Luka Dončić had 32 points, nine assists and six rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks overcame the return of Kawhi Leonard in a 96-93 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday to even their Western Conference first-round playoff series at a game apiece.
Kyrie Irving added 23 points and PJ Washington had 18 for the Mavericks, who send the series back to Dallas for Game 3 on Friday.
Leonard had 15 points and seven rebounds in 35 minutes in his first game since March 31. He didn’t play or engage in any contact practices during that stretch because of inflammation in his surgically repaired knee.
Paul George and James Harden each scored 22 points and Ivica Zubac added 13 with 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who shot 36.8 percent (32 for 87) from the field and missed 22 of 30 from long range.
The Clippers led 73-67 with 9:32 remaining but the Mavs scored 14 straight points for an 81-73 lead with 5:18 left. After Russell Westbrook hit a 3, Washington answered with a 3 to make it 84-76.
Maxi Kleber and Doncic made consecutive 3s to extend Dallas’ lead to 90-81 with 1:26 to play and Irving sealed the win with three free throws in the final 12 seconds.
Timberwolves stifle Suns for 2-0 lead
Jaden McDaniels scored 25 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t need another big performance from Anthony Edwards in a 105-93 win over the Phoenix Suns for a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.
Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert each scored 18 points while Edwards was limited to 15 on 3-of-12 shooting after he had 33 points in the series opener.
Minnesota held the Suns’ big three of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to a combined 18 for 45 from the field. Booker had 20 points and Durant 18 for the Suns, who head home for Game 3 on Friday faced with a 2-0 series deficit.
Phoenix lost starting guard Grayson Allen to an aggravated ankle sprain in the third quarter, during which the Wolves used a 12-0 run to turn a 63-60 deficit into a 72-63 lead.
The lead was down to 84-76 in the fourth quarter, but Minnesota scored the next seven points and was never threatened thereafter.
Siakam helps Pacers get even
Pascal Siakam poured in 37 points and the Indiana Pacers survived another stellar start by Damian Lillard to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks, 125-108, evening their Eastern Conference playoff series at a game apiece.
Myles Turner scored 22 points, Andrew Nembhard added 20 and Tyrese Haliburton had 12 points and 12 assists for the Pacers, who snapped a 10-game playoff losing streak that started with a Game 7 loss to Cleveland in a first-round series in 2018.
Siakam shot 16 of 23 from the field and had 11 rebounds and six assists.
Lillard had 26 points by halftime in this one after scoring all 35 of his points in the first half in the Bucks’ 109-94 victory in Game 1. He finished with 34 on 10-of-21 shooting – including 6 of 13 from 3-point range.
The Bucks were again without two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who sat with a strained left calf.
Cavs hero Mitchell: 'I'm tired of losing in the first round'
Donovan Mitchell said he was "tired" of losing in the first round of the NBA Playoffs after his 39-point haul dragged the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday.
The Cavs were on the brink of an early exit as they trailed the Orlando Magic by 18 points in Game 7, only for Mitchell to turn the contest on its head with a stunning third quarter.
Mitchell outscored the entire Orlando team by two points in the third, when he poured in 17 of his 39 points.
Darius Garland then scored 10 points to help Cleveland pull clear in the fourth as they claimed a 106-94 victory, winning a playoff series without LeBron James for the first time since 1993.
Mitchell, who has been playing through a lingering knee injury for much of the season, says postseason success has always been the aim since his 2022 trade from the Utah Jazz.
"I'm tired of losing in the first round. You work too hard, we work too hard," Mitchell said. "That was my mindset, just to be in attack mode.
"I'm battling through what I'm battling through, but I could battle through it and figure it out or rehab it for the next three or four months. That's where I'm at mentally.
"We didn't make the group we made just to come in and win the first round. We accomplished one goal, now we have to do it again. That's the mindset.
"When they traded for me, it wasn't just to win a first-round series, it was to continue to push and move forward. I think that's where all of our heads are at."
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Mitchell: "He's the guy that can pull everybody along, not just with his skill but in spirit as well.
"When you see your team-mate, a guy you care about playing that way, you don't want to let that guy down so you go out and do whatever you can to help that guy.
