Celtics Dominate Cavs, Thunder Edge Out Mavericks in Series Openers

Tuesday saw two dominant opening wins in the NBA playoffs: the Oklahoma City Thunder withstood a late charge by the Dallas Mavericks, while the Boston Celtics thrashed the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Celtics Slay the Cavaliers

With scorching shooting from Jaylen Brown (32 points) and Derrick White (25 points, 7 3-pointers), Boston won the first game 120-95. For the most part of the game, the Celtics, who were going for their 18th championship, had a double-digit lead. Even with Jayson Tatum’s poor performance (18 points), Boston’s defense controlled the game and kept Cleveland in check. With 33 points, Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers.

Doncic lost against Thunder and the Mavs

The youthful Oklahoma City team persevered over Luka Doncic and the Mavericks, winning 117-95 in the process. Dallas, behind at the half, made a comeback in the third quarter, but OKC’s answer in the third quarter proved to be the game-winner. Leading the Thunder were Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (29 points), with Jalen Williams (18 points) and Chet Holmgren (19 points) rounding out the top three. Doncic struggled with his shooting (19 points), while Kyrie Irving led Dallas with 20 points.