NBA highlights on May 11: Irving shines in 4th quarter for Mavs to beat OKC

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 105-101 in Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, leading 2-1 in the series.

Kyrie Irving got only eight points for the Mavericks until there were about three minutes left in the third quarter. Then he scored 14 points in the following 15 minutes by making shots in various ways in front of different defenders. Both the team and he were used to him taking over the offense in the second half or even in the final period. On one hand, he played a bigger defensive role pairing with Luka Doncic; more importantly, Irving needed to shoulder more orchestrating duties when Doncic was held back by knee injuries.

The Thunder had the fourth-best defensive rating among all 30 teams during the regular season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA), Jalen Williams, Luguentz Dort and Chet Holmgren are all trustworthy defenders, but none of them were able to shut Irving down without double-teaming him with teammates. He made all of his final six field goal (FG) attempts, all jumpers, two from downtown and four in the middle range.

Doncic missed 10 of his 17 shots in Saturday's game. Though his knee injuries affected both his penetration and jump shooting, he did his best in launching attacks with his power advantage in the low post and earned 10 free throws. Furthermore, he grabbed 15 rebounds and spared no efforts in closing out to contest the opponents' 3-point shooting in the second half. He couldn't immediately evolve into an elite defender, but a leader's defensive attitude mattered.

The Mavericks shot 42.9 percent from the field on Saturday, worse than the Thunder (46.9 percent), but they managed to take 10 more FGs (91-81) than the opponents thanks to their 15-6 lead in offensive rebounds, which enabled them to score seven more second-chance points (16-9). Both Doncic and Dereck Lively II had three offensive rebounds. Lively II also shot 8-for-12 at the free throw line, surprisingly well to offset the Thunder's tactic of fouling him on purpose.

The Mavericks' team-high 27 points were not by the hands of Irving or Doncic, but by P.J. Washington. As a postseason rookie who averaged no more than 13 points per game in the playoffs, surpassed 20 points in the second straight game. He did his job as a stretch-four by knocking down five triples, mostly from the two corners. However, he did well in attacking the paint off the dribble, which became an important part of coach Jason Kidd's game plan from Game 2 of the series.

Washington's good offensive performance exposed a lethal flaw in the Thunder's roster, which is the lack of a full-size power forward. They only have one full-size big man, Holmgren, on their regular rotations, but he is too thin to tussle with anyone. Dort and Williams are strong as swingmen, but both are too short to contest shooting by forwards that are over two meters tall. Washington is 2.01 meters tall with a 2.19-meter-long wingspan.

Coach Mark Daigneault has to figure out a trustworthy squad for the Thunder for clutch time as well. SGA, Holmgren and Williams are the team's three best players. Dort played a big defensive role and has been shooting career-best behind the arc this season. Nonetheless, it's tricky to pick the fifth player from the rest of the team to count on. Isaiah Joe is a good 3-point shooter, but a defensive weak link; Josh Giddey proved to be the deadweight exploited by the opponents on both ends of the game. Others are unlikely ready for postseason competitions.

Game 4 of the series will still happen at the American Airlines Center on May 13.

When Celtics are serious, they leave no chance for Cavaliers

The Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-93 in Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday, leading the series again 2-1.

The Cavaliers trailed by nine points (57-48) after the first half. The game didn't look desperate in that moment. Donovan Mitchell went 6-for-8 outside the 3-point line to score 23 points for the team in the first two quarters. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said ahead of the game that the team needed Mitchell to make plays to win. That's probably why he let his teammates take more shots at the beginning of the third period.

The Cavaliers missed five FG attempts in three minutes and 11 seconds during which the Celtics scored a 14-0 run, quickly extending their lead to 23 points (71-48). The game was a foregone conclusion at that time. Mitchell tried to save the day, but the 10 points he got were too little to reverse the situation.

The Celtics shot 13-for-34 from downtown in Saturday's game, not excellent by their standard, but they resolved on shutting down the Cavaliers, limiting the home team to 42.9 percent from the field. Even 37-year-old Al Horford closed out quickly to contest the Cavaliers' 3-point shooting. Mitchell aside, the Cavaliers missed 19 of their triple attempts. Jayson Tatum, Kaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday made sure that that the opponents couldn't break through the paint at a weak point. The three combined to grab 30 rebounds.

Tatum was under a lot of criticism after getting only 43 points in the first two games of the Eastern semifinals. He still struggled to knock down shots outside the 3-point line on Saturday, but made six of his seven attempts next to the hoop, earned nine free throws and made all of them to drop game-high 33 points.

Game 4 of the series will continue to take place at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on May 13.