Three stars from Thursday's NBA playoffs

The surprising part of Towns' night was his oft-derided interior defense. With under three minutes to go, he blocked Tobias Harris' layup attempt, one of his two blocks on the night. Two possessions later, he forced a Cade Cunningham miss and grabbed the rebound. For a player who has faced criticism for his defensive limitations, Towns came up big when it counted.

L.A. Clippers guard James Harden | 20 points, nine assists

The Clippers took apart the Denver Nuggets from the jump, taking an 18-point lead at halftime en route to a 117-83 win in their first ever game at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The engine behind that massive first half was 35-year-old James Harden, who scored all 20 of his points before halftime, dishing four assists, making three triples and not turning the ball over once.

In the second half, Harden continued to carve up the Nuggets defense, this time as a facilitator. He didn't score, but he had five assists, and if the NBA tracked hockey assists, Harden's statistics would have looked even more impressive.

Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren | 23 points, five three-pointers in second half

When the Oklahoma City Thunder trailed by 26 points at halftime and Chet Holmgren had only scored a single point, it seemed very unlikely he'd be one of the stars of the night. But Holmgren got white-hot in the third quarter, sinking four three-pointers and scoring 16 points as the Thunder cut the Memphis lead to eight points in an eventual 114-108 win.

Honorable mention goes to Scotty Pippen Jr. of the Grizzlies, who had a career night if you only consider the first half, where he sank five threes and scored 23 points, with four assists, four rebounds and two steals.

But in the second half, Pippen mustered only five points, turned the ball over four times and committed three fouls as the Grizzlies floundered without the injured Ja Morant. They're down 3-0 in the series, and they lost what might be their best chance to take down the juggernaut Thunder.