CLEVELAND (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 33 points, Jaylen Brown added 28 and the Boston Celtics looked more like themselves after stumbling at home, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-93 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The top-seeded Celtics didn’t mess around after dropping losing Game 2 on their parquet floor by 24. Tatum scored on a three-point play and the Celtics opened the second half with 14 straight points to open a 23-point lead. That was way too much for the Cavs, who overcame a 22-point deficit in the fourth to stun Boston in March. Donovan Mitchell scored 33 for Cleveland, but the All-Star guard aggravated a left knee injury in the fourth quarter
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DALLAS (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 22 points, including a running left-hander in the lane in the final minute to help Dallas hold on, and the Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 105-101 for a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. Luka Doncic also had 22 points to go with 15 rebounds, and P.J. Washington scored 27, just two shy of his playoff high from the previous game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for the Thunder. Oklahoma City has lost consecutive games after starting 5-0 in the playoffs. Game 4 is Monday night in Dallas.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers forward Dean Wade made his playoff debut in Game 3 against the Boston Celtics on Saturday night after being sidelined the past two months with a strained right knee. Wade hasn’t played since March 8, three days after he scored a career-best 23 points to fuel a comeback win over the Celtics. Wade entered with 4:18 left in the first quarter and made a 3-pointer seconds later. Wade gives Cleveland some depth, but the Cavs remain without starting center Jarrett Allen, who missed his sixth straight game with badly bruised ribs. Allen got hurt during the Cavs’ opening-round series against Orlando and missed the final three games. He sat out the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Celtics
