5-8-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1

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Whether you're an early bird looking to dive into a daily news podcast or a night owl who wants to catch up on the latest reality TV drama, T-Mobile will keep you connected on their strong and reliable network. Walk the dogs, school drop-off, meetings from 10 to 3, take kids to soccer, then no time left for a jog. I'm really hoping it doesn't hurt to talk because it definitely hurts to move. Maybe just not the mouth.

If I can talk without using my hands or moving all around like I normally do with my fast twitch muscles, then maybe I can get through the show without grimacing. Wowzers. It all hurts.

It's all coming back to me now. My latest half marathon. And I made it more challenging for myself than it needed to be.

Oh, you guys have got to hear the story. It is a first in my half marathon career, whatever that means. But this was number six for me. Number six. Never in my life did I think I would be someone who embraced half marathons or the challenge of half marathons.

But here I am in the last decade. I've run six of them and I will continue to do so as long as I can manage. It is a good challenge for me and I always feel such a sense of accomplishment when I'm done. Not to mention I can eat pizza and ice cream after the race, which is exactly what I did today.

Producer Jay benefitting because he got the leftover pizza. So he's all about it. And I do like the calorie burn while I'm training as well. It's nice. So if for no other reason, as much as I have a love hate relationship with running, I will continue to do it for those reasons. And again, because of the sense of accomplishment and purpose. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you for all of your support and your encouragement today especially, but really over the last month. It was a month that was a whirlwind. Starting with my birthday on April 7th, running through today, Sunday, May 7th. Hiking the Grand Canyon, seeing family in Arizona, becoming an adjunct professor at Syracuse University, hosting multiple shows from my alma mater, training for a half marathon, celebrating May the 4th and Star Wars Day. No, really, it was just more about the crazy pace that doesn't even include work.

Work is so hectic and chaotic in April. So I'm not really sure what possessed me to tack on extra things. But you all were very supportive and encouraging and complimentary and kind and I appreciate your support on our social media so much. If you have not seen the photo, actually Facebookers, producer Jay will help me put up the photo. I did take a photo today with my latest medal. Alright, to be perfectly honest, it's the medals. The medals and the t-shirts. That's why I run.

No, no, that's not. In fact, today's medal is so heavy that I couldn't even walk back to my car with it around my neck. It was weighing too heavy on me.

But it's really purty. Maybe I'll share a photo. Actually, the medal's in the photo.

You probably can't see the whole thing, but it's a big giant rectangle. So go ahead and check it out on Twitter, ALawRadio. Again, many of you have already seen it and have sent me kind words and congrats, which is awesome. Thank you for caring.

We will put that photo up. It's me smiling, despite the fact that I just dragged my rear end through 13.1 miles. I'm telling you, the story's actually pretty funny.

You guys are going to die just because it's me. I never, I could never do anything mundanely or routinely or with any boring. There's no boring to my life, really. I wish there was a little more boring. No, I shouldn't say that.

I don't wish that, but sometimes a little more boring might be a little less traumatic. I asked Jay if he wanted to hear the story before I told it tonight on the air and he said, give me a taste of it. And then the whole story came pouring out because I hadn't told anyone yet. So Jay was the first one to call me after the half marathon.

Thank you, Jay. Mostly because he wanted to know what I was eating, if we're being honest. I wasn't disappointed with the answer. So I told him the whole story and freaked him out. And so wait till I tell you the story. Oh my goodness, all that and I had to kill a spider from underneath my kitchen sink. Man, that thing was, he was, yeah, he was staring at me this weekend. I finally caught him in a compromising position. I was able to get rid of him. I told Bob that this needs to be one of his jobs moving forward. Except he responded with, well, sometimes I like to spare the spider and just put him outside. My great, so he can recruit all his friends and family and come back inside. Look at guys, I found a great spot. No! So again, thank you.

You can find the photo on Twitter, ALawRadio, and I will put the photo up on Facebook before this hour is done. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Busy day of playoff action, both hoops and hockey. Of course, you knew that was going to be the case all the way through the weekend. Was it me or did we only have a handful of games this weekend that were close to the end? It seemed like we had many blowouts. Going back to Friday, we've had these wild swings in the NHL to be sure. Carolina and New Jersey being one of those crazy swings where apparently neither team can win a game by under five goals.

