A three game schedule of playoff action continued on Friday as the lower seeds got to enjoy home court advantage for the first time.
SLAM has the breakdowns on each of the matchups below.
No. 5 Hawks 105 , No. 4 Knicks 94
ATL Leads series 2-1
Trae Young left Madison Square Garden boasting “I’ll see you in the A!”. Ice Trae sure backed up his boast he made in New York.
The Hawks went on a huge 22-5 run before halftime behind Young’s offensive brilliance.
Trae’s really all about creating on offense. 14pts and 10ast in the first half. (via @ATLHawks) pic.twitter.com/e8r52l4uZz
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 29, 2021
Atlanta never looked back. What Trae got started in the first half, Bogdan Bogdanovic continued in the second half.
Lefty wraparound pass >>> (via @ATLHawks) pic.twitter.com/EFsWilKSE6
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 29, 2021
Despite an impressive 30-point performance from Knicks’ Derrick Rose, the Hawks went on the defeat the Knicks, 105-94. Young finished with 21 points, while Bogdanović had 15.
No. 7 Celtics 125, No. 2 Nets 119
Nets lead series 2-1
The Brooklyn Nets showed how dangerous an offensive team they are in the first three minutes of this game. The Nets ran off to a 19-4 lead before Boston answered back—thanks to a performance by Jayson Tatum, who went on one of his patented offensive explosions in the first half, scoring 21 points to give Boston an improbable halftime lead.
Too good, JT. (via @celtics) pic.twitter.com/EIAwht3NyT
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 29, 2021
The Nets really missed Jeff Green as Tatum got the switches he wanted and outlasted Kevin Durant and James Harden with a playoff career-high 50 points.
No. 4 Clippers 118, No. 5 Mavs 108
Mavs lead series 2-1
The Los Angeles Clippers cannot stop Luka Doncic, who just keeps exposing them with defensive switches.
Every shot Luka takes like this feels like it’s going in. (via @dallasmavs) pic.twitter.com/XxxqJb1g80
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 29, 2021
The Dallas Mavericks started the game 8-0. Then they extended the lead to 30-11 and the route was on. When Luka sat down, the Clippers answered with a 14-4 run. From then on, it was a dogfight.
Luka Doncic finished with 44 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Kawhi Leonard matched him with 36 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
What was the difference in the game? Leonard got support from Paul George. Kristaps Porzingis on the other hand disappeared.
The one thing that everyone will remember from this game is the introduction of the term “physical taunt”.
Terrence Mann ran at Willie Cauley-Stein after he appeared to get shoved.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 29, 2021
A tech was called on the Mavs for a “physical taunt.” pic.twitter.com/F2qNLlRhZp
