Starting 5, May 10: Road teams stand up as Mavs, Cavs tie series
When you’re headed back home after getting a huge road win…
THE LINEUP
What’s inside today’s edition?
Mavs Tie Series: Luka Doncic and P.J. Washington led Dallas to a home-court stealing win
Cavs Surge Past Celtics: Donovan Mitchell’s big 2nd half helped Cleveland win in Boston
Backs Against the Wall: How will Denver respond after dropping the first two games at home?
Off to Indy: The Knicks-Pacers rivalry heads to Indy after a pair of MSG classics
Social Justice Champion: Karl-Anthony Towns’ off-court work takes the spotlight
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Last night’s scores & what to watch today.
Tonight’s ESPN doubleheader features two more Game 3s, beginning in Indiana when the Pacers host the Knicks (7 ET) looking to get back into the series. Then, it’s off to Minnesota where the Nuggets visit the Wolves (9:30 ET) looking to climb out of a 2-0 deficit.
1. DONCIC DELIVERS, MAVS EVEN SERIES
Luka, PJ & THJ Lead Mavs: Luka Doncic (29 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast, 5 3s) and P.J. Washington (29 pts, 11 reb, 7 3s) combined for 58 points and a dozen 3s to lead the Mavs over the Thunder 119-110 to even the series 1-1. | Recap | All-Access
- ️ Washington on Game 2: “I feel like it was a must-win game for us. And those games, I feel like are where we play our best.”
- The Mavs never trailed in the 1st half, but saw OKC take the lead for a total of 2:35 of game time in the 3rd quarter. Dallas reclaimed control of the game when Tim Hardaway Jr. went on a personal 10-0 run over 1:25 of game time midway through the 3rd
- Hardaway Jr. scored 13 of his 17 points in the 2nd half, but none were bigger than that 10-point outburst
- Kyrie Irving had an off-shooting night (9 pts on 2-of-8), but made an impact everywhere else (game-high 11 ast, 2 off reb, 2 stl, 2 blk)
- ️ Luka on Kyrie’s Impact: “He’s been amazing on both sides, helping everybody… it’s amazing to have him on our team and to learn from him.”
- ️ Luka on Battling Injuries: “I think that was one of the hardest games I’ve had to play. I’m battling out there trying to do my best to help the team win.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (game-high 33 pts, 12 reb, 8 ast) fell two dimes short of a triple-double, while Jalen Williams (20) and Chet Holmgren (11) were OKC’s only other double-digit scorers.
- ️ OKC Coach Mark Daigneault: “We tried to scrap back into it. I thought our effort was really good tonight. … I thought where we left something to be desired was execution.”
Up Next: The series shifts to Dallas for the next two games: Game 3 on Saturday (3:30 ET, ABC) and Game 4 on Monday (9:30 ET, TNT).
2. SECOND-HALF SURGE HELPS CAVS EVEN SERIES
Cavs Get a Split in Boston: After a back-and-forth 1st half, the Cavs dominated the 2nd as Donovan Mitchell caught fire – scoring 23 of his 29 points after the break – to lead Cleveland to a 118-94 win and a 1-1 tie. | Recap | 5 Takeaways
- Spida Sense: Mitchell (29 pts, 7 reb, 8 ast) finished with a game-high plus-38 in 39 minutes played
- ️ Mitchell’s Walk Off: “Big time, but it’s one win. We gotta take care of business at home.”
- All Rise: Mitchell led six Cavs in double figures as Cleveland got huge contributions from Evan Mobley (Playoff career-high 21 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk) and Caris LeVert (21 pts). The trio combined for 71 points in the win
- ️ Cavs Coach J.B. Bickerstaff: “When we defend the way we defended and our shots fall, what we do travels. And we can win anywhere.”
- ️ Mitchell on His Game 2: “In the 2nd half it was scoring. Sometimes it’s assists. Sometimes it’s rebounds. Whatever it takes…”
Tatum posted team-highs of 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Celtics, who made just eight 3s in Game 2 after knocking down 18 in their Game 1 win.
- Thursday was only the fourth game all season (and first in the Playoffs) that the Celtics were held to single-digit 3-pointers made. They are now 1-3 in those games
- Mitchell (5) and Garland (4) combined to make more 3s (9) than the Celtics made as a team (8)
Up Next: The series shifts to Cleveland for the next two games: Game 3 on Saturday (8:30 ET, ABC) and Game 4 on Monday (7 ET, TNT).
3. CHAMPS HAVE THEIR BACKS AGAINST THE WALL
In the history of the NBA Playoffs, just 5 of 28 teams (15.2%) have rallied back to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first two games at home.
- Defending champions have fallen behind 0-2 only 22 times in NBA Playoff history. They have rallied to win the series five times, while losing 17 times (29.4%)
Whichever way you slice the numbers, the Nuggets are in a position we haven’t seen them in for four years – down 0-2, with their core all active.
- The last time this team was down 0-2 with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. playing was in the 2020 West Finals against the Lakers
While the Nuggets lost that series, they had already proven in that same postseason that they can rally with their backs against the wall. Especially Jamal Murray.
