The Dallas Mavericks have bounced back in their Western Conference playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers with a comfortable 127-114 win in game two on Thursday (NZ time).
Luka Doncic had 28 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 23 points and seven rebounds, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 17 points and Trey Burke finished with 16 points, as the Mavericks evened the best-of-seven series at a game apiece.
Seth Curry chipped in 15 points and Boban Marjanovic, a former Clipper, hit 6-of-8 shots on his way to 13 points and added nine rebounds.
Kawhi Leonard had 35 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers. Lou Williams contributed 23 points, while Paul George, who was limited by foul trouble, had 14 points and 10 boards. Marcus Morris Sr. also had 14 points and eight rebounds.
In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics recorded a second-straight comfortable win to begin their playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, getting 33 points from Jayson Tatum in a 128-101 triumph.
Equaling the most 3-pointers in their heralded postseason history, the third seed outscored the 76ers 57-15 from beyond the arc to successfully follow up on Game 1's 109-101 win.
Earlier, Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points and Jordan Clarkson added 26 to help the Utah Jazz run away with a 124-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday near Orlando in Game 2 of their first round NBA Playoff series.
Mitchell also dished out eight assists to help the Jazz even the series at 1-1. Utah finished with 32 assists on 45 baskets and shot 20-of-44 (.455) from the 3-point line.
Nikola Jokic scored 28 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and dished out six assists to lead Denver. Michael Porter, Jr. added 28 points for the Nuggets, who trailed the entire second half.
In the day's opening game, Norman Powell scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, Fred VanVleet had 24 points and 10 assists and the Toronto Raptors rallied to defeat the Brooklyn Nets 104-99 to grab a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.
