WASHINGTON, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Luka Doncic had 33 points and 13 rebounds on Monday night, helping his Dallas Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 102-77 for a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series at the NBA ongoing 2021-2022 season.
Dallas had a 10-4 pointing dash in the first quarter and built a double-digit advantage in the midway of the second quarter. After Utah's nearly six-minute scoreless drought, Dallas grabbed a 52-36 halftime lead.
Doncic brought the Mavericks a 30-plus points advantage in the third quarter. Although Rudy Gobert helped Utah narrow the gap to 26 points before the final quarter, it was too hard for the Utah Jazz to cut the deficit consecutively in the last 12 minutes.
In the fourth quarter, Hassan Whiteside flung Doncic to the court after the Slovene tried to dunk. The technical foul threw both sides into a clash. After the chaos, Whiteside and Reggie Bullock were ejected.
Jalen Brunson pocketed 24 points, Finney Smith added 13 points and five rebounds. On the Utah side, Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points and Rudy Gobert added 17. Donovan Mitchell only had nine points, plus two rebounds.
When facing the Brooklyn Nets, Jayson Tatum had 29 points and helped the Boston Celtics defeat the Nets 116-112, entering the Eastern Conference semifinals after completing a 4-0 sweep.
The Nets trailed by eight before the half break. After suffering three defeats in the series, the Nets kept chasing at the beginning of the second half, but their opponents dominated and built a double-digit advantage in the third quarter.
Tatum was fouled out with the Celtics leading by six with 2:48 to play, but Kevin Durant missed a fatal free throw. Although Durant had 39 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, he suffered the first sweep in the playoffs session in his NBA career.
In the other playoffs game played on Monday, the Toronto Raptors edged the Philadelphia 76ers 103-88, winning their second game in Game 5 of the series.
Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies picked up his second major award in three seasons on Monday. After winning the rookie of the year in 2020, Morant won the NBA's Most Improved Player award. ■
