Written by Joe Vardon, Jay King, Jared Weiss, Anthony Slater, Tim Cate
The Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers evened their series at one game apiece against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
In Boston, Donovan Mitchell paced the Cavaliers with his entire team, and Evan Mobley had a playoff career-high 21 points, five assists, and 10 rebounds. Isaac Okoro's 12 points were a playoff career high, as was Darius Garland's seven rebounds.
It was a horrible shooting night at home for the Celtics, who hit just 8 of 35 3-pointers.
It was the Cavaliers' first road playoff win since Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals, also played in Boston. However, the Celtics have struggled with just 14 wins and 14 losses at home in the playoffs over the past three seasons.
Donovan Mitchell 2H Takeover!! ️
Rotate and let it lie down. Euro goes to float.
23 of 29 points came in the second half on ESPN 🔥 pic.twitter.com/GGHVGxtXys
— NBA (@NBA) May 10, 2024
In Oklahoma City, Mavericks forward P.J. Washington had 29 points, seven 3-pointers and 11 rebounds. Luka Doncic also had 29 points and 10 rebounds of his own.
The Thunder's weaknesses on defense contributed to the Mavericks' 18-of-10 3-point shooting.
Mavericks 119, Thunder 110
series: Draw 1-1
Game 3: Saturday in Dallas
Possibility of lineup change looms, Thunder defense is tough
The Thunder's defense has given up 92, 92, 85, 89, and 95 points in their previous five playoff games, all of which they have won. The desperate Mavericks came in Thursday night and put up 119 points to finish this second round series 1-1. Dallas made 18 threes and dished out 30 assists, but only converted nine. Washington exploded. Doncic was great. However, there were a lot of defensive errors that are typical of a young team like the Thunder, but not typical of this Thunder team.
But the biggest question from OKC's side as this series moves south to Dallas will be regarding the starting lineup and Marc Denault's evolving rotation. Josh Guidy was ineffective, and the Thunder once again suffered a disaster on the court with him. In his 11 minutes, they were outscored by 20 points. For the series, he's minus-27 with him on the floor. Daigneault started the second half in place of Aaron Wiggins. Will that be the move to start Game 3? — Anthony Slater, NBA writer
Dallas takes Game 2 at OKC✨
Luka Doncic — ️ 29 PTS, 10 REB, 7 AST, 3 STL
PJ Washington — 29 PTS, 11 REB, 7 3PM pic.twitter.com/zRiybWUaIW— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 10, 2024
Doncic helps Mavericks regain momentum
Less than a minute into Game 2, Doncic put his chin on the court. It was after an accidental trip that he ended up sprawled on the hardwood, adding yet another ailment to his injured knee that has clearly affected him since suffering it last series. He remained on the ground for a while, stunned.
He then got up off the floor and into the game, finishing the first quarter with 16 points. And with him, his teammates also stood up. Washington scored 29 points and tied a career high with seven threes, and Dallas made 18 total long-range shots, the most ever made by a team in the playoffs. This was the punch they needed to score, and it was a reaction to the way Oklahoma City allowed shots over the wall in the paint.
It's been a desperate resiliency and this series is currently tied at one game apiece. It was defiant, even though the team entered this series in more limited conditions than expected. Not only Doncic's knee, but also Maxi Kleber's injury last week that ruled him out of the series. Doncic took the lead, followed by his teammates.
Dallas may have fewer adjustments going forward than the Thunder. Most notably, the Thunder fell behind by 20 points in Guidi's 11 minutes of play, and the team did not start him in the second half. But the Thunder no longer have any momentum or home court advantage, not after Doncic's Mavericks took them away. — Tim Cato, Mavericks Beat Writer
(Photo: Jesse D. Garabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
Cavaliers 118, Celtics 94
series: Draw 1-1
Game 3: cleveland saturday
Cleveland exploits Boston's weaknesses
It's the first time the Cavs have won on the road in the playoffs under coach JB Bickerstaff, but it's also the first time in six years that the Cavs have topped 100 points on the road in the postseason.
Instead of diluting it further by reducing the nickel (yes, this was the Cavs' best shot from three, or overall, in a long time in a road playoff game), let's just say: Under Bickerstaff Best playoff game in, period.
