NBA playoffs

DETROIT — Two teams will have a chance to advance in the NBA playoffs tonight against franchises playing a Game 6 on their home court in each conference.

All four squads will count on key players they added over the last year.

The third-seeded New York Knicks will get a second shot at eliminating the sixth-seeded Detroit Pistons in an Eastern Conference first-round series. In the nightcap, the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets will have their first opportunity to get past the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers in the West.

New York, in a quest to at least reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000, made win-now moves to acquire Karl-Antony Towns and Mikal Bridges to complement Jalen Brunson. With Brunson banged up in Game 5, Towns and Bridges scored 17 points apiece.

Detroit, desperately seeking relevance, welcomed Tobias Harris back for a second tour with the team as part of a busy summer that surrounded Cade Cunningham with some veterans.

In a season-extending win in New York on Tuesday night, Harris became the first Pistons player in a playoff game to fill out the box score with 17 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, two assists and two steals.

“He is our safety blanket,” Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He’s reliable. He’s dependable. He understands what needs to happen in the moment. He’s an unbelievable human being, unbelievable teammate. Fierce competitor.”

Denver, trying to win an NBA title for the second time in two years, signed nine-time All-Star and former Clippers guard Russell Westbrook to improve the roster with reigning MVP Nikola Jokic.

Westbrook, looking like the MVP he was eight years ago, had 13 points in a seven-minute stretch in the first half of Game 5 and finished with 21 points of a 131-115 win at Denver that gave the Nuggets a 3-2 lead in the series.

Los Angeles, seeking a new formula to win after choosing not to keep All-Star Paul George, added depth with subtle moves such as acquiring Kris Dunn from Utah in a trade that involved Westbrook to give the Kawhi Leonard-led team more depth.

Dunn, who has started each playoff game, scored 15 points on Tuesday night for his second double-digit scoring performance against Denver.

Elsewhere:

n Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels has been voted the NBA’s most improved player. The 22-year-old Daniels beat out fellow finalists Ivica Zubac of the Los Angeles Clippers and Cade Cunningham of Detroit. Daniels’ first season in Atlanta was nothing like either of his first two NBA seasons with New Orleans. His numbers soared with career-bests in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and his field-goal shooting went from 43.5% in his first two seasons to 49.3% this year.

n Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was so excited about Indiana’s improbable overtime rally that he didn’t realize what led to the postgame scuffle between his teammates and the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night. Then he got to the locker room, watched the replay and winced when he saw his father, John, on the court, confronting two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Haliburton says he had a talk with his dad and doesn’t agree with what happened. He adds, “I don’t think my pops was in the right at all.” The Pacers eliminated the Bucks with the win.

ROCKETS 131, WARRIORS 116: Fred VanVleet scored 26 points, Amen Thompson added 25 and the Houston Rockets avoided elimination with a rout of the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of a first-round playoff series. Game 6 is Friday in San Francisco. Warriors coach Steve Kerr threw in the towel early with Wednesday night’s game out of hand. A layup by VanVleet midway through the third quarter made it 93-64, and Kerr called timeout and cleared his bench. Dillon Brooks added 24 points on a night when all five Houston scored in double figures. Stephen Curry was held to 13 points for the Warriors and Jimmy Butler scored eight.