Luka Doncic’s 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime lifted the Dallas Mavericks to a 135-133 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers and even up the teams’ first-round Western Conference playoff series as two games apiece on Sunday in the NBA bubble near Orlando.
Doncic shook off the effects of a sprained left ankle sustained Friday and recorded his second consecutive triple-double with 43 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists. He carried the Mavericks to the win despite playing without Kristaps Porzingis (knee).
Trey Burke added 25 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 19 of his 21 in the second half for the Mavericks, while Seth Curry chipped in 15 points.
Lou Williams had 36 points and Kawhi Leonard finished with 32 points for the Clippers, who blew a 21-point first-half lead. Ivica Zubac contributed 15 points, while Paul George managed just nine points on 3-of-14 shooting. He scored two points in the second half. Game 5 is on Tuesday.
Toronto Raptors 150 – Brooklyn Nets 122
Reserve Norman Powell scored a career playoff high 29 points and Toronto completed a four-game sweep of undermanned Brooklyn in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Serge Ibaka added a playoff career best 27 points off the bench and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Raptors, who swept a best-of-seven playoff series for the first time in their 25-year franchise history. The Raptors will play the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Caris LeVert led Brooklyn with 35 points and added six assists and six rebounds. Tyler Johnson added 13 points for the Nets, who were without several top players.
Boston Celtics 110 – Philadelphia 76ers 106
Boston completed a four-game sweep of Philadelphia in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, riding Kemba Walker’s game-high 32 points and a 14-point run bridging the third and fourth quarters.
The third-seeded Celtics will move on to the Eastern semifinals and face second-seeded Toronto, which also finished off a sweep of its first-round opponent, Brooklyn, on Sunday.
Jayson Tatum finished with 28 points, including seven inside the final 3:20 of the third period, during which the Celtics broke from a 77-all tie to take an 89-77 advantage into the fourth quarter. Joel Embiid led the way for the 76ers with 30 points, but misfired on four of his five 3-point attempts.
Utah Jazz 129 – Denver Nuggets 127
Donovan Mitchell scored 51 points and dished out seven assists to help Utah outlast Denver and take a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Mitchell posted his second 50-point game in the series, becoming just the third NBA player, joining Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson, to score 50 points twice in the same playoff series.
Mike Conley scored 26 points and Jordan Clarkson added 24 off the bench for the Jazz. Rudy Gobert chipped in 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jamal Murray exploded for 50 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists to lead Denver. Nikola Jokic added 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the loss.
–Field Level Media
