NBA roundup: Celtics advance to third straight East final; Mavs take 3-2 lead
Boston — Al Horford wanted to savor the moment.
With play stopped and the Celtics' victory no longer in doubt, Horford turned in the direction of the sideline, walked a few paces, stopped and extended his hands overhead, bringing an already raucous TD Garden crowd to its feet in applause.
The task was done.
Jayson Tatum had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Boston beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-98 on Wednesday night to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight season.
Horford added 22 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and six of Boston’s 19 3-pointers to help the Celtics post their third consecutive win and wrap up the series in five games.
“We had a great opportunity at home to handle this, and I knew it was going to take a lot more than handling it normally.” said Horford, who joined LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players 37 years or older to record a 20-point, 15-rebound, five-assist playoff game in NBA history. “It’s special. It’s something that’s hard to do. … This is another positive step of where we want to get to.”
The Celtics will now await the winner of the matchup between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers. New York leads that series 3-2.
This will be Jaylen Brown's sixth conference finals appearance and the fifth for Tatum. Tatum said it's proof that the team culture is strong.
“It just shows the character of the team, the organization. People might think it's a given we're supposed to be here,” Tatum said. "We're all in this together. … We're doing something right.
The Cavaliers played extremely short-handed without All-Star Donovan Mitchell (calf), center Jarrett Allen (rib) and key reserve Caris LeVert (knee).
Cleveland stayed close through the first three quarters and pulled within 88-85 early in the fourth. Boston then went on a 13-2 run to take a 101-87 lead with 6:44 to play.
Evan Mobley scored a playoff career-high 33 points and had seven rebounds. Marcus Morris Sr. had five 3-pointers and finished with 25 points.
“I was proud of their effort,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “This has been a difficult year for us, for a bunch of different reasons. They never found the time to fold on each other. All they did was find ways to compete.”
Bickerstaff is completing his fourth full season as Cleveland’s coach. Including the 11 games he coached after taking over for John Beilein during the 2019-20 season, Bickerstaff is 170-159 with two playoff appearances.
Asked if he thought he would be coaching in Cleveland next season, Bickerstaff said, “No one’s told me I’m not. So I’ll keep showing up until they tell me not to.”
Mavericks 104, Thunder 92
Oklahoma City — Luka Doncic stopped worrying about calls and just played.
It worked. He scored 31 points in a triple-double, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-92 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series.
Doncic didn't voice his displeasure with the officials nearly as much as usual, though he had words with fans a few times.
“I’m just trying to play basketball, just focus on basketball,” he said. “Sometimes I forget this is the thing I love, the thing I do. My mental focus was just go out there and play basketball with a smile on my face and just go.”
Doncic, the league's leading scorer in the regular season, had struggled some in the series against Oklahoma City. Playing through a sprained right knee and a sore left ankle, he had averaged just 22 points on 39% shooting through the first four games. He made 12 of 22 field goals in Game 5 and had 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his sixth career playoff triple-double.
“He was aggressive," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. "He was making shots, taking shots. The deep 3, being able to get to the basket, playmaking for his bigs and also for the wings.”
Dallas regained the lead in the series after blowing a 14-point advantage and losing 100-96 at home in Game 4.
“We know the last game we played against them at home, we let it go," Doncic said. “It was our mistakes and they hit shots.”
Derrick Jones Jr. scored a playoff career-high 19 points and P.J. Washington Jr. added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Dallas, which shot 52.6% from the floor. The No. 5-seeded Mavericks can advance to the Western Conference finals with a win Saturday at home.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points for the top-seeded Thunder, but no other Oklahoma City player scored more than 13.
The Mavericks won Game 5 on the road, just like they did in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers. Dallas held Oklahoma City to 42.5% shooting.
Coach Mark Daigneault said the Thunder simply didn't shoot well, but they found some cracks in Dallas' defense late in the game.
“I thought we were kind of there tonight and maybe missed a couple plays,” Daigneault said.
Nets to retire Carter's No. 15 jersey
The Brooklyn Nets are retiring the No. 15 jersey of Vince Carter, the high-flying guard who will be enshrined this year in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Nets made the video announcement Wednesday that included former backcourt mate Jason Kidd, whose No. 5 jersey is retired by the franchise.
Carter played 4 1/2 seasons with the Nets while they were in New Jersey, averaging 23.6 points. He owns their single-season record with 2,070 points in the 2006-07 season.
Carter is third in franchise history in points and is in the Nets' top 10 in numerous other categories.
