Dallas completed the qualifying table in the semi-finals of the Western Conference of the NBA play-offs thanks to its 114-101 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, during an evening where Orlando offered itself a Game 7 against Cleveland.
Winners 103-96, the Magic will travel to Cleveland on Sunday for a decisive meeting, synonymous with qualification in the half against Boston. For its part, Dallas joins Oklahoma in the second round.
Irving and the Mavericks advance
In Dallas, the 30 and 28 points of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic (7 rebounds, 13 assists) allowed the Mavericks to win their series 4-2 ahead of the Clippers of James Harden (16 pts, 13 assists) and Paul George (18 pts), deprived of Kawhi Leonard, injured.
Enough to take a little revenge since Dallas had been eliminated twice in the first round in 2020 and 2021 by this same Los Angeles team.
In the half, the Florida franchise will face Oklahoma, for a match in the match between Slovenian star Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, both contenders for the title of MVP of the season.
“We stayed united,” Doncic rightly declared at the end of Game 6, during which the Mavericks led by 13 points in the second quarter before letting the Clippers come back to 52-52 at the break.
A short-lived thrill since Dallas then regained the advantage definitively, thanks in particular to Kyrie Irving, excellent in the second half.
Irving notably made a winning shot off balance, after suffering a foul, or scored a free throw which allowed his team to widen a gap of 24 points.
“He’s incredible,” Doncic said simply of his teammate.
Match 7 pour Orlando et Cleveland
Donovan Mitchell’s 50 points were not enough for the Cavaliers to qualify for Game 6 against Orlando, who ultimately won 103-96 on Friday.
Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs, decisive for Orlando against Cleveland on Friday / Julio Aguilar / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Paolo Banchero scored 10 of his 27 points in the final quarter, with the added bonus of a three-point basket that allowed the Magic to take the lead with less than 4 minutes remaining.
We can add to this the 26 points of Franz Wagner or the 22 of Jalen Suggs (including 6 award-winning shots) who faced the 50 points of Mitchell, although visibly hampered by a knee injury.
The American also scored all of his team’s points (18) in the last quarter.
“Mitchell had a great game, but we hung on,” said Wagner, who will play a decisive match on Sunday in Cleveland.
All that remains to be known is the winner of this series in the East, who will face Boston in the next round, to complete the play-off semi-final table.
