Andrew Bogut has continued his storybook return to the NBA by just missing a double-double while helping the Golden State Warriors inflict another blow on the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Warriors beat the Clippers 113-105 in LA on Monday (AEST) to take a 3-1 play-off series lead.
Bogut had eight points, 10 rebounds and four assists before fouling out with six minutes to go.
"They just battle," Bogut, praising the Clippers' tenacity, told reporters.
"This is a team that won't lie down."
The defending champion Warriors need just one more victory to extinguish the Clippers and face the Houston Rockets or Joe Ingles' Utah Jazz in the second round.
The Warriors' Klay Thompson raised eyebrows after the game when he said his team expects to face the Rockets, despite the Clippers and Jazz still being alive in the play-offs.
The Rockets lead the Jazz 3-0 in their series.
"We see our opponent," Thompson, angering Clipper and Jazz fans, said in an interview on America's ABC TV network.
"They're up 3-0, so we don't want to give them more rest days."
The Warriors-Clippers game five is on Thursday (AEST) in Oakland.
The Clippers were courageous in game four but did not have the talent or firepower to keep up with the Warriors who were led by Kevin Durant with 33 points and a hot Thompson, who sank six of nine three-point attempts on his way to 32 points.
Bogut has been a seamless fit for the Warriors after they signed him out of the NBL last month and inserted him into their starting line-up when All-Star centre DeMarcus Cousins suffered a potentially season-ending leg injury.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr has described Bogut as "a god send" with a "brilliant basketball mind".
Bogut's skill and IQ were on display with his assists, which included pin-point passes setting up Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala for easy baskets.
Earlier, Aron Baynes' Boston Celtics swept the Indiana Pacers to move to the second round of the NBA play-offs.
The Celtics won 110-106 in Indianapolis on Monday (AEST) to clinch the series 4-0 and set up a likely match-up with the Milwaukee Bucks, who lead their series 3-0 against the Detroit Pistons.
It was a team effort from the Celtics with Gordon Hayward coming off the bench with 20 points and six others scoring in double figures.
Queenslander Baynes had just two points, two rebounds and a steal as a starter, but his trademark rugged play helped lay the foundation for his team's sweep.
"It was a scrappy series, a defensive series, physical series," Hayward said.
"Credit to the Pacers."
The Pacers missed their All-Star guard Victor Oladipo, who was ruled out for the season in January when he ruptured a tendon in his right knee.
The Pacers' big man Myles Turner did pull off the most spectacular play of the game when he delivered a monster dunk over Hayward in the second quarter.
Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points as the Toronto Raptors beat the Orlando Magic 107-85 to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round series.
Portland Trail Blazers won 111-98 at the Oklahoma City Thunder on the back of 24 points from Damian Lillard to increase their series advantage to 3-1.
AAP
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