And so that one was weird. The Lakers Golden State game on Saturday night turned into a 30 point blowout. I wouldn't believe it about the Warriors except that this is what they do on the road. And so the Lakers have the upper hand in that series again, even as the seven seed in the Western Conference. We had a blowout of the Celtics over the Sixers in their game on Friday. But boy did we get a doozy this afternoon.

Can't wait to look at the turning points as well as the moments that people will be talking about still until the next game is in the book. So a lot to get to with both hoops and hockey. Latest game though happening on this Sunday evening in basketball. And the Phoenix Suns have reestablished themselves as a force to be reckoned with.

Even without Chris Paul. I was listening to the Denver Nuggets radio network for a time during this game. And what I heard from Jason Kosmicki made me laugh out loud. He's the play by play voice. That maybe the Nuggets want Chris Paul to return because they didn't have any trouble with the Suns in the first two games.

Alright, there's an idea. It's safe to say that the Suns needed someone else to step up. And without Chris Paul, they turned to an unlikely source. What if I told you that Landry Shammet only had 14 points in all of the playoff games before tonight? Cameron Payne gets the ball over to Kevin Durant. Durant double-teamed.

He breaks loose. Keeps coming. Keeps coming. 15-footer. Looks good.

Is good. Durant swings it over to Shammet. Another three. Shazam!

Landry Shammet making a believer. And Denver says, hold it. Time out.

Booker waiting on the distance. Four shots. Four ticks to the clock. They go to Shammet in the corner for three.

Landry Shammet. Shazam! Another triple. Durant over on the right side. Back to Booker. They swing it in the corner to Shammet. Another three. Shazam!

Well, he's hot. He has found his spot. Landry Shammet just keeps knocking down three.

Landry Shammet. 19 points in this game and he stepped up in the fourth quarter when the Suns desperately needed him. Now, Phoenix did not trail in the final quarter. The Suns were able to protect their lead. However, a double-figure advantage shrunk to three points as the Nuggets put on a charge.

But Shammet with four triples in the fourth quarter, and as I say, his 19 points actually eclipsed what he had in all of his previous playoff appearances to this point. We just wanted to come out and get a win, man. We were down 0-2.

We wanted 2-2 going back to Denver and that's what we got, so excited to get back to Denver for game five. He just played his tail off, made plays, got back into the play. Him and DA made some huge plays late for us to get this win and we're going to need that going forward. Kevin Durant ends up with 36 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists. Devin Booker also had 36 points, but they were missing a third score.

It was clear that Denver had a defensive game plan to try to lock those two guys down. We lost. I don't know if it got away from us. They beat us. Close game, lost by five.

Give credit to Landry Shammet. Knocks down five threes and we were trying to make other guys beat us. Not named Booker, not Durant. And so now both those guys got 36 and Shammet got 19 off the bench. That's what the Suns needed. Whether it's Chris Paul, whether it's Landry Shammet, now and then of course we know DeAndre Ayton can also post a double-double and really do some damage with his scoring ability. He only had eight and eight in this game, but what we saw from the Suns was a much deeper bench performance than what the Nuggets were able to offer.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Also, get this, if you only saw this stat, you might think that the Nuggets were in a good spot. 72 points in the paint. Only 46 for the Suns, but you know what the Suns did really well? They shot the lights out from beyond the arc.

And that's partly Landry Shammet, but it's not just him. They were 13 of 29 from deep, had six more triples than did the Nuggets. You do the easy math, that's an extra 18 points for the Suns. And it's not like they were all uncontested shots.

Actually, Denver did pretty well defensively, but the Suns made the difficult shots. They made those looks with hands and arms and bodies in their faces. And Monty Williams knows it. He actually talks about the kids and how they practice as they come up through the ranks. I guess the kids today are working on stuff earlier in their lives, you know. Thanks Steph Curry. All these kids are young men in the NBA and kids that I see coming up, they have more confidence to shoot from range and shoot off the dribble.

