Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Donovan Mitchell scored 43 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a crucial 126-104 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday, as the Denver Nuggets beat Oklahoma City in an overtime thriller. Cleveland, the top seeds in the East after racking up 64 regular-season wins, had their backs against the wall after dropping the first two games at home — the fact that no NBA team has rallied from 3-0 down to win a series making Friday’s game a must-win.
Mitchell, whose 48 points in game two weren’t enough to ward off a furious Pacers comeback, was magnificent again, adding nine rebounds, five assists, and a steal. He had plenty of support with the return from injury of All-Star guard Darius Garland, Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, and key reserve De’Andre Hunter as the Cavs clawed back to 2-1 in the best-of-seven conference semi-final. Garland, who missed the last four games with a sprained toe, scored 10 points and Mobley, who missed one game with an ankle sprain, had 18 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, and three blocked shots as the Cavaliers defense limited game-two hero Tyrese Haliburton to four points.
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Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers scoring with 23 points off the bench, but the Cavaliers couldn’t muster the kind of magic that saw them erase a seven-point deficit in the final minute to win on Tuesday. Cleveland jumped to an 11-0 lead and never trailed. They led by as many as 15 in the first period before the Pacers tied it at 32-32 heading into the second quarter. But Cleveland seized the initiative again, holding Haliburton scoreless on the way to a 66-45 halftime lead. Indiana had cut a 24-point deficit to 11 with 7:49 left in the fourth, but Mitchell drilled one of his five three-pointers, then fed Max Strus for another, and the Cavaliers pulled away again.
Mitchell said it was about responding in a physical game that turned testy at times. “It’s hard to blow a team out by 20 in their place — we saw that last game even in our place, it’s hard to keep a lead — it’s just hard in this league,” he said. “They’re not a team that’s going to fold easily. We let one slip away at home in a similar fashion, so for me, couldn’t let it happen again. But for me, just trying to be the aggressor.” And it wasn’t just me,” he added. “I know I scored, but we got stops, made plays.” Cleveland will try to level the series when the Pacers host game four on Sunday.
In Denver, Jamal Murray scored 27 points and Aaron Gordon added 22 — including a three-pointer to send it to overtime, where the Nuggets dominated for a 113-104 triumph and a 2-1 series lead over the Thunder. Routed in game two, the Nuggets had to battle throughout a game that featured 15 lead changes. That included six in the fourth quarter, when neither team led by more than three. Denver’s reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic connected on just eight of 15 shots from the field on the way to 20 points with 16 rebounds.
Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, tipped to topple Jokic in this season’s MVP voting, struggled as well, making just seven of his 22 attempts for 18 points. Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 32 points and Chet Holmgren added 18 points and 16 rebounds for Oklahoma City, the Western Conference top seeds after leading the league with 68 regular-season victories. But Jokic drove for the first basket of overtime and Michael Porter Jr. added a three-pointer to give the Nuggets their biggest lead of the game — 107-102 — and the Thunder never really threatened from there.
“It was everybody,” Murray said. “They’re a great team. They tested us all night and we were able to stick with it and get the win. So it was a good team win.” The Nuggets will try to stretch their advantage when they host game four on Sunday. “It’s a step in the right direction,” Murray said. “We know we can be better than this.”
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