The two No. 1 seeds were victorious Tuesday night in their first game of the second round of the NBA playoffs. The Boston Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-95, and the young Oklahoma City Thunder team finished against the more experienced Dallas Mavericks just three points behind Boston, with a final score of 117-95.
Both the Celts and Cavs have key players in Kristaps Porziņģis and Jarrett Allen, which is clearly more of an issue for Cleveland than Boston. Meanwhile, the Mavericks are dealing with a less than 100 percent Luka Dončić. There are concerns about his performance and Kyrie Irving’s inability to show up in a big way in Game 1.
Here’s a look at Thursday’s NBA playoff games with staff picks, odds and previews.
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No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 1 Boston Celtics
How to watch: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Series odds: Celtics -5000, Cavaliers +1600
Boston leads the series 1-0
There was a burning question heading into Game 1 of this series: Can Cleveland turn on its offense and score against Boston? Cleveland is great on defense, but Boston was the most efficient offensive team in NBA history during the regular season. And they’re great at D. The answer, so far, is: not so much.
But that doesn’t mean the Cavs weren’t trying. They were outscored by 21 from the 3-point line, but at least made more 3-point attempts than usual. They had 42 attempts, compared to an average of 29.9 per game in the first round, but only managed 11. Phew.
The Celtics won in style on a night where their leading scorer, Jayson Tatum, was not hot. Tatum still had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, but he was 7 of 19 shooting and 0 of 5 from 3-point range. It was Jaylen Brown who really stood out in scoring, with 32 points on 12 of 18 shooting.
Donovan Mitchell was huge for the Cavs in Game 7 against the Magic, and he was the leading scorer in that game with 33 points. But only one other Cavalier (Evan Mobley) had more than 15 points, while four Celtics did so. Mobley showed up in Allen’s absence and had 17 points and 13 rebounds. If they want to match Boston’s firepower, Cleveland needs shooters Max Strus and Sam Merrill to put themselves in a better position.
According to Athleticism Joe Vardon, the Cavs seemed eager to learn from this game, rather than broken down and defeated. Despite the odds against them, the Cavs could potentially pull off a home win and make it a series. But we’re not holding our breath for a Cleveland victory at TD Garden.
Expert Picks for Cavs at Celtics
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When. 5 Dallas Mavericks at no. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder
How to watch: 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Series odds: Thunder -225, Mavericks +180
Oklahoma City leads the series 1-0
In a game that pitted two MVP finalists on opposite sides of the court, one showed up and the other didn’t on Tuesday night. Game 1 of the Mavs-Thunder series saw Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drop 29 points, nine assists and nine rebounds. Dončić, meanwhile, was clearly suffering from a sprained knee. He had 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting — much worse than his regular-season average of 33.9 points per game — and had five turnovers. This is his lowest point total since mid-March.
The match started slowly, with both teams looking a little choppy. Jalen Williams missed his first six shots and was 1 of 9 until a spurt in the fourth quarter. The Thunder were in control throughout the game, but it was in the fourth quarter that they really took advantage, stretching a 10-point lead for a 22-point victory.
This game gave the NBA’s youngest team its third victory by more than 20 points in five playoff games. As Athleticism Zach Harper pointed out in our NBA newsletter, in five games, the Thunder has a plus-85 point differential.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks didn’t look like themselves. Doncic and Irving combined for 39 points and nine turnovers. Overall, the Mavericks shot 39.3 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from three, compared to the Thunder’s 44.9 percent and 45.7 percent, respectively. If the Mavs fail to get their stars rolling, they will be in trouble against this young team.
Expert Picks for Mavs at Thunder
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(Photo by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images))