The kids. You mean anyone that's younger than Steph Curry. All of the kids that grew up watching Steph Curry shoot from half court, dribble through traffic, back up, move forward, twist, turn, he's got the handles, and then step sideways in your face. Yeah, that's Steph Curry. That was well deserved.

So the kids, according to Monty Williams, are better prepared, they're more prepared to shoot these outrageous shots from all over the planet. And both teams in this game shot 56% from the floor. It wasn't like the nuggets shot poorly. It's just that the offense was far more efficient and far more impressive than the defense on this night.

Now there is a moment that many people will be talking about on Monday. Nicole Jokic, who by the way had 53 points in this game, they wasted a 53-point performance. What is it about these playoffs where teams waste four goal performances from certain individuals and then they waste 53 points from the most, well, I don't want to say most recent, from the former two-time MVP?

Even though he is capable of busting out at any point, you don't want to waste 53 points on the road. That's nutso. But that's not why people will be talking about Nicole Jokic on Monday. Saved by Akogi and out of bounds. Last touch by Phoenix says Tony Brothers. That's not going to sit well. And we got a fight in the corner. All Jokic wants is the ball. He's trying to get the ball. All he wants is the ball to inbound it. And the fans are like grabbing to take it.

He's trying to get the ball. They're booing Joker for some reason, but Denver's security. He told me I was elbowing the fan. But the fan put a hand on me first, so I thought the league was supposed to protect us or whatever.

But maybe I'm wrong, so we will see. Did you happen to know who the fan was? He's a fan. I know who he is, but he's a fan, isn't he? Phoenix Suns owner. Sitting on the court and he's a fan, isn't he?

That doesn't mean that he's whoever it is and he's a fan. He cannot influence the game by holding the ball. I think it's crazy that Nicole got technical foul in that situation. He's going to get the ball and some fan is holding on to the ball like he wants to be a part of the game.

Just get the ball up, man. They deemed Nicole doing something that was excessive, I guess, in the game and the tech, but I still don't really understand it. Do you think the fans, the owner of the Suns, made any difference? I don't give a s***.

I really don't care. Mike Malone, following up, Nicole Jokic. I do agree with Jokic and Malone in that in this situation, the owner is a fan. He's not part of the game and shouldn't be part of the game.

Even if you are acting like Mark Cuban out there, you still shouldn't be part of the game. You are a fan in that regard. You may be a very rich, very powerful fan who writes the checks of the guys on the court, but you're still a fan for all intents and purposes.

For the definition in that moment, you're still a fan. So this is late second quarter and Suns forward Josh Okogie goes flying toward the seats, the baseline across from the Phoenix bench. And as he's trying to keep the ball in play, he lands in the seats and then the owner ends up with the ball in his hands. So Jokic rushes over, kind of follows the situation and tries to snatch the basketball away so the Nuggets could get back to work.

Apparently, as you hear him say, he made contact with the owner and the owner fell backward. But Jokic says that it wasn't him who initiated and was probably incidental in both cases. Didn't look like it was anything intentional. I just think the officials are going kind of hog wild with the technical fouls these days. Oh my gosh. I really have enjoyed these playoffs except for that.

The technicals and the flagrants are out of control right now. On Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page. Photo is up. Thank you, Producer J. Straight ahead, we will spend some time talking Suns Nuggets with Vinny Benedetto from the Denver Gazette who is still in the desert and will join us after the Suns even the series. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. And now here comes the horn. The Nuggets lose two consecutive games in Phoenix. They lose game number four to the Suns 129 to 124. And this best of seven Western Conference Semifinals is all square at two wins apiece. They played another really good offensive game.

You know, KD and D-Book live in that mid-range and it seems to continue to fall for them. So we got to make some adjustments and then they were finding their role, guys, and they were getting wide open threes as well. We got to make some adjustments, but we're very confident. It's the best out of three now, so we got to win two more. But it's a fun series. This is what the playoffs is about, you know what I mean? Like, we didn't expect to sweep our way through the playoffs. They're a great team and it's a fun series.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. That is the voice of one Michael Porter Jr. who takes a positive, optimistic tone. And I can imagine these guys really relish the stage. If they can take a step back, recognize these opportunities, don't come around every day.

