers.

KEEP AN EYE ON: How Indiana responds. It’s very simple – after the NBA’s Last 2 Minute Report on Thursday for Game 5 [url=http://www.authenticsmiamidolphins.com/cheap-daniel-kilgore-jersey]Daniel Kilgore Jersey Elite[/url] , the Pacers can very easily get lost in how Oladipo’s layup should have counted. Would James have gone for a 3-pointer if the Cavs were down by two in that situation? The Pacers need to regain focus and not worry about what’s already done, since calls were missed both ways in that game.

PRESSURE IS ON: Oladipo. He’s had a great year, and will likely be the league’s Most Improved Player. And he’s had a strong first five games, as well. But if he’s going to be thought of as someone who’s gotten to that next level, staring James down and fending him off in an elimination game would probably help his cause.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: The Pacers are 27-2 this season when holding opponents under 98 points, and 2-0 in this series when that happens.

THUNDER AT JAZZ

Jazz lead 3-2. Game 6, 10:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN.

NEED TO KNOW: Westbrook finally broke out in Game 5 and took over. Oklahoma City got Utah post players Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors in foul trouble, allowing Westbrook to play his normal aggressive style. Westbrook scored 33 of his 45 p Panthers quarterback Cam Newton posted a photo of himself earlier this week on Instagram sitting at a card table with a stack of poker chips in front of him that read: ”I’m BETTING EVERYTHING on ME!”

It’s just one of several recent posts by Newton, most of which include him working out or showing off his chiseled six-pack abs.

The league’s 2015 MVP enters his eighth NFL season anxious to push the Panthers deeper into the playoffs after an 11-5 regular season ended with a first-round playoff loss to New Orleans last season.

Newton was in a jovial mood Thursday night as the team held its first training camp practice at Wofford College as new owner David Tepper looked on from the sideline. The quarterback led ”the wave” with the crowd and laughed it up with teammates during breaks in practice.

”It’s just nice to see him be Cam and have a lot of life and have a lot of energy and enthusiasm,” Panthers tight end Greg Olsen said on check-in day on Wednesday. ”When he’s like that, he’s at his best.”

It helps that Newton doesn’t have to worry about rehabbing an injured shoulder as he did last summer.

Newton missed all of minicamp and OTAs in 2017 after rotator cuff surgery on his throwing shoulder following the 2016 season. He was back to throwing at training camp last year, but developed soreness after five practices.

Not wanting to chance any setbacks, the Panthers only allowed Newton to throw two passes in the preseason games.

Newton made it back for the start of the regular season and played in all 16 games. He struggled statistically, completing just 59.1 percent of his passes with 22 touchdowns and 16 interceptions [url=http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/josh-jackson-jersey]Josh Jackson Jersey[/url] , but it’s difficult to pin that on Newton or his shoulder.

Injuries to the offensive line and wide receiver position often left the former Heisman Trophy winner running from defenders after being flushed out of the pocket, desperately trying to find an open option.

Panthers general manager Marty Hurney addressed the need for playmakers at the wide receiver position this offseason by trading for Torrey Smith, signing free agent Jarius Wright and drafting rookie D.J. Moore in the first round.

”I thought you saw a lot of energy out of our offense in minicamp,” Hurney said. ”You just don’t know, but you want to see it come together.”

Newton is also adapting to a new offensive scheme after the Panthers fired Mike Shula and replaced him with Norv Turner. Running back Christian McCaffrey said Turner and Newton ”have really bonded” so far this offseason.

”Cam’s been throwing it really well. He has been making great reads and I think he’s just as excited as anybody for the season,” McCaffrey said.

Coach Ron Rivera said what excites him the most about Newton is the simple fact that he’s healthy and, as Panthers wide receiver Devin Funchess said, ”is ready to rock.”

That has allowed him to work through some of the intricacies of Turner’s offense during OTAs and minicamp.

”Going into this camp, I think we’re already ahead with him,” Rivera said.

Newton didn’t talk to reporters following the completion of the team’s first practice at Gibbs Stadium, instead spending time signing autographs before heading in for team meetings. But he did post ”you know I’m ready” in a recent Instagram video.

”I think that’s the understatement of the year to say that him being out there makes a big difference, right?” said Olsen, who missed more than half of the 2017 season with a foot injury.

”Just his presence on the field. Having a full OTAs and minicamp with him and then getting some work done with him this summer and just seeing how good he’s feeling and moving around and training and throwing a lot, and now being able to do a full training camp – those are all stark contrasts with where we were at this point last year. One would hope that that’s a good sign for us.”

Newton is betting on it.

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