Di Anthony Slater, Tim Cato, Jay King, Jared Weiss e Joe Wharton
The Boston Celtics bounced back from an embarrassing Game 2 loss to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers and win the series 106-93 on Saturday.
The Cavs attempted a spirited fourth-quarter comeback after trailing by double figures for much of the game, but Boston stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown — combined for 61 points and 22 rebounds — responded to preserve the victory.
The Celtics will continue their winning streak on Monday.
In the Western Conference, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder for the second straight game to bring the series to 2-1.
Mavs forward PJ Washington continued his dominant play, scoring 27 points on 11-of-23 shooting with five 3-pointers in the 105-101 victory. Star guards Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic each scored 22 points, with Irving dishing out seven assists and Doncic grabbing 15 rebounds.
Start, @PJ Washington 🔥 pic.twitter.com/aBui6CPWyr
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) 11 maggio 2024
For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the only player with more than 16 points; His 31 goals were the most in a game, but so were his five turnovers.
Dallas held off Oklahoma City thanks to 15 offensive rebounds.
Celtics 106, Cavaliers 93
Serie: Boston conduce 2-1
Game 4: Monday in Cleveland
Boston’s defensive intensity is back
After taking a 23-point lead early in the third quarter, the Celtics had a chance to close the door on Cleveland, but the Cavaliers wouldn’t go away. They cut the deficit to within 9 points early in the fourth quarter. With the Cleveland crowd going crazy, it would have been problematic for Boston.
When time expired, Tatum drove to a bucket. A few minutes later, Brown drove to another location. The Cavaliers kept the momentum going for a bit, but couldn’t get closer than 9 points the rest of the way. The Celtics stretched out each response. Brown hit a runner. Tatum sank a jumper on the fadeaway. Boston’s offense came together over time.
The Celtics left Game 2 disappointed with their defense. They don’t believe they showed intensity in the playoffs during the loss. The theme for the players in Saturday morning’s shootout was that no matter what they do offensively, they have to work extra hard on the other end of the court. And they did. But they still had to reach out the other side. If they do it in important moments, like they did in Game 3, any opponent will be difficult to beat. – Jay King, Celtics beat writer
Despite his poor shooting, Tatum is still effective
As the series went on, Tatum’s sharp shot just wasn’t coming. He didn’t matter in Game 3. He was very aggressive when he attacked the rim in this series, dominated the boards and was Boston’s best rim protector. Tatum proves that most stars can’t stop scoring or passing, and even if they’re good at that, he’ll do everything at a high level to make an impact.
Once again Brown came out firing with the lights out and Boston didn’t hold back much. To keep the second unit afloat, Jrue Holiday stepped to the edge and made threats. Derrick White started making the shots he needed. He was balanced by the Celtics. Cleveland needs more shooters and noise, but Donovan Mitchell makes this offense. It’s not enough when Boston is going full throttle. — Jared Weiss wins over Celtics writers
Stop playing with him 😤 pic.twitter.com/PiUY4kboW2
— Boston Celtics (@Celtics) 12 maggio 2024
Cleveland was sick without Jared Allen
Dean Wade played his first game in two months, but Allen didn’t join him, and if he could, he could have a huge impact on the series.
While Wade missed two months with a sprained knee and returned for 5 points in 16 minutes in Game 3, Allen has missed six straight playoff games. Reported by Atletico And other publications about how much pain Allen is in: His rib was “punched” by Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic two weeks ago.
Allen may have a bigger presence in this series because he will make Al Horford more vulnerable. Horford starts with Kristaps Porziņģis, who may be out of the series with a calf injury, and his absence highlights his value to Boston. The Celtics were smart in Game 3 and kept Horford close to the paint, leaving Isaac Okoro open to shoot 3s. This is what teams trying to beat the Cavs often do: they force Okoro to shoot. It worked; He missed all four 3s and shot 1 of 7 from the field.
With Allen and Evan Mobley together on the court, yes, the Cavs will give up some gaps where they play well. But in this particular series, Boston could have been helped by Cleveland needing to protect Allen and Mobley or risk getting swept on the road, which the Cavs were willing to do in Game 2.
Mitchell is still on fire, coming off another 33-point game. The Cavs chased the 3-pointer and walked away from something that worked so well in Game 2. They were 12 of 36 and 36 of 84 overall — poor shooting numbers that won’t be enough to beat the Celtics.
With Sam Merrill playing alongside Mitchell, Darius Garland and Carys LeVert, the Cavs had very small gains early in the third and fourth quarters. With Horford down, it looked like the pace would be very fast.
The biggest thing to learn from Game 3 for the Cavs is that the options are there. Boston doesn’t seem like a team that has everything figured out yet (not leaving Okoro free to shoot in Game 2 was a fundamental foul). Cleveland has time to find the right combinations and use them.
It would be easier if Alan could find his way back. — Joe Varden, veteran NBA writer
Luka Doncic celebrates during the Mavericks’ Game 3 win on Saturday. (Tim Heidman/Getty Images)
Mavericks 105, Thunder 101
Serie: Dallas leads 2-1
Game 4: Monday in Dallas
Thunder’s hacking strategy doesn’t work
The Thunder led by double digits in the third quarter and went into desperation mode midway through the quarter, losing by a few points and having to extend the game. Then Oklahoma City coach Marc Daignault went on a hack, intentionally fouling rookie center Derek Lively II four times.
It helped at first. Lively, a 50% free throw shooter, didn’t attempt one in the first two games of the series, going 1-for-4 after the first two fouls. The Thunder backed down, and Mavericks coach Jason Kidd temporarily pulled him.
But Kidd soon got back to Lively and the Thunder fouled twice more. Lively made all four, pushing Dallas’ lead to five with 3:06 left.
“We like to do it when we have the numerical advantage to do it. I give Lively credit; he made the last four,” Tagneault said of the foul.
The Mavericks did enough to survive, beating the Thunder 2-1 in the series and encouraging OKC to use the strategy again. Lively finished 8 of 12 on free throws.
The Thunder allowed 15 offensive rebounds, were outscored 52-38 in the paint and continued to be fueled by their willingness to get open for Washington, which scored 56 combined points in the Mavericks’ two wins in this series. It’s time to regroup for a suddenly struggling Thunder team. — Anthony Slater, NBA writer
An entire team effort for Dallas makes this happen
Dallas wouldn’t have won Game 3 without its entire roster. This is a team built around Doncic that commands the attention of its opponents and that of the league every game. But with Doncic suffering a knee injury, the Mavericks had to get their star, and they did.
Washington led the team in scoring following its 29-point streak in Game 2. Irving finished with 22 points on 10-for-17 shooting.
On the other end, Doncic stepped up to defend his teammates. He battled through his various ailments and hit the ground repeatedly to take part in every possession. The full force of everyone around him joined him: Oklahoma City went through many stretches without the ability to find positive insights.
Lively is the player who allowed it the most. While Lively impressed from the moment his freshman season began, he went on to become one of the Thunder’s toughest defenders and was consistent throughout the series.
With the return of the physicality in Game 3 that fueled Dallas’ defensive success in the final months of the regular season, this team can once again create winning recipes on both ends of the floor. — Tim Cato, Mavericks beats the writer
Sunday program:
Mandatory reading
(Alo Photo by Jayson Tatum and Evan Mobley: Jason Miller/Getty Images)
2024-05-12 04:52:47
#Mavericks #win #series #Celtics #recover
