Mavs advance; Magic extend series

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The Dallas Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Clippers 114-101 to advance to the second round of the National Basketball Association Playoffs on Friday as Orlando forced a decisive game seven against Cleveland despite 50 points from Cavs star Donovan Mitchell.

The Magic dominated late on their home floor in Orlando to overcome a heroic performance from Mitchell, beating the Cavaliers 103-96 to knot their best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series at three games apiece.

In Dallas, Luka Doncic scored 28 points and Kyrie Irving scored 30 — 28 in the second half — as the Mavericