Both the Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder demonstrated this Tuesday, at the start of their conference semifinal series of the NBA playoffs, why they were the best teams of the regular season in the East and West, respectively. The Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-95 at TD Garden, while the Thunder had no problems beating the Dallas Mavericks 117-95 at the Paycom Center
Celtics 120 – Cavaliers 95
Both the Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder demonstrated this Tuesday, at the start of their conference semifinal series of the NBA playoffs, why they were the best teams of the regular season in the East and West, respectively. The Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-95 at TD Garden, while the Thunder had no problems beating the Dallas Mavericks 117-95 at the Paycom Center.
After overwhelming the Miami Heat in the first round, the Boston Celtics started the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals this Tuesday with a dominant 120-95 victory, at the TD Garden, over the Cleveland Cavaliers led by Jaylen Brown’s 32 points.
The Cavs arrived at the Garden after a vibrant and demanding victory in the seventh game of the series against the Orlando Magic and had no option to contain Joe Mazzulla’s almighty team, which was close to 50% accurate in field goals and connected 18 triples to take a solid lead.
Brown led the victory with 32 points (12 of 18 from the field) and 6 rebounds, supported by Derrick White’s 25 (7 triples) and a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds from Jayson Tatum.
Dominican Al Horford, starter in Mazzulla’s quintet, contributed 7 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, while Jrue Holiday registered 14 points and 6 rebounds for the Celtics.
Those from Boston, who dominated the regular season, with a balance of 64 wins and 18 losses, did not pay for the absence of Kristaps Porzingis for the second consecutive game. The Latvian is out due to a soleus problem and the time required for his complete recovery is still unknown. Everything indicates that he will not be able to compete in this series.
Despite their loss, the locals dominated the Cavaliers from start to finish and sealed their fourth victory of five in this postseason by a margin of more than 20 points.
The Cavs, who had just over 48 hours to recover from the tremendous effort to defeat the Magic, gave up despite another great performance by their brightest star, Donovan Mitchell: he scored 33 points at TD Garden and was the best on his team .
Those led by JB Bickerstaff did not exceed 41% accuracy in field goals and only made 11 triples out of 41 attempts on a night in which they could not count on Jarrett Allen. The center missed his fourth consecutive game due to a rib injury.
Evan Mobley contributed a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Darius Garland scored 14 points.
Without Allen, his team was dominated by the Celtics in the paint, where the home team captured 56 rebounds against 44 for the visitors.
The second game of the series will be played this Thursday, again in Boston, where the Celtics won 40 of the 45 games played this season.
Thunder 117 – Mavericks 95
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander beat Luka Doncic this Tuesday in the individual duel between MVP candidates and the Oklahoma City Thunder took the first duel of these Western semifinals against the Dallas Mavericks by 117-95.
Gilgeous-Alexander almost reached the triple-double with 29 points (8 of 19 shooting), 9 rebounds and 9 assists for a Thunder that went from less to more and that, despite its youth, exhibited an impressive catalog of resources in attack and defending.
Chet Holmgren stood out with 19 points and 7 rebounds, Jalen Williams contributed 18 points and Aaron Wiggins added 16 points as a Thunder made huge triples in the second half (11 of 19).
Those led by Mark Daigneault (NBA coach of the year) had ten wins in a row: the five that gave them first place in the West in the regular season and the five that they won in the playoffs (they swept the New Orleans Pelicans 4-0)
In a Mavericks without the injured Maxi Kleber but with Tim Hardaway Jr. back, Doncic, with knee problems, recorded a poor performance with 19 points (6 of 19 in shots, 1 of 8 in triples), 6 rebounds and 9 assists with 5 turnovers.
Nor did Kyrie Irving, excellent against the Los Angeles Clippers in the previous series, have his day (20 points, 7 of 14, and 4 losses). Daniel Gafford had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks.
Jason Kidd’s men committed 16 turnovers, did not reach 40% shooting and succumbed in the battle for the rebound (52 against 39).
The second game between two teams that did not qualify for the playoffs in 2023 but are now playing for a place in the Western final will also be played in Oklahoma City on Thursday.
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