This time Bickerstaff's game plan was strictly followed. The Celtics had no rim protector and were basically daring to score within three points, and the Cavs did that to the Celtics, especially early on. Of the 60 points Cleveland scored in the paint overall, 36 came in the first half.
Look, the Cavs haven't played a game all postseason — mind you, we're in the second round — and they're shooting the ball pretty well. Ta. If the deep shots aren't falling, at some point the Cavs should try a shot closer to first. It worked beautifully. By the end of the game, the Cavs had not only taken advantage of what Boston gave them, they had outscored the Celtics by three seconds (13 makes to Boston's eight).
Mitchell scored 16 of his 29 points in the third quarter, giving Cleveland complete control of the game. Mitchell would have played the entire second half had the Cavs not crushed the game in the fourth and the Celtics brought in a punt team with about five minutes left.
Bickerstaff also said Cleveland needs to be better at limiting the Celtics' 3-point shots. That's quite a challenge, considering Boston leads the league in 3-pointers made and made, and ranks second in percentage. But the Cavs were successful there, too. The Celtics were just 8-of-35 from beyond the arc.
Despite Jaylen Brown (7-of-17) and Jayson Tatum scoring 25 points, the Cavs have struggled to shoot the ball (8-of-17 in Game 2). — Joe Vardon, NBA Senior Writer
After the Celtics' Game 2 loss to the Cavaliers, Jayson Tatum talked about the idea that Boston has a super team.
(via @JaredWeissNBA) pic.twitter.com/BZ2XSJPmuw
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 10, 2024
Jayson Tatum shuts down again
The Celtics looked perfectly cooked in every aspect of the game in Game 2. The Jays couldn't produce a reliable offense, no one could cover Mitchell well, and Cleveland got lights from almost every section of the floor. The Celtics, who face Cleveland with a 1-1 tie, need to turn this into a fresh wake-up call for Game 2, just like they did against Miami.
Brown had hoped to face Mitchell, but had several setbacks. Even when the Celtics tried to trap him in the fourth quarter, he found a workaround by setting up Max Strus for an open 3. Ironically, Cleveland shot nearly 50 percent from deep, while Strass himself was 2-of-7. . Considering how Mitchell is playing now and Garland's stroke is back, Strus could keep Cleveland in this series if his touch returns.
But Strass' defense was front and center throughout this series. Tatum again attempted to score in the midrange, but was unsuccessful multiple times. Boston will need to find a way to remove Strauss from Tatum. That's because the Celtics star can't get his rhythm right now on pull-ups and floaters. — Jared Weiss, Celtics beat writer
Was this just an outlier in Boston?
The Cavaliers' offense struggled through the first eight games of the playoffs. They entered Thursday night ranked 15th out of 16 playoff teams in offensive rating. The only underdog team, the New Orleans Pelicans, lost in a first round sweep. Credit the Orlando Magic for some of Cleveland's woes, but scoring hasn't been easy for the Cavaliers lately.
The Celtics allowed 54.7 percent from the field, including 46.4 percent from 3-point range. Cleveland dominated the paint in the first half, scoring 36 points from the inside, then fired up Boston with seven 3-pointers from the outside in the third quarter. Mitchell controlled the second half with 25 of his 29 points, finishing the quarter with a step-back 3-pointer despite a close call from Tatum.
Cleveland's supporting cast, which was very quiet in Game 1, pitched a lot in Game 2. Mobley added 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while looking more at his offense. He, Mitchell, Garland, Okoro, Strus and Caris LeVert gave the Cavaliers six players in double figures in scoring. Tristan Thompson didn't even play in the first half, but outscored the Celtics on the glass in a stint in the second half.
Was this just an outlier? Will the Celtics defense be able to contain the advancing Cavaliers? Or have the Cavaliers figured out a few things and gained enough confidence to be more of a threat for the rest of the series?
The Celtics need to take something away. The Cavaliers can't have everyone involved working efficiently from all over the court. — Jay King, Celtics beat writer
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(Photo: Joshua Gately/Getty Images)