And this is what you work toward. And the series is now tied at two games apiece. Each team has protected its home court advantage, or its home court I should say, through the series. Eleven points, ten rebounds from Michael.

A 53-point performance, though, from Nikola Jokic is wasted by the Nuggets in the desert. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio, Jason Kosmicki with the call on the Nuggets radio network. And we welcome Vinnie Benedetto from the Denver Gazette who's covering this series and is in Phoenix. I have to ask you about Jason's comment. Even if you didn't hear it, I'll explain it to you. He said late in the game, so this is about two, three minutes to go, that maybe the Nuggets would be better off if Chris Paul returned to the game and returned to the court because they had played so much better when he was on the court as opposed to being injured.

What do you think of that? Yeah, I mean it's definitely given Phoenix a different look. And in these two games, since Paul's been out, the Suns are playing at a much faster pace. Campaign is getting up and down the court and that's really allowing Devin Booker to get going because he's killing the Nuggets in transition right now. So with Paul, the Suns are playing a little bit more methodical.

It's tough to really discern how much of it is strictly due to the pace, how much of it is role players playing better at home, which is something I think we've seen from both teams. It was interesting to hear Mike Malone say there was a lack of awareness on defense, essentially not knowing who to focus on and where the hot hand was and referring to Landry Shammet of course, but these are all NBA players. It's not like they can't at any point get hot and hurt a team like Landry being a great example of that.

He only had 14 in the playoffs before this particular game. What did you think of the Nuggets defense in Game 4? Yeah, into Malone's point, they were trying to double Durant and Booker most of the night and then they switched that up when Shammet and Terrence Ross hit a couple of threes. So when those guys started making shots, I think the Nuggets tried to switch it up a bit, kind of pull off the double or at least some of the aggressiveness in which they were doubling Durant and Booker. So yeah, I think his frustration was more with the rotations where guys weren't fully flying around because they were forcing the ball out of Booker and Durant's hands and then they'd swing it and swing it and the Nuggets just didn't have the ability or the willingness to fly around to the requisite level. A lot of those Shammet threes were wide open and I think that's the part that will bother Malone. Prior to Game 1 or Game 2, tough twos aren't going to beat us and that was the case in those first few games, but since the series has come to Phoenix, those tough twos were in fact beating Denver and then to take that away, they kind of had to live with some of those open threes.

But yeah, that's not what Malone is looking for in terms of effort I think. Certainly the fact that they were able to get an extra 18 points on threes is a big deal. Some of those shots were contested though and you kind of wonder what else Denver could have done, but that is, if you look at the shooting percentages, I mean that was the case in this game for both teams. Both teams shot nearly 57%. So I'd love to get your thoughts though on, well first of all, how would you describe the game that Jokic had? Even for him, 53 in a playoff game is incredible. Yeah, it's definitely probably the best game he's played. Especially from a scoring standpoint, it's more points than he's had in any game in his eight years. And it was just one of those nights.

Phoenix played him straight up and J'Andre Ayton and Joc Lawndale are trying, but I just don't think they have what it takes to consistently get stops against a guy like Nicola. And then for him to also get 11 assists points out that it wasn't strictly a scoring night for him. So yeah, career night for Jokic and it feels like that's a game the Nuggets need to win.

If you get 53 from your MVP that's on the road, that's one you really want to have. But yeah, it went to waste for the Nuggets. Right, so I was going to ask you then to follow up on that, how painful considering that not only did they get 53 from him, but they played incredibly well in the paint. They were able to get a bunch of shots that were up close, higher percentage shots, and didn't necessarily need to rely on the three. Right, yeah, they got everything they wanted, especially through Jokic inside. Some of those threes that Michael Porter missed feel pretty big.

He feels like he got fouled on one. But yeah, the Nuggets got what they wanted inside. They'll live with 124 points. That should be enough for them to win more times than not.

