CLEVELAND Cavaliers caught fire in the second half to wallop Boston Celtics, 118-94, in Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals on Thursday night (Friday in the Philippines) at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Donovan Mitchell led the way with 29 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds, while Evan Mobley contributed 21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks as the Cavaliers tied the series at 1-1.
Caris LeVert also provided spark off the bench with 21 points, Darius Garland finished with 14 points, while Max Strus and Isaac Okoro ended with 12 markers apiece for Cleveland, which bounced back from a 120-95 Game 1 defeat.
After failing to protect their nine-point lead in the first half, the Cavaliers regained its shooting in the third quarter behind Mitchell, Mobley, and LeVert as they took a 90-78.
The Cavaliers went on with its onslaught in the fourth quarter with Mitchell, Strus, and Garland connecting their shots as the lead grew to as high as 29 points in the fourth quarter.
Jayson Tatum tallied 25 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, Jaylen Brown added 19 markers, while Payton Pritchard, Al Horford, and Derrick White tallied 13, 11, and 10 points, respectively, for the Celtics.
Meanwhile, Dallas Mavericks survived repeated runs by Oklahoma City Thunder to score a 119-110 victory in Game 2 of their NBA Western Conference semifinals series at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
Down 75-77 midway in the third quarter, the Mavericks got consecutive conversions from Tim Hardaway Jr. and connections from Josh Green and Luka Doncic to take a 99-89 lead.
The Thunder threatened to within 101-106 in the fourth quarter, but the Mavericks managed to pull away anew behind baskets from Doncic, Hardaway and PJ Washington Jr.
Washington tallied 29 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists, Doncic added 29 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, while Hardaway, Daniel Gafford, Green contributed 17, 13, and 11 points, respectively, for the Mavericks./PN
BOX SCORE:
CLEVELAND 118 — Mitchell 29, Mobley 21, LeVert 21, Garland 14, Strus 12, Okoro 12, Niang 4, Morris 4, Thompson 1, Merrill 0, Jones 0.
BOSTON 94 — Tatum 25, Brown 19, Pritchard 13, Horford 11, White 10, Holiday 4, Kornet 3, Brisett 3, Hauser 2, Springer 2, Walsh 2, Tillman 0, Mykhailiuk 0, Queta 0.
Quarterscores: 30-24, 54-54, 90-78, 118-94.
