Both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks got even with their respective conference semifinal opponents on Thursday night in impressive showings on the road. In Boston, the Cavaliers handled the Boston Celtics, 118-94, while the Mavericks evened up their series with the Oklahoma City Thunder, 119-110.
Donovan Mitchell led the way for the Cavaliers with 29 points on 10-for-19 shooting. Adding eight assists and seven rebounds, Mitchell showed his ability as a playmaker while also displaying that when he is on his game, he can be as lethal as almost any scorer in the league.
22-year-old big man Evan Mobley (21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists), played a great game. He was active on the interior while showing his ability as a shooter and a passer, with a straightaway triple that gave his team a 28-21 lead in the first quarter and then a transition pass that found Caris LeVert underneath that put the Cavaliers up nine, 30-21. They led 30-24 after one quarter. The Celtics played a strong second quarter, outscoring their opponent by that same 30-24, but not before the Cavaliers went on another 11-3 run to end the half. The score was even, 54-54, at halftime.
Mitchell was aggressive in the second half, calling for the ball and scoring on runners, jumpers, slick layups, and three-pointers - his teammates feeding off his energy. LeVert, with 21 points, showed why he is one of the more capable scorers off the bench in the league. The 29-year-old, who scored 51 against the Celtics in a March 2020 game in Boston as a member of the Brooklyn Nets, is a slithery, unorthodox player who is able to evade defenders and get the looks that he wants.
Along with Mitchell, Mobley, and LeVert combining for 71, Darius Garland scored 14, and Isaac Okoro and Max Strus 12.
While the Celtics got 25 points from Jayson Tatum, he was just 7-for-17, as was Jaylen Brown, who finished with 19 points and missed all six of his attempts from long distance. Derrick White was only 3-for-11 and made just one of his eight long range attempts. The team who takes and makes three-point shots at a higher clip than any team in the league was just 8-for-35 from there on Thursday night. The Cavaliers were also the more active team, outrebounding the Celtics 44-31.
Game 4 is in Cleveland on Saturday night.
In the second game of the evening, total contributions from the Mavericks’ supporting cast, and not enough from the Thunder’s, was the difference.
Luka Doncic, who at times looked hobbled with a bad ankle, fought through it and scored a team-high 29 points (PJ Washington also scored 29), with 10 rebounds and 7 assists. He was his usual self, navigating the defense, creating space and finding others. Along with Washington’s 29, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 17 off the bench, while Daniel Gafford (13 points, 7 rebounds) was solid inside. Dereck Lively II also provided some good resistance against the Thunder’s Chet Holmgren. Josh Green added 11 points. Kyrie Irving, just 2-for-8, scored only 9 points but did have 11 assists.
The Thunder got 33 from MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (along with 12 rebounds and 8 assists on 13-for-24), but not enough from everyone else. Jalen Williams scored 20, but he did it on 7-for-17. Lu Dort was only 3-for-8.
The Thunder also did not get an adequate performance from Holmgren, who had an off night with 11 points on 4- for-12. Holmgren, who finished second in this year’s Rookie of the Year voting, made just one of his six three-point attempts. It was his second lowest scoring output of the playoffs (he scored just 6 in Game 3 against the New Orleans Pelicans), and comes off the heels of a stellar 19-point, 7-rebound, 3-block showing in Game 1.
Holmgren’s off night, combined with insufficient support from the others for Gilgeous-Alexander, put too much pressure on SGA throughout the game. Too many times, he was asked to bail his teammates out or make something happen late in the shot clock. In the regular season that can work, but in the playoffs against fellow top teams, it does not. The Thunder will need their supporting cast to play better in Game 3, particularly from three, where they made just 10-of-30 on Thursday night.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, got a much needed win to split the first two games on the road. They are in a much better position now heading back to Dallas for Saturday’s Game 3.
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