P.J. Washington has scored 27 points to help the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 105-101 and take a 2-1 lead in the NBA Western Conference semi-finals.
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Washington's tally was two shy of his playoffs high from the previous game while big guns Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving both added 22 points and Doncic also had 15 rebounds for the hosts.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for the Thunder while Chet Holmgren had 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
Australian star Josh Giddey scored nine points but had just 13 minutes of court time for the top-seeded Thunder, who have now lost consecutive games after starting 5-0 in the playoffs.
Game 4 is on Monday night in Dallas.
Australians Josh Green and Dante Exum had bench roles for the Mavericks, with Green scoring three points in his 13 minutes and Exum scoreless in six minutes.
Irving bounced back from just the third single-digit scoring game of his lengthy playoffs career with 14 points in the second half.
Doncic came into the game with a sprained right knee and a sore left ankle and took a hard fall on his back in the final two minutes when he and Lu Dort, the primary defender on the NBA scoring champion, jumped for a loose ball.
A jump ball was called, and Doncic retrieved the loose ball with Dallas up three.
"Everything," Doncic said when asked what hurt, a few minutes after the game. "I'm just battling out there."
Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams stayed down for almost 30 seconds of live action in the third quarter, ending in a 3-pointer by Irving, after injuring his left ankle. Williams went the locker room briefly but returned early in the fourth quarter and finished with 16 points and eight assists.
In Cleveland, Jayson Tatum scored 33 points and Jaylen Brown added 28 as the Boston Celtics looked more like themselves after stumbling at home, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-93 to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
The top-seeded Celtics didn't mess around after dropping Game 2 on their home parquet floor by 24.
"We just wanted to bounce back," said Tatum, who added 13 rebounds. "Disappointing loss the other night, coming into a hostile environment on the road. It was a good test for us to see how we respond."
Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points for Cleveland, but the All-Star guard aggravated a left knee injury in the fourth quarter and was laboured.
With Boston up 13 and in control, Mitchell left the court with 1:19 left and walked directly to the locker room.
Boston centre Kristaps Porzingis missed his fourth straight game with a calf strain.
Game 4 is Monday night in Cleveland.
Australian Associated Press
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