The Boston Celtics took a commanding 3-1 lead in their NBA playoff series against a short-handed Cleveland team on Monday, with Jayson Tatum leading the charge with 33 points and 11 rebounds, while Jaylen Brown contributed 27 points. The Celtics clinched a 109-102 victory, setting themselves up to potentially finish the series at home on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder evened their series against the Dallas Mavericks at 2-2 with a hard-fought 100-96 win on the road. Despite trailing for most of the game against a staunch Dallas defense that tallied 13 blocked shots, the Thunder staged a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s fadeaway jumper tied the game at 86-86 with just over four minutes remaining, and a crucial three-pointer from rookie Chet Holmgren put Oklahoma City ahead for good. Although Dallas narrowed the deficit to one point in the final seconds, Holmgren and Gilgeous-Alexander held their nerve, sinking key free throws to secure the victory for the Thunder.
“We just stuck to it,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half.
“We just plugged away, took it possession by possession and eventually the game turned for us.”
Chet Holmgren contributed 18 points for the Thunder, while Luguentz Dort added 17, helping their team secure the crucial victory. The Thunder’s impeccable free-throw shooting, making 23 of 24 attempts, proved pivotal in the contest. Despite a strong performance from Dallas star Luka Doncic, who recorded a triple-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, the Mavericks fell short.
On the Mavericks’ side, P.J. Washington led the scoring with 21 points, but their star guard Kyrie Irving was limited to just nine points.
Doncic said it wasn’t a defensive breakdown that cost the Mavs but too many mistakes in the “little details.”
He called it “unacceptable” that Dallas made just 12 of their 23 free-throws, and the Mavericks also coughed up 14 turnovers leading to 19 Thunder points.
In Cleveland, the absence of Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen dealt a blow to the Cavaliers, with NBA superstar LeBron James observing courtside. Despite their efforts, the Cavs couldn’t match the Celtics’ firepower.
The game saw shifts in momentum, with the Cavs briefly taking the lead in the third quarter on Darius Garland’s drive. However, the Celtics quickly regained control, entering the final period with a 10-point lead.
Despite a valiant effort from Cleveland, led by Garland’s 30 points, they couldn’t close the gap sufficiently. Jaylen Brown’s clutch three-pointer, assisted by Jayson Tatum, with 1:09 remaining effectively secured the win for the Celtics.
“It’s a game of runs,” Tatum said after the Celtics — who took control early with a 12-0 scoring run in the first quarter — struggled to put the depleted Cavaliers away.
“It’s not going to be perfect every single time. They’re going to make shots, but it’s our job to figure it out.”
Boston’s lead stretched to as much as 13 points in the second quarter. However, fueled by an impressive three-point shooting display with 11 made triples in the first half, Cleveland managed to trim the deficit to just one point on two occasions before halftime, ultimately heading into the break trailing by five.
A notable moment came in the second quarter when Jaylen Brown avoided a flagrant foul call. Brown fell backward into Max Strus, and in the process, grabbed Strus’s ankle as the Cavaliers’ player attempted to maintain his balance while stepping over Brown’s head.
Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff expressed more concern over the free-throw discrepancy, with Boston visiting the line 24 times compared to Cleveland’s seven trips.
“I’ll be honest with you, I was disappointed with the way the whistle blew tonight,” he said. “I don’t think we got an equal opportunity at it tonight from that standpoint.
Garland called the free-throw discrepancy “ridiculous.”
“I’m not one of those guys with the striped shirt, but I know how many times I get hit, I know how many times my teammates get hit, put on the floor. And we can’t reciprocate,” he said.