But yeah, I think most of their concerns on the defensive end. If Phoenix switches up and starts bringing doubles in Game 5, then we're going to go back to Jokic being the distributor that he is, and then it's going to come down to can the Michael Porter juniors, can the Contavious Caldwell Popes make open shots? Vinny Benedetto is with us from Phoenix, covers the Nuggets for the Denver Gazette and the series that's now tied 2-2. It's tied, Vinny?

I don't know if it feels like it's tied. When you were hearing from Michael Malone, hearing from the players, I know Porter was relatively optimistic. Did you get that same attitude, that same feel with the rest of the locker room? Yeah, everyone said the Nuggets did what they were supposed to do. They won their two games at home. The Suns did what they were supposed to do.

They won their two games at home. But I think it is a little different in terms of, if you look at the two games in Denver, both of those were double digit wins for the Nuggets. In Phoenix, Game 3 and 4, the Suns led both those games late, but the Nuggets made a charge and had a shot to win in the last four or five minutes and came up short. So I think that's maybe a bit more deflating in terms of not every winner. All wins and losses count the same, but they feel different. So I think that's kind of what is hurting the Nuggets right now, is just that they had these opportunities and they only needed one. You steal one in Phoenix and you feel good about your chances in Game 5, I imagine. So it's a bit deflating, especially when you consider the 53-point night Jokic had, but they were generally pretty optimistic.

It might be a step too far, but there weren't visible signs of panic or too much frustration, I would say. Compared to how the Nuggets ended the regular season, where they gave up some games, Nikola Jokic was hurt, maybe that's when he lost the edge or the nose in front with the MVP award. How would you compare the way they were playing then, when it took them so long to clinch the number one seed, to how they're playing now, Vinny?

Yeah, it's almost completely different. I compared the final stretch of the regular season for the Nuggets to having senioritis, where you've almost wrapped up one portion of the season or one portion of life and you're kind of taking it easy, enjoying the moment. They were the one seed since December 20th or something. They had a 7.5 game lead and the tiebreaker on Memphis, I think, after their last regular season meeting. It felt like the Nuggets were kind of on cruise control.

Guys, I don't think, wanted to go 100%. Throughout the playoffs, through eight of the nine games, they've played with the requisite intensity and they've really been able to ramp it up. It feels like people ask the question, are you able to flip the switch from the uninspiring ball they played at the end of the regular season and turn it up for the playoffs?

For the most part, I think the Nuggets have done that successfully. They look completely different now than they did at the end of the regular season. Other than the intensity, is there anything else you can pinpoint that has changed for them? They're playing kind of significantly different in that they've shortened the rotation a bit. Aaron Gordon is getting those backup center minutes for the most part. Him and Jeff Green, they're kind of going smaller.

Aaron Gordon, they're just banking on him to battle most of the night. I think that's probably the most significant change. It's not a huge change because they would switch a lot in the regular season when Zeke Najee was getting those minutes. They played similarly when they had a smaller five in there. Aaron Gordon with the bench is by far the biggest change we've seen so far in the postseason. Vinnie, let's talk about that incident in the corner between Jokic and the Suns owner.

I'm not sure your perspective. Obviously, we've seen it on video over and over. What did the Nuggets have to say about this incident? Yeah, Nicola kind of stood his ground as firmly as I've seen him in one of these kind of situations. He kind of questioned if the league is going to protect him, not him individually, but a player. He considered Matt Ishby a fan sitting courtside. He didn't seem to think that made much of a difference. My vantage point was blocked because I'm sitting mid-court, top of the 100 level, and the basket obstructed my view.

I'm going off the same video everyone else is. Jokic kind of fought back the notion that he should have let the refs handle it. One thing he'll do pretty regularly is he'll quickly restart play. He'll chase down the ball. He'll throw it to the official. He'll try to get it back.

Sometimes he'll throw a full court pass to a guy who's on guard. That was what Jokic said his intent was to go and try and grab the ball. He didn't seem to appreciate that Ishby didn't immediately give it up. I know some people have said that they weren't going to restart play with Josh Coggi landing a seed or whatever. Jokic fought back the notion that it was an act deserving of any further punishment than the unsporting technical he got.

