Three stars from Tuesday’s NBA playoff games
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) dunks against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the third quarter of Game 1 of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at TD Garden.
The top seeds in each conference showed why they are the top seeds in Game 1 of their second-round series. The Celtics crushed the Cavs while the Thunder’s top two trumped Dallas’ dynamic duo. Here are three stars from Tuesday’s NBA second-round action.
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown | 32 points, 12-for-18
Brown had 20 points in the first half and 32 in the game while playing almost mistake-free basketball. He made all his free throws, went 4-for-6 from deep, missed only six of his 18 shots and had only one turnover.
He showed how good the Celtics could be even on a night where Jayson Tatum’s shot was off. Brown nailed jumpers, blocked a shot and grabbed six rebounds, as Cleveland looked both too slow and too small against Boston’s wings.
After the game, Brown told reporters what’s been evident in Boston’s six playoff games so far: “It’s going to be tough for a team to have to beat us four times.”
Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 29 points, nine assists, nine rebounds
One of the most impressive aspects of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s game is his incredible consistency. He always seems to score 30 points, something he did 51 times in the regular season. Tuesday night, he had 29, plus nine rebounds and nine assists in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 117-95 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
He’s scored between 24 and 33 in all five of his playoff games this year, all victories.
Tuesday night was a well-rounded effort where he let his team in rebounds as a 195-pound point guard. Oklahoma City was lights-out from three-point range, shooting 16-for-35, but a big part of that success was due to SGA drawing the defense and getting his teammates open looks. Seven of Gilgeous-Alexander’s nine assists led to three-point baskets, and another one turned into a dunk.
But after seeing what Gilgeous-Alexander can do with the ball in his hands, it’s hard for Dallas not to devote their defensive attention to him. Though on some plays, it didn’t matter how many Mavericks tried to stop him.
Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren | 19 points, three blocks
OKC’s rookie came in second in the Rookie of the Year voting to Victor Wembanyama this week. Maybe Chet Holmgren was motivated by the slight, but more probably, this is just how he plays.
It’s hard to stop a 7-foot-1 center who can fly down the lane and also shoot 40% (2-for-5) from three-point range. Holmgren defended the paint like a veteran, blocking three shots and stymieing the efforts of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to score inside.
Doncic shot 3-for-6 within 10 feet of the hoop, while Irving was 3-for-7.
Lu Dort was also instrumental in putting the clamps on Doncic, but Holmgren’s interior presence, where he has 14 blocks in five playoff games, has anchored a potent Thunder defense so far.
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