- 2020 First Round vs. Jazz: In three games after going down 3-1, Murray averaged 36.3 pts, 6.0 ast and 5.0 reb
- 2020 West Semis vs. Clippers: In three games after going down 3-1, Murray averaged 29 pts, 5.7 ast, 5.7 reb
- The Highlights: Check out Murray’s best plays from those 3-1 rallies as the Nuggets own two of the 13 all-time 3-1 comebacks (13-268)
Can the Nuggets summon some of that 2020 magic and bring it with them to Minnesota for tonight’s Game 3 (9:30 ET, ESPN)?
- ️ Jokic: “Hopefully we’re going to go there and put up the fight and bring the series back.”
- ️ Nuggets Coach Michael Malone: “We’re down 2-0, not ideal, but it’s a long series, [it’s the] first one to get four. Can we find a way to believe in each other? Believe in ourselves and win Game 3?
- “I’m not worried about anything other than trying to win Game 3 and really just trying to win the 1st quarter of Game 3 and build it from there.”
For the Nuggets to take the first step toward a comeback, they’ll need to solve a Minnesota defense that swarmed them for 94 feet in Games 1 and 2.
- The Nuggets put up just 89.5 ppg in the first two, after averaging 114.9 in the regular season
- Murray, who starred in the first round, had 12.5 ppg on 28.1% shooting with nearly as many turnovers (5) as assists (6)
- Murray showed the ability to counter an off-shooting night during Game 2 of the opening round as he went from ice cold to hitting the game-winner at the buzzer
- ️ Malone on Murray: “He can struggle, he can struggle, he can struggle, he sees one go in and there he is. He’s never shying away from the moment, the spotlight.”
4. KNICKS-PACERS SHIFTS TO INDY
After dropping two games that went down to the wire in New York, the Pacers will host two games in three days as they look to even up the East Semis in Indy.
- Game 3: Tonight at 7 ET (ESPN)
- Game 4: Sunday at 3:30 ET (ABC)
Like most teams, the Pacers performed better at home than on the road throughout the regular season.
- Home: 26-15 record, 125.5 ppg, 61.3% true shooting, +6.8 pts differential
- Road: 21-20 record, 121.0 ppg, 59.4% true shooting, -0.7 pts differential
That disparity has only grown in the Playoffs.
- Home: 3-0 record, 122.3 ppg, 60.2% true shooting, +12.7 pts differential
- Road: 1-4 record, 109.8 ppg, 57.2% true shooting, -6.8 pts differential
Both the Pacers and Knicks acquired former Raptors from Toronto’s championship team to help bolster their lineup midseason – Pascal Siakam to Indy and OG Anunoby to New York – and both loom big over tonight’s Game 3.
- If the Pacers hope to improve to 4-0 at home this Playoffs, they need to get Siakam going as his scoring and shooting have dropped from the first round (22.3 ppg on 54.7% shooting) to the second (16.5 ppg on 44.1% shooting)
- The Knicks will be without Anunoby, who has been ruled out with a hamstring strain suffered late in the 3rd quarter of Game 2
How important has Anunoby been since coming to the Knicks?
- Since Anunoby made his Knicks debut on New Year’s Day 2024, the Knicks have gone 26-5 (.839) in the regular season and Playoffs with OG in the lineup
- During that same time frame, the Knicks have gone 13-14 (.481) with Anunoby sidelined
- The Knicks were able to close out the Pacers down the stretch in Game 2, however, after Anunoby went down late in the third quarter
The Knicks are already missing Julius Randle (shoulder), Bojan Bogdanovic (foot, wrist) and Mitchell Robinson (ankle). Now they’ve added Anunoby (hamstring) as out for Game 3 and Jalen Brunson as questionable.
- Can New York overcome this myriad of injuries and take a commanding 3-0 lead on the road?
- Or will Indiana protect its home court and force this series back to New York?
5. TOWNS NAMED NBA SOCIAL JUSTICE CHAMPION
Towns receives the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy for his voting rights advocacy as well as his work across the justice and education systems.
On the court, Karl-Anthony Towns averaged 21.8 points and 8.3 rebounds to help the Minnesota Timberwolves have their most successful season in two decades.
Off the court, his voting rights advocacy as well as his work across the justice and education systems earned Towns a new kind of honor, as the 4th winner of the NBA’s Social Justice Champion award.
- Towns played a pivotal role in the passing of Bill HF28 – Minnesota’s Restore the Vote bill, allowing more than 55,000 formerly incarcerated individuals the right to vote
- The law marked the largest expansion of voting rights since the voting age in Minnesota was lowered to 18 years old
- ️ Towns: “It is a great honor to be named the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion. I am proud to have played a role in the passing of Minnesota’s Restore the Vote bill and I will always be committed to supporting social justice causes as that is part of my DNA.”
The NBA Social Justice Champion award & Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy debuted in 2021 to honor a player for pursuing social justice and upholding the league’s values of equality, respect and inclusion.
- A finalist for the award in 2022, Towns is the first Timberwolves player to receive the honor
- In addition to Towns receiving the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar trophy, $100K will be donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities
Watch Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum and the award’s namesake, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, congratulate Towns on becoming the 2023-24 NBA Social Justice Champion.