We're going to have to wait and see until tomorrow to see if the league will take any further action. If you pay any attention to the Nuggets, you know that he typically does this. He wants to try to grab that advantage if the Nuggets can get the ball in quickly. This is a move we've seen from him a bunch.

I have to say I agree with him. Yes, this fan may be the guy who writes the checks and may have a lot of money, but come on, everybody who sits courtside generally has a lot of money. That shouldn't make a difference. I hope that's not why an official would assess a technical foul because that would be lame. Tony Brothers was asked about this in a pool report and he said the technical came down to there being deliberate contact.

I don't think it matters who the person in the stands holding the ball was. It sounded like Brothers felt like there was no way he could let any contact between a player and a fan go unpunished. I do like spicy Jokic though. When he's like this and he has an edge and an intensity to him, that's good for the entire team.

Absolutely. I don't know if any of this will have any impact on the way he plays should he be on the court in game five. He does seem to hold onto the receipts, I guess. He's one of those guys where he's pretty calm and collected almost all the time, but he can get a little hot under the collar at other times as we've seen throughout his career.

But he didn't seem to think this was anything too out of the ordinary. He tried to get the ball back. He nudged the person who was preventing him from, in his opinion, being able to restart play.

So yeah, it will certainly be interesting in terms of if there's any additional fallout. Before I let you go, Vinny, I, like millions of other people, I'm a huge fan of Devin Booker and his game, but also a huge fan of Jamal Murray and Jamal getting back into this groove, this rhythm that we had missed for a couple of years. What have you seen with him in finally being healthy again? Yeah, he's back to the playoff performance we've seen from him before. He's brought back the notion that that bubble Murray was kind of like a one-off.

He feels like he's kind of capable of these performances on a regular basis and we kind of saw it in round one. In the bubble, it was him and Donovan Mitchell trading just incredible individual performances in round one. There was a lot of Jamal and Anthony Edwards trading those kind of incredible individual performances and now it's him and Devin Booker.

And this is one where it's like, you got to tip your head to Devin Booker. He's playing absolutely phenomenally. The scoring stands out, but he's also managed to get the rest of his team involved. He had 12 assists tonight, so he's playing at an incredibly high level. And it feels like Jamal has maybe pressed a bit at times in this matchup, but he salvaged it tonight with 28 points. I think this is going to be a battle that is going to be pretty incredible to watch for two or three more games of this series.

Yeah, for sure. As much as we can nod to the Splash Brothers, who have the bling and the hardware, to see Jamal Murray and also to see Devin play the way that they are right now, I think makes the series can't miss. And then you throw in a couple of MVPs in there, too, and you're like, whoa, there's a lot of star power in this series, too.

It's not just the other Western Conference semifinal. So it's good to catch up with you, Vinny. We're glad to have you, especially live here on the show. You can follow Vinny on Twitter at V-B-E-N-E-D-E-T-T-O, Vinny Benedetto, and covers the Nuggets for the Denver Gazette with us from Phoenix. Safe travels, and we hope to catch up with you again. Awesome.

Thanks for having me on, Amy. Good stuff there to kind of pick apart this top seed and the various elements that have gotten them to this point. And I really like what Vinny had to say about how the Nuggets are playing now compared to how they were playing at the end of the regular season.

The senioritis is fun. But yeah, for Jokic to be a little spicy, to be a little salty, the way that Jamal is playing, the defense Mike Malone didn't love, maybe taking some shortcuts, getting a little lazy with the rotations, but the series is tied. And in this one, as well as Sixers and Celtics, man, we are best of three with game seven potential. We're going to get to them coming up next on Twitter, ALaw Radio, or our show Twitter, After Hours CBS.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Time out right now. Sixers have not scored in the first 205 of the quarter. Straightaway moves it to Jaylen Brown against Harden, nine of the shot clock. Jaylen switches to the left hand, attacks the paint, makes the extra pass into the corner for a Marcus Smart three. Ooh, five point game. This is as close as the Celtics have been since early in the second quarter. Jaylen Brown moving to the left side, so Tatum going to keep the dribble alive, then float it to Jaylen. Pretty good look. Left side three.

