Los Angeles — Cleveland and Dallas turned the tables on their top-seeded opponents on Thursday, the Cavaliers shocking the Boston Celtics and the Mavericks silencing the Thunder to level their NBA playoff series at one game apiece.
Donovan Mitchell led a comprehensive Cleveland effort as the Cavaliers powered past the Celtics 118-94 in Boston to make it 1-1 in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Dallas star Luka Doncic scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and teammate P.J. Washington poured in another 29 points for the Mavericks, who beat the Thunder 119-110 in Oklahoma City to knot their Western Conference semifinal at one-all.
Mitchell scored 23 of his 29 points in the second half and received plenty of support from “attack-minded” teammates as the Cavs bounced back from a Game 1 rout.
Evan Mobley, 22, got Cleveland going early, scoring 15 of his playoff career-high 21 points.