Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took the first game over Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic as Thunder cruised to a 117-95 victory to take an 1-0 lead in the NBA Western Conference semifinals and a battle between two MVP awards finalists. SGA finished the contest with 29 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to help the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder take the lead. Game 2 is on Thursday.
The Thunder created separation during the fourth quarter as Jalen Williams, who finished with 18 points, pushed his team to an 8-0 run to create an 102-87 advantage. The Mavericks were not able to follow and dropped the first game of the series as OKC recorded an NBA playoff record of 29 assists.
Holmgren added 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Jalen Williams struggled with his shot for three quarters but scored 10 of his 18 points. The Mavs only shot 39% from the field and their stars were hunted by poor shooting throughout the game. Doncic scored 19 points on 6-for-19 shooting and had five turnovers, while Kyrie Irving had 20 points.
In Boston, the Celtics had the lead throughout the game and despite a quiet scoring performance from Jayson Tatum they beat Cleveland Cavaliers easily 95-120 to earn their first win in the NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Jaylen Brown scored 32 points, Derrick White made seven 3-pointers and added 25 and Jayson Tatum added 18 points and 11 rebounds to help the Celtics clear away the contest in the second half. The Cavaliers never got really close and struggled shooting the ball in the second half to remain close.
Donovan Mitchell had 33 points and six assists for the Cavaliers and Darius Garland added 14 for the losing side. The series remain in Boston for Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals, which takes place Thursday night.
NBA Playoffs Recap (7/5)
Cleveland Cavaliers (4) vs Boston Celtics (1) 95-120 (0-1)
Dallas Mavericks (5) vs OKC Thunder (1) 95-117 (0-1)
