Basketball: Celtics in the semifinals – Doncic gala in Dallas victory
The Boston Celtics became the first team to reach the semifinals of this year’s play-offs in the NBA professional basketball league. The record champions defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 113:98 and won the best-of-seven series 4:1. As the best team in the regular season, Boston is considered a hot championship contender.
Jayson Tatum with 25 and Al Harford with 22 points scored the most points for the Celtics, who will now face the winner of the game between New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers (score 3:2) in the Conference Finals. Boston is in the East final for the third time in a row.
In the west, the Dallas Mavericks around superstar Luka Doncic underlined their ambitions. The Texans won 104-92 at the Oklahoma City Thunder and took a 3-2 lead in the quarterfinal series. This means the Mavs have match point in the sixth game, which takes place on Sunday night (CET) at the American Airlines Center.
At Dallas, Doncic once again excelled. The Slovenian achieved another triple-double and contributed 31 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Maximilian Kleber was still not used due to a shoulder injury. At Oklahoma, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 30 points weren’t enough to win.
Ice hockey: Avalanche stop losing streak and avoid playoff exit
The Colorado Avalanche averted the playoffs against the Dallas Stars and won again in the NHL after three defeats in a row. The Avalanche won 5-3 in Dallas on Wednesday evening. The Stars still lead 3-2 after victories, but suffered their first defeat since the opening game in the best-of-seven series. The Texans also gave up two leads – Joe Pavleski and Miro Heiskanen scored to make it 1-0 and 2-1 for the hosts. Cale Makar with two goals, Artturi Lehkonen, Casey Mittelstadt and Nathan MacKinnon turned the game in favor of the team from Denver.
Game six in the series will be played in Denver on Saturday night. The winner of the series will face either the Edmonton Oilers around national ice hockey player Leon Draisaitl or the Vancouver Canucks. The score in this series is 2-2.
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