Doncic pushes Dallas to another victory in NBA playoffs
The Dallas Mavericks have won their second away game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA playoffs and increased their chances of reaching the finals of the North American basketball league. On Friday (local time), the Texans won the second game of the Western Conference Finals 109:108 (46:60), with superstar Luka Doncic scoring the winning shot three seconds before the end of the game.
The next two games of the best-of-seven series will take place in Dallas, with the third game next Sunday. If the Mavs win both games, they will be in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011. Back then, they won the championship with Dirk Nowitzki as their leader.
Doncic became the match winner: Three seconds before the end of the game, the Slovenian hit the three-pointer to beat Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert, who was named the league’s best defender this season. Doncic also achieved his fifth triple-double of the playoffs with 32 points, 13 assists and ten rebounds. Former Dallas superstar Nowitzki wrote “Wow” shortly after Doncic’s final shot on X.
“I just tried to get to my favorite spot and take a shot on the back foot, I trust that shot,” Doncic said of his game-winning three-pointer. “As you’ve seen many times with Luka, he loves that stage, he doesn’t run away from it. He played great the whole game,” Mavs head coach Jason Kidd paid tribute to his leader.
Doncic’s co-star Kyrie Irving also played well: The playmaker scored 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, including a three-pointer before Doncic’s game-winner. The Mavs turned the game around with a 30-22 lead in the final quarter, and were still 16 points behind in the middle of the third period. Anthony Edwards (21 points) scored the most points for the Timberwolves.
The New York Rangers won the second game of the NHL semifinal series against the Florida Panthers and evened the best-of-seven series at 1:1. On Friday (local time), the Rangers recorded a 2:1 (1:1, 0:0, 0:0) home win after overtime after losing the opening game of the series at home 0:3.
Rangers striker Barclay Goodrow scored the winning goal in the 14th minute of overtime. Goodrow has now scored four times in the playoffs and as many goals as he scored in the entire regular season. The hosts took the lead after just four minutes in the first period thanks to Vincent Trocheck, but the Panthers equalized at the end of the first period through Carter Verhaeghe.
The semifinal series of the North American ice hockey league now moves to Sunrise, where the Florida Panthers will play two home games, the first of which is on Tuesday (local time). A total of four wins are necessary to advance to the NHL finals.
Draisaitl and Oilers take first step towards the final
Ice hockey star Leon Draisaitl and his Edmonton Oilers are on course for the Stanley Cup final in the NHL. In a hard-fought first play-off semi-final, the Canadians beat former champions Dallas Stars 3-2, with Draisaitl’s strike partner Connor McDavid scoring the decisive goal 32 seconds into the second overtime period.
Draisaitl himself had given the Oilers a 1-0 lead 58 seconds into the second period, and goalie Stuart Skinner also put in a strong performance with 31 saves in the first Western Conference final. “It’s going to be a close affair, but we feel comfortable in these games,” said captain McDavid. Game two of the best-of-7 series will also take place in Dallas on Sunday night.
Edmonton last reached the Conference Finals in 2022, but was clearly defeated by eventual champion Colorado Avalanche (0-4).
Basketball: Brown leads Boston to second win against Indiana
The Boston Celtics have won their second home game in the Conference Finals of the North American professional basketball league NBA and extended their lead in the series to 2-0. An outstanding Jaylen Brown led the best team of the regular season to a 126-110 victory against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday (local time).
The 27-year-old set his personal playoff record with 40 points. Brown had already saved Boston in overtime in game one with a difficult three-pointer from the corner shortly before the end.
After the lead changed hands ten times in the opening quarter of the second game and Indiana was leading 27-22 with 1:14 minutes left in the quarter, Boston turned things around. The Celtics scored 20 points in a row, while the Pacers went over six minutes without scoring a basket.
Even when Indiana came within two points at the start of the second half, Boston found the right answer and scored 16 of the next 21 points. Pacers star player Tyrese Haliburton had to leave the field in the third quarter with an injury to his left leg.
The series continues with two games in Indiana. A total of four wins are needed to reach the NBA finals.
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