Warriors advance to conference final, Raptors poised to progress

Defending NBA champions the Golden State Warriors are a series away from another NBA Finals campaign after seeing off the Portland Trail Blazers 125-121 in game five.

The Warriors closed out the Western Conference semi-final matchup 4-1 via their four-point victory on Wednesday.

Golden State, who closed out the regular season with a league-record 73 wins, trailed 63-58 at half-time but outscored Portland by seven points in the third quarter to hit the front.

And the Warriors never looked back as they now await either the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference final.

After posting 40 points in his return from a knee injury in game four, MVP Stephen Curry had 29 points and 11 assists, while Klay Thompson top-scored with 33 points.

Draymond Green contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Damian Lillard (28), C.J. McCollum (27) and Allen Crabbe (20) combined for 75 points but it was not enough for the Trail Blazers.

The Toronto Raptors moved into pole position to advance to the Eastern Conference Final after defeating the Miami Heat 99-91 in game five.

DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry were at their best as the Raptors earned a 3-2 lead in the semi-final play-off series.

A play-off high 34 points from DeRozan and Lowry’s double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds inspired the Raptors in Toronto.

The Raptors, who never trailed, can now seal their first conference finals berth by winning game six in Miami on Friday.

Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 20 points, while Goran Dragic and Josh Richardson posted 13 points apiece.