Luka Doncic and P.J. Washington scored 29 points apiece while leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 119-110 victory over the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, evening their Western Conference semifinal series at one win apiece.
The Mavericks hit 18 3-pointers, their highest total in the 2024 postseason.
Doncic added 10 rebounds and seven assists as he rebounded from recent shooting struggles to go 11 of 21 from the floor, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range.
Washington’s 29 points were a playoff career high, as he hit 7 of 11 3-point attempts and added 11 rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points on 13-of-24 shooting, and he added 12 rebounds and eight assists. Jalen Williams put up 20 points.
The series heads to Dallas for Game 3 on Saturday and Game 4 on Monday.
With less than 10 minutes left in the fourth, the Mavericks got a scare when Doncic came up hobbling after colliding with Oklahoma City’s Cason Wallace.
Despite limping through the next two possessions, Doncic remained in the game and drilled a 3-pointer, his fifth of the game, to stretch Dallas’ lead back to nine and quiet any chances of a Thunder comeback.
Doncic had gone just 5 of 35 from beyond the 3-point arc over the previous four games, including 1-of-8 effort in the Mavericks’ Game 1 loss on Tuesday.
“I was trying to focus on my balance,” Doncic said of his work after his Game 1 struggles. “My balance on shots wasn’t good. I think today was one of the hardest games I had to play. I’m battling out there, trying to get my team the win.”
The difference in Doncic was apparent from the start, as he buried a 3-pointer on his first shot of the game, fed Daniel Gafford for an alley-oop dunk on the next possession and hit two more shots in the Mavericks’ 13-2, game-opening run.
The Thunder’s Luguentz Dort, who helped keep Doncic in check during the series opener, picked up two fouls in the first eight minutes.
Doncic scored 16 points in the first quarter.
After trailing by 14 points in the second quarter, the Thunder came back to take their first lead early in the third quarter. Oklahoma City went up 72-71 on Aaron Wiggins’ jumper.
However, Dallas ripped off a 15-2 run, with the last 11 Mavericks points during that stretch scored by Tim Hardaway Jr. The Dallas reserve finished with 17 points in 19 minutes, while Kyrie Irving added nine points and 11 assists.
The Thunder not only took their first loss of the playoffs but also allowed more than 95 points for the first time.
“Our decision making wasn’t as sharp as it’s been,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I didn’t think we had great attacks tonight offensively. I just didn’t think we were as sharp on either end of the floor as we’ve been for a long time.”
Cavaliers rout
Celtics to even second-round series
Donovan Mitchell tossed in a game-high 29 points and the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers pulled even in the Eastern Conference second round by beating the Boston Celtics 118-94 in Game 2 on Thursday night.
Mitchell had six points at halftime, but scored 16 in the third quarter and seven in the fourth. He was 10 of 19 from the field, including 5 of 7 from 3-point territory. Mitchell tossed in a game-high 33 points when Boston earned a 120-95 victory in Game 1 on Tuesday.
Cleveland led by 12 after three quarters and pushed the lead to 25 after Caris LeVert’s three-point play with 4:58 remaining. Boston coach Joe Mazzulla pulled his starters off the court at that point.
Despite being in foul trouble for much of the second half, Cleveland’s Evan Mobley had 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. LeVert (21), Darius Garland (14), Isaac Okoro (12) and Max Strus (12) also scored in double figures for the Cavaliers.
“Everybody did their job, starting with Evan,” Mitchell said. “The biggest thing is — I said it this morning — just trusting in the work. We haven’t made shots a lot in these playoffs, but continue to trust the work you put in.
“We’re extremely confident, even after Game 1. Understanding that we had some things we could adjust. Tonight we executed very well, but at the end of the day, it’s one win. We’ll continue to build upon it. Take care of business at home and protect home court.”
Jayson Tatum had 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Celtics, who shot 8 of 35 from 3-point territory. Jaylen Brown added 19 points for Boston, but he was 0 for 6 on 3-pointers.
“I’ll have to go back and watch the film, but I think when you lose a game like that, it could be a combination of tactics, a combination of effort, a combination of a little bit of all those things at times,” Mazzulla said. “Not to say it was one thing the entire time, but it was probably a combination of those.
“I definitely think there were times in the game where we went through tough stretches offensively that affected our defense.”
The series will shift to Cleveland for Game 3 on Saturday.
Cleveland center Jarrett Allen missed his fifth straight game with a rib injury. The Celtics were without center Kristaps Porzingis, who has missed the last three games because of a right calf injury.
The Celtics led by nine early, but Cleveland had a nine-point lead, 30-21, after LeVert capped an 11-0 run by making a layup with 58.3 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Cavaliers had a 30-24 edge after 12 minutes.
Boston owned an eight-point lead late in the second quarter, but Cleveland closed the quarter on an 11-3 run to tie it at 54 at halftime.
The Cavaliers outscored the Celtics 36-24 in the third and had a 90-78 lead when Mitchell made a 3-pointer that just beat the buzzer at the end of the quarter.
“You treat (a loss) the same way you would a win,” Mazzulla said. “You come in tomorrow, you watch the film and you get better for Game 3.”
