Shai GIlgeous-Alexander scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half to rally the Oklahoma City Thunder from a 14-point deficit and earn a crucial 100-96 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Monday's Game 4 of a Western Conference semifinal series.
Chet Holmgren had 11 of his 18 points after half-time and added nine rebounds to help the top-seeded Thunder even the best-of-seven series at 2-2 as it heads back to Oklahoma City for Wednesday's all-important Game 5.
The fifth-seeded Mavericks squandered an opportunity to put the Thunder on the brink of elimination despite setting a franchise play-off record with 13 blocks, including four each from Derrick Jones Jr. and rookie Dereck Lively II.
Jones finished with 17 points in the loss, while Luka Dončić registered a triple-double for Dallas with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Mavericks led the majority of the game and owned an 86-80 advantage just past the midway point of the fourth quarter before Oklahoma City began its late surge. The Thunder seized momentum with a 12-2 run, capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Holmgren and Luguentz Dort, to go up 92-88 with 2:14 remaining.
Dallas answered on Tim Hardaway Jr.'s 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, but back-to-back baskets by the Thunder's Jalen Williams gave Oklahoma City a 96-91 lead entering the final minute.
The Mavericks again responded and had a chance to tie it when Doncic was fouled with 10.1 seconds left with Dallas trailing 96-94. The MVP finalist made just one of his two shots, however, and the Thunder sealed the outcome by going 4 for 4 from the foul line in the waning moments.
Free throw shooting played a part in the result, as Oklahoma City finished 23 of 24 from the line compared to 12 of 23 for Dallas.
The Mavericks held a 54-43 lead at half-time after limiting the Thunder to under 35 per cent shooting for the first two quarters, and stretched the margin to 14 when P.J. Washington hit a 3-pointer to begin the third.
Oklahoma City closed the gap before the end of the period, though, as it ended the third quarter on a 9-2 run to pull within 69-65 entering the fourth.
Celtics handle injury-plagued Cavaliers to take 3-1 lead
In the East, the top-seeded Boston Celtics moved within a game of reaching the conference finals for a third straight year after posting a 109-102 Game 4 win over the shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers behind Jayson Tatum's 33 points and 11 rebounds.
Jaylen Brown added 27 points to help Boston take a 3-1 series lead over a fourth-seeded Cavaliers team playing without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell. The All-Star guard was unavailable due to a strained left calf he sustained in Cleveland's 106-93 loss in Saturday's Game 3.
The Cavaliers also remained without starting center Jarrett Allen, who hasn't played since Game 4 of their opening-round series against Orlando due to a rib contusion.
Darius Garland kept Cleveland competitive by producing 30 points and seven assists, while Caris LeVert had 19 points starting in place of Mitchell.
Boston can close out the series at home in Wednesday's Game 5.
Tatum set the tone right from the outset, scoring 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the first quarter to stake the Celtics to a 37-30 lead after one period.
The All-Star forward closed out the first half with a 3-pointer that sent Boston into the break with a 62-57 advantage, though Cleveland opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run to move ahead by a 65–64 score three minutes into the second half.
Boston re-asserted control from there, however, as it outscored the Cavs by a 14-4 margin over the next 4 1/2 minutes. Brown had seven points during the spurt, which Derrick White capped with a 3-pointer for a 78-69 Celtics' lead with 4:50 left in the third quarter.
The Celtics stretched the lead to 98-83 with under eight minutes left, though Cleveland kept battling and put together a 12-2 run to close the gap to 100-95 with three minutes left to play.
Brown hit a clutch 3-pointer with 1:09 to go, however, to put Boston up 105-97, and the Celtics kept Cleveland at bay the rest of the way as White and Tatum each made two free throws in the closing stages.
Celtics star Tatum aims for NBA Finals redemption
Jayson Tatum views the upcoming NBA Finals as a chance at redemption for the Boston Celtics after falling short two years ago.
The Celtics swept the Indiana Pacers to reach the showpiece seven-game series, where they face the Dallas Mavericks.
With Game 1 of the much-anticipated series coming on Friday, Tatum looked back at the 2022 Finals defeat to the Golden State Warriors, using the disappointment as motivation this time around.
"It's a lot that myself, and we, can learn from that experience being in the Finals, and this time, this go-around is a lot different," Tatum said after Saturday's practice.
"Obviously, we've been there before, we came up short. And a great opportunity to make it to the Finals again.
"You don't always get a second chance, so really just looking at it as a second chance and trying to simplify things as much as we can."
The Celtics were eliminated in the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat last year, losing in seven games.
That has prevented Boston from avenging their finals defeat to Golden State the year before, though Tatum is keen to make up for lost time.
He will have to do so against former team-mate Kyrie Irving, however.
"Obviously there were some ups and downs, but I think, for me, being a first-, second-year player, being around a superstar, essentially, every day and seeing how to navigate that space," Tatum said.
"And then obviously on the court, he's one of the most talented guys I've ever seen.
"So it seems like a very long time ago, but I've got a lot of great memories from having [Irving] as a team-mate."
Kings extend head coach Brown through 2026-27
The Sacramento Kings and head coach Mike Brown have agreed to a contract extension through 2026-27.
According to multiple reports, the deal is worth $30 million with Brown’s base salary to be $8.5 million annually. He will have the opportunity to earn $10 million per year with bonuses.
In his first year with the Kings a season ago, Brown led the team to a 48-34 record and its first playoff appearance in 16 years. He was named 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year.
Sacramento went 46-36 this past season and beat Golden State in its first game before losing a play-in game for the eighth seed to New Orleans.
Brown and Rick Adelman are the only Kings coaches to lead the team to a winning record in any season since the franchise moved to Sacramento in 1985.
Brown has a 441-226 record as head coach with Cleveland, the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento.
'It was Luka magic mode', Kidd revels as Doncic-inspired Mavs reach NBA Finals
Luka Doncic was in "magic mode" after his starring role helped the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA Finals since 2011, coach Jason Kidd said.
The Mavs and the Boston Celtics will battle it out for this season's NBA championship after Dallas wrapped up a 4-1 Western Conference finals series victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
A 124-103 win did the trick at Target Center on Thursday, with Doncic and Kyrie Irving leading the way for the Mavs with 36 points apiece.
Doncic was quick out of the blocks, scoring 20 of his points during the first half on the way to notching up his highest-scoring contributions of the postseason, with his performances earning the Western Conference finals MVP award.
"It was Luka magic mode," Kidd said. "He set the tone, and then he made it easier for everyone else. Everybody else stepped up."
"You're just watching a special performance take place," Irving added. "When Luka starts off a game like that, we're a tough team to beat."
Indeed, they are. The Mavs are 7-2 on the road during the playoffs - winning the last five - matching the franchise record for such victories during a single postseason, set in their title-winning campaign of 2010-11.
A EuroBasket champion with Slovenia and EuroLeague winner during his final season with Real Madrid, Doncic is now gearing up for his first crack at an NBA title, with the Finals series commencing on June 6.
And he insists his team-mates cannot afford to rest on their laurels.
"It was a very hard road, very hard," Doncic said. "But we're not done. We have four more [victories to achieve]."
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