Got it. It's a two point game four, and it's gotten awful quiet in here now. Joel Embiid, Orford's hand in his face. Embiid, one dribble drives, stumbles towards the paint, runs it off the glass, no good. Al may have gotten a piece, but he certainly got the rebound, and the Celtics, who have not led since midway through the first quarter, have an opportunity now with 4.56 to go in game four.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Ooh, that 16 point lead for the Sixers went up in smoke in the fourth quarter. It was quick, and it was painful if you were a Sixers fan to watch that lead disappear. Sean Grandy, Cedric Maxwell on Celtics radio.

Yeah, Sean is right. It got really quiet inside the arena. But the game was far from over. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. We've got the East to talk about over these next few minutes, and next hour. So we'll go 20 minutes, nope. We'll go about 25 minutes from now, my story of how I nearly missed the half marathon altogether. Yep, that's coming up next hour. But we want to get to the Eastern Conference in the NBA postseason, so we're doing that now.

And we're going to split this up, because we're going to hit the top of the hour before we get the reaction. But the Celtics fight and scratch and claw to get back into this game four in the fourth quarter by outscoring the Sixers. 24 to 15 in the fourth quarter.

Yep, you heard me right. The Sixers managed all of 15 points in the fourth quarter on their own court. If not for James Harden, this could have been a humongous wasted opportunity. Horford switches out on Harden. Harden with a dribble. Harden backs up. Now driving to the line. Into the lane with a floater.

Reming good. Harden scores to tie it at 107. And Boston is going to inbound. They still have two timeouts left. The ball rolls toward mid-court, and they are not going to take a timeout.

So it's tied at 107. Just under 16 seconds to go. Boston going for the lead here. Marcus Smart brings it across. The final possession of game four. Smart outside left.

Six seconds to go. He goes to Tatum against Maxie. Tatum drives all the way into the lane. Back out to Smart. Three point shot up. Reming short.

No. Overtime. This was such a crazy game, and yet so much fun. The whole time the Sixers are seeing that lead dwindle and disappear and just completely be a forgotten memory. I kept thinking, oh, this one is going to hurt. They're going to wake up on Monday feeling like they got smashed in the face. Like a really bad hangover. Because they had it in the bag and let it slip away.

But you know me. I give credit where credit is due. James Harden, after back-to-back performances that were embarrassing and abysmal, what does he do? Well, he's there when his team desperately needs him. A beat guarded by Tatum. Left hand dribble into the lane at the dotted circle. Double teamed out to Harden. Three point shot for the lead is good.

Harden converts. Eighteen seconds to go. James Harden for three. He's got forty-two. Boston ball.

No time out. Celtics trail by one. And now the Sixers need to stop. Philadelphia one hundred and sixteen.

Boston one hundred and fifteen. Eight seconds to go. Tatum comes to get the ball.

Game four in the balance. Here's Tatum to the left side. Driving on Maxey. Double lane. Passes out to Smart.

He doesn't get it off. It goes in, but it doesn't count. And Doc Rivers signaling to the Sixers.

This is incredible. Smart made the field goal, but it appeared as though time expired. And it did. The Sixers win the game. Marcus Smart got it off, but not in time. Are you serious? What a game.

Oh man. Boston throwing it out. Smart nails a three, but the game had ended. Marcus Smart with the ball in his hands at the end of both the fourth quarter and regulation. Tom McGinnis on Sixers radio. Why didn't the Celtics call time out at the end of OT? You'll hear from them next.

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Get Asserta. I'm JR of the JR Sport Reef Show on CBS Sports Radio. I'm also the host of the new podcast, Agents of Inclusion. We talk to a different Special Olympics athlete every week to learn how sports can bring us together. We're bringing both the disability and non-disability community to one community.

All one people, one family. It took me a little while, but I decided to claim autism as my superpower. When you hear the word autism, don't let that hinder you from doing whatever it is that you want to do. That's what Special Olympics tells you. You get involved in sports, but then you take it from the playing field out into real life. Family means to me community, acceptance, love, embracing a person just as they are. That's what Special Olympics did for me. It's all about family.

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