The Boston Celtics mounted a spirited challenge against short-handed Cleveland on Monday, beating the Cavaliers 109-102 to take a 3-1 lead in their NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series as Oklahoma City tied the game his series with Dallas in a wild finish. .
Jayson Tatum scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Jaylen Brown added 27 points for the Celtics, who will try to finish the best-of-seven series at home on Thursday (AEST).
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The Cavaliers were dealt a major blow when Donovan Mitchell, who had averaged more than 35 points in the previous six games, was ruled out with a calf injury, joining starting center Jarrett Allen on the sideline.
NBA superstar LeBron James, who led the Cavs to their only NBA title in 2016, sat courtside with his agent Rich Paul, but with Mitchell out, the Cavs ultimately didn’t have enough firepower.
James’ presence was somewhat notable considering he can opt out of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and become a free agent this summer.
The superstar was originally drafted by the Cavs and spent seven seasons there before moving to Miami in 2010.
But James returned in 2014 and led Cleveland to its first NBA championship in 2016.
The Cavs kept up the pressure, briefly taking the lead on Darius Garland’s basket early in the third quarter – their first lead since the first quarter.
But the Celtics quickly reasserted themselves and led by 10 going into the final period.
Cleveland, thanks to Garland’s 30 points, got within five points three times in the final four minutes, but Brown, fed by Tatum, made a three-pointer with 1:09 left, making it ‘has effectively sealed.
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“It’s a running game,” Tatum said after the Celtics struggled to hold off the depleted Cavaliers.
“It’s not going to be perfect every time. They’re going to make shots, but it’s our job to find out.
The Celtics, winners of a league-best 64 regular-season games, used a 12-0 run to take control in the first quarter, with Tatum scoring 16 points in the period.
Boston led by 13 points in the second quarter, but Tatum calmed down and Cleveland, buoyed by 11 of its 15 three-pointers in the first half, fought back, twice closing the gap to one point before to collapse by five points. .
The Celtics caught a break early in the second quarter, when Brown was only called for a trivial foul, rather than a flagrant one, after falling backwards into Max Strus and grabbing Strus’ ankle while that the Cavs player – himself struggling to stay upright – was stepping over. her head.
Cleveland coach JB Bickerstaff was more concerned that Boston went to the free throw line 24 times compared to Cleveland’s seven.
“I’ll be honest with you, I was disappointed with the way the whistle blew tonight,” he said.
“I thought our guys deserved a lot better, the way they competed, they attacked the paint, they looked for it.
“We’re not asking for anything more, but we’re asking for equality and I don’t think we had an equal opportunity tonight from that standpoint.”
THUNDER STEALS LATE VICTORY AS DONCIC COLLAPSES LATE
Western Conference top seed Oklahoma City heads home tied 2-2 with the Mavericks after a furious fourth-quarter rally led them to a 100-96 victory in Dallas.
Oklahoma City trailed for most of the night against a strong defensive effort from Dallas that included a franchise playoff record 13 blocked shots.
But the Thunder broke through in the fourth quarter, tying it at 86-86 on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s jump shot with 4:02 left.
Rookie Chet Holmgren followed with a three-pointer that gave the Thunder the lead for good.
Dallas cut the deficit to one point with 10.1 seconds left, after Luka Doncic made one of two free throws – mirroring Dallas’ miserable 12 of 23 from the line, including six of 11 in the final season.
But Holmgren and Gilgeous-Alexander each made a pair of free throws and the Thunder closed out the game.
“We held on,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half.
“We just plugged it in, took possession by possession and finally the game turned for us.”
Holmgren finished with 18 points and Luguentz Dort had 17 for the Thunder, who made 23 of 24 free throws and held off an 18-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist triple-double from Dallas star Luka Doncic .
PJ Washington led Dallas with 21 points, but star guard Kyrie Irving was held to nine.
Doncic said it wasn’t a defensive breakdown that cost the Mavs but too many mistakes in the “small details.”
He called it “unacceptable” that Dallas made only 12 of its 23 free throws, and that the Mavericks also coughed up 14 turnovers leading to 19 points for the Thunder.
Australian Josh Giddey was once again stuck on the bench for most of the game, playing just 12 minutes and managing five points on 2-of-8 shooting, with two assists, a steal and a block. He suffered a rough rejection from Derrick Jones Jr. in the first half and missed a wild half-court buzzer-beater during another rough night.
But his playoff struggles were downplayed by coach Mark Daigneault, who said: “Josh was positive tonight in the game. We earned the minutes he was on the field tonight.