He is the only player in NBA history to play in four decades. The NBA Rookie of the Year in 1999 with the Toronto Raptors, he was dealt by the Raptors to New Jersey on Dec. 17, 2004, and played with the Nets through the 2008-09 season. His last season, 2019-2020, was with the Atlanta Hawks.
Carter will become the seventh Nets player with a retired jersey. Along with Kidd, the others are Julius Erving, Buck Williams, Drazen Petrovic, “Super” John Williamson and Bill Melchionni.
Eastern Conference
Second round
Indiana vs. New York
(Knicks lead 3-2)
▶ Game 1: New York 121-117
▶ Game 2: New York 130-121
▶ Game 3: Indiana 116-101
▶ Game 4: Indiana 121-89
▶ Game 5: New York 121-91
▶ Game 6: Friday @ Indiana, TBA
▶ Game 7: Sunday @ New York, TBA
Boston vs. Cleveland
(Celtics win 4-1)
▶ Game 1: Boston 120-95
▶ Game 2: Cleveland 118-94
▶ Game 3: Boston 106-93
▶ Game 4: Boston 109-102
▶ Game 5: Boston 113-98
Western Conference
Denver vs. Minnesota
(Nuggets lead 3-2)
▶ Game 1: Minnesota 106-99
▶ Game 2: Minnesota 106-90
▶ Game 3: Denver 117-90
▶ Game 4: Denver 115-107
▶ Game 5: Denver 112-97
▶ Game 6: Thursday, May 16 @ Minnesota, TBA
▶ Game 7: Sunday, May 19 @ Denver, TBA
Oklahoma City vs. Dallas
(Mavericks lead 3-2)
▶ Game 1: Oklahoma City 117-95
▶ Game 2: Dallas 119-110
▶ Game 3: Dallas 105-101
▶ Game 4: Oklahoma City 100-96
▶ Game 5: Dallas 104-92
▶ Game 6: May 18 @ Dallas, TBA
▶ Game 7: May 20 @ Oklahoma City, TBA
Eastern Conference
First round
Milwaukee vs. Indiana
(Indiana wins 4-2)
▶ Game 1: Milwaukee 109-94
▶ Game 2: Indiana 125-108
▶ Game 3: Indiana 121-118 (OT)
▶ Game 4: Indiana 126-113
▶ Game 5: Milwaukee 115-92
▶ Game 6: Indiana 120-98
Boston vs. Miami
(Celtics win 4-1)
▶ Game 1: Boston 114, Miami 94
▶ Game 2: Miami 111, Boston 101
▶ Game 3: Boston 104, Miami 84
▶ Game 4: Boston 102, Miami 88
▶ Game 5: Boston 118-84
Cleveland vs. Orlando
(Cavaliers win 4-3)
▶ Game 1: Cleveland 97, Orlando 83
▶ Game 2: Cleveland 96, Orlando 86
▶ Game 3: Orlando 121, Cleveland 83
▶ Game 4: Orlando 112, Cleveland 89
▶ Game 5: Cleveland 104, Orlando 103
▶ Game 6: Orlando 103, Cleveland 96
▶ Game 7: Cleveland 106-94
New York vs. Philadelphia
(Knicks win 4-2)
▶ Game 1: New York 111-104
▶ Game 2: New York 104-101
▶ Game 3: Philadelphia 125-114
▶ Game 4: New York 97-92
▶ Game 5: Philadelphia 112-106
▶ Game 6: New York 118-115
Western Conference
L.A. Clippers vs. Dallas
(Mavericks win 4-2)
▶ Game 1: L.A. Clippers 109-97
▶ Game 2: Dallas 96-93
▶ Game 3: Dallas 101-90
▶ Game 4: L.A. Clippers 116-111
▶ Game 5: Dallas 123-93
▶ Game 6: Dallas 114, L.A. Clippers 101
▶ Game 7: Sunday @ L.A. Clippers, TBA
Denver vs. L.A. Lakers
(Nuggets win 4-1)
▶ Game 1: Denver 114-103
▶ Game 2: Denver 101-99
▶ Game 3: Denver 112-105
▶ Game 4: L.A. Lakers 119-108
▶ Game 5: Denver 108-106
Oklahoma City vs. New Orleans
(Thunder wins 4-0)
▶ Game 1: Oklahoma City 94-92
▶ Game 2: Oklahoma City 124-92
▶ Game 3: Oklahoma City 106-85
▶ Game 4: Oklahomas City 97-89
Minnesota vs. Phoenix
(Timberwolves win 4-0)
▶ Game 1: Minnesota 120-95
▶ Game 2: Minnesota 105-93
▶ Game 3: Minnesota 126-109
▶ Game 4: Minnesota 122-116