May 9th NBA Game Boxscore Breakdowns

The Cavaliers fought back from an early deficit to knot the game at 54 going into halftime, and after building a 12-point lead in the third, their quarter-opening 12-5 run over the first 3:13 of the final period essentially sealed the win. Cleveland shot 54.7 percent, including 46.4 percent from three-point range, and won the rebounding battle by a 44-31 margin. They also outscored the Celtics in the paint, 60-44. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 29 points, complementing them with eight assists and seven rebounds. Evan Mobley and Caris LeVert generated matching 21-point efforts while recording 10 and six rebounds and five and three assists, respectively. Darius Garland delivered 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and one steal. Max Strus and Isaac Okoro turned in 12 points apiece, with Strus adding six rebounds. Jayson Tatum paced the Celtics with 25 points, supplementing them with seven rebounds, six assists and one steal. Jaylen Brown registered 19 points, four rebounds and one assist. Payton Pritchard managed 13 points, four assists, two rebounds and one steal. Al Horford turned in 11 points, two rebounds, one assist and one block. Derrick White finished with 10 points, five assists, four rebounds and one block.

Dallas held the lead for all but a few minutes in this game, getting their lead up to 14 points at times. OKC never attempted a game-tying shot over the final 18 minutes. The Mavericks shot 49 percent from three-point range (18-of-37), while the Thunder shot just 33 percent (10-of-30) from long distance. Luka Doncic led Dallas with 29 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. PJ Washington totaled 29 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Daniel Gafford amassed 13 points and seven rebounds, while Tim Hardaway Jr led the bench with 17 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led OKC with 33 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Jalen Williams totaled 20 points, four rebounds and four assists. Chet Holmgren collected 11 points, six rebounds and six assists. Game 3 will be played in Dallas on Saturday.