Jayson Tatum helps Celtics rebound from loss to beat Cavaliers
Jayson Tatum scored 33 points, Jaylen Brown added 28 and the Boston Celtics looked more like themselves after stumbling at home, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-93 on Saturday night in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The top-seeded Celtics didn’t mess around after dropping Game 2 on their home parquet floor by 24.
That lackluster performance — Boston was favored by double digits — was reminiscent of the first round, when the Celtics lost Game 2 against Miami before winning three in a row to eliminate the Heat.
“We just wanted to bounce back,” said Tatum, who added 13 rebounds. “Disappointing loss the other night, coming into a hostile environment on the road. It was a good test for us to see how we respond.”
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Tatum scored on a three-point play and the Celtics opened the second half with 14 straight points to take a 23-point lead.
That was way too much for the Cavs, who overcame a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter to stun Boston in March.
Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points for Cleveland, but the All-Star guard aggravated a left knee injury in the fourth quarter and was labored. With Boston up 13 and in control, Mitchell left the court with 1:19 left and walked directly to the locker room.
Cleveland got within nine three times in the fourth but the Celtics, who went just 8 of 35 on 3-pointers in Game 2, got back-to-back 3s from Payton Pritchard and Derrick White to stave off the Cavs’ comeback.
Game 4 is Monday night in Cleveland.
Down by 23 and unable to stop Tatum, the Cavs clawed back.
They cut Boston’s lead to 15 by the end of the third, and scored the first six points in the fourth, sending their towel-waving crowd at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse looking for another upset into a frenzy.
But whenever the Celtics needed a bucket, they went to either Tatum or Brown, who broke down Cleveland’s defense for layups or made tough, contested jumpers.
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USC alum Evan Mobley added 17 points and Darius Garland and Caris LeVert 15 apiece for the Cavs, who lost for the first time at home in these playoffs.
Cleveland was again without starting center Jarrett Allen, who missed his sixth straight game with a painful rib injury. Allen has been out since Game 4 of the opening-round series against Orlando and there’s no telling when — or if — he’ll be available.
Mitchell made six 3-pointers and scored 23 in the first half to pace the Cavs, but Cleveland didn’t get nearly enough from the rest of its starters or bench as the Celtics opened a 57-48 halftime lead.
After the Celtics were stunned on their home floor in Game 2 despite being heavy favorites, coach Joe Mazzulla said the message to his players heading into Game 3 was simple.
“Do what you do best, and do it better,” he said.
The Celtics started cold again, missing their first two 3-pointers before making 5 of 8 to take a 30-28 lead after one.
Cleveland got a nice early lift as forward Dean Wade made his postseason debut after missing the past two months with a sprained knee. Wade, who scored a career-high 23 against Boston on March 5 when the Cavs overcame a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter, knocked down a 3-pointer on his first touch.
Boston center Kristaps Porzingis missed his fourth straight game with a calf strain.
Mavericks hold off Thunder, take 2-1 lead
Kyrie Irving scored 22 points, including a running left-hander in the lane in the final minute to help Dallas hold on, and the Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 105-101 on Saturday for a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Luka Doncic also had 22 points to go with 15 rebounds, and P.J. Washington scored 27, just two shy of his playoff high from Dallas’ Game 2 victory.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, but was called for a charge with Doncic defending on a drive with 29 seconds left and the Thunder trailing by five.
Top-seeded Oklahoma City has lost consecutive games after starting 5-0 in the playoffs. Game 4 is Monday night in Dallas.
Irving bounced back from just the third single-digit scoring game of his lengthy playoff career with 14 points in the second half, including six consecutive Dallas points in the fourth quarter that helped the Mavs to their biggest lead of the final period at nine.
The Dallas lead was three after a missed three-pointer from Gilgeous-Alexander when Irving drove across the lane and hit a runner for a 104-99 lead with 39 seconds to go.
The eight-time All-Star, coming off just eight shots and nine points when Dallas evened the series in Oklahoma City, was 10 of 17 from the field and had seven assists to lead the team for the second game in a row.
“One of my coaches just came up to me and said I waited too long, so obviously I’ve got to be better on my end,” Irving said. “We’re going against a young team. So we just want to continue to do the things that get us these W’s, and it starts on the defensive end.”
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Doncic came into the game with a sprained right knee and a sore left ankle and took a hard fall on his back in the final two minutes when he and Lu Dort, the primary defender on the NBA scoring champion, jumped for a loose ball. A jump ball was called, and Doncic retrieved the loose ball with Dallas up three.
Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault decided to foul Dereck Lively II intentionally in the fourth quarter, and the rookie center missed three of the first four free throws. But he hit the next four in a row, the last putting Dallas up 100-95 with 3:06 to go.
Lively had 12 points — eight of them on free throws — and eight rebounds.
Mavericks center Daniel Gafford, who dealt with a dislocated pinkie finger in Game 2, exited in the second quarter after injuring his left shoulder in an inadvertent collision with Josh Giddey.
Gafford returned to the court for the second half with the shoulder in a large wrap, but took it off and was still in the starting lineup. He was limited to six minutes after the break, finishing with eight points.
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Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams stayed down for almost 30 seconds of live action in the third quarter, ending in a three-pointer by Irving, after injuring his left ankle. Williams went the locker room briefly but returned early in the fourth quarter and finished with 16 points and eight assists..
Isaiah Joe had his playoff career best for a game with 10 points before halftime, hitting a three just before the buzzer to give Oklahoma City a 52-51 lead at the break. Joe finished with 13.
Chet Holmgren had 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks as the Thunder finished with 10 blocks but were outrebounded 15-6 on offensive boards and outscored 16-9 in second-chance points.
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