"We talk about how everybody has their style and their piece of leadership here and that's how Don leads, by being special in the moment. His team-mates want to be a part of it."
Mitchell, Cavaliers storm back to beat Magic in Game 7 and reach East semifinals
Trailing by 18 points in Game 7, the Cleveland Cavaliers' season appeared to be over. Donovan Mitchell, however, had other ideas.
Mitchell scored 39 points to help rally the Cavaliers to a 106-94 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Fouth-seeded Cleveland, who won their first playoff series since 2018, will now face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in Tuesday's series opener.
The Cavaliers won their first playoff series without LeBron James since 1993, though it looked like they were heading for a second straight first-round exit as they found themselves trailing 49-31 with less than four minutes to go in the second quarter.
The Cavs cut it to 10 at half-time, and Mitchell helped Cleveland complete the comeback with a sensational third quarter.
After finishing with 50 points in Friday's 103-96 Game 6 loss, Mitchell had two more points than the entire Magic team in the third, scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting as Cleveland outscored Orlando 33-15 to take a 76-68 lead into the fourth.
The Magic stayed within striking distance throughout the first half of the final period until Darius Garland finally found his shot.
Garland scored 10 of his 12 points in the final six minutes of the game, a stretch that began with a made 3-pointer to put the Cavaliers up by 11 points.
The Magic only connected on 3-of-15 3-point attempts after half-time and made just 4-of-24 shots (16.7 per cent) in the pivotal third quarter.
Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 38 points and a career high-tying 16 rebounds but Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs combined for just 16 points on 3-of-28 shooting.
At 21 years and 175 days old, Banchero became the second-youngest player in NBA history to have at least 35 points and 15 rebounds in a playoff game. The only player younger was Magic Johnson (20 years, 276 days) on May 16, 1980.
Caris LeVert added 15 off the bench for the Cavaliers, while Evan Mobley had 11 points and a playoff career-high 16 boards.
Cleveland again played without All-Star centre Jarrett Allen, who sat out the final three games of the series due to a rib contusion.
He averaged 17 points and 13.8 rebounds in the series' first four games, and his status for Game 1 in Boston is uncertain.
Mitchell, Cavaliers storm back to beat Magic in Game 7 and reach East semi-finals
Trailing by 18 points in Game 7, the Cleveland Cavaliers' season appeared to be over.
Donovan Mitchell, however, then took over.
Mitchell scored 39 points to help rally the Cavaliers to a 106-94 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday to advance to the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Fouth-seeded Cleveland, which won its first play-off series since 2018, will now face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in Tuesday's series opener.
The Cavaliers won their first play-off series without LeBron James since 1993, though it looked like the team was headed to a second straight first-round exit as Cleveland found itself trailing 49-31 with less than four minutes to go in the second quarter.
The Cavs cut it to 10 at half-time, and Mitchell helped Cleveland complete the comeback with a sensational third quarter.
After finishing with 50 points in Friday's 103-96 Game 6 loss, Mitchell had two more points than the entire Magic team in the third, scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting as Cleveland outscored Orlando 33-15 to take a 76-68 lead into the fourth.
The Magic stayed within striking distance throughout the first half of the final period until Darius Garland finally found his shot.
Garland scored 10 of his 12 points in the final six minutes of the game, a stretch that began with a made 3-pointer to put the Cavaliers up by 11 points.
The Magic only connected on 3-of-15 3-point attempts after half-time and made just 4-of-24 shots (16.7 per cent) in the pivotal third quarter.
Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 38 points and a career high-tying 16 rebounds but Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs combined for just 16 points on 3-of-28 shooting.
At 21 years and 175 days old, Banchero became the second-youngest player in NBA history to have at least 35 points and 15 rebounds in a play-off game. The only player younger was Magic Johnson (20 years, 276 days) on May 16, 1980.
Caris LeVert added 15 off the bench for the Cavaliers, while Evan Mobley had 11 points and a play-off career-high 16 boards.
Cleveland again played without All-Star centre Jarrett Allen, who sat out the final three games of the series due to a rib contusion.
He averaged 17 points and 13.8 rebounds in the series' first four games, and his status for Game 1 in Boston is uncertain.
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