Saturday was a day of divergent fortunes for the NBA playoffs’ top two seeds. The Boston Celtics took back control of their semifinal series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Oklahoma City Thunder trailed the Dallas Mavericks.
These three players stood out throughout Saturday’s playoff action.
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has 33 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Tatum’s shooting night wasn’t the finest. Still, he fell just four assists short of a triple-double and led the Celtics with 33 points (11-of-25) out of sheer willpower.
From the opening tip of Game 3, it was evident that Tatum was a man on a mission: he continued to shoot in spite of numerous misses, attacked the hoop with gusto, and dominated the defensive glass (12 defensive rebounds).
Tatum tied Hall of Famers Bill Russell, Charles Barkley, and Hakeem Olajuwon for the tenth most playoff games in NBA history with his 24th career postseason game with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, according to Stathead.
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown: 28 points, 9 rebounds
In Game 3 against the Cavaliers, Tatum was the more aggressive player, while Brown adopted a more serious demeanor. He gave the Celtics a boost offensively and helped them recover from a dismal defensive performance in Game 2.
Brown outperformed the Cavaliers in terms of efficiency. Boston looked to its starting shooting guard when it needed a big shot; he made two of his three efforts from beyond the arc and only missed four out of 17 shots overall.
Brown appeared unconcerned following the Celtics’ crushing defeat in Game 2, even though he had only managed to score 19 points on 41.2 percent shooting that evening. He overcame the subpar performance, though, and played a significant role in Boston’s easy victory in Game 3 at Cleveland.
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving has 22 points and seven assists.
Despite just scoring eight points in the first half, the eight-time All-Star played facilitator. However, he adopted a more aggressive stance when Dallas trailed by one at the half, scoring 14 of his 22 points in the second half.
Irving took charge in the closing moments. He was a perfect 4-of-4 for eight points in the fourth quarter, capping the Game 3 triumph on Saturday with his trademark floater after a forceful drive to the basket.
Although Irving wasn’t the best player on the court on Saturday, the Mavericks might have fallen behind the Thunder, who are ranked #1, 2-1, instead of leading. Luka Doncic commended Irving after the team’s victory on Saturday, telling reporters that “he’s doing it all on both ends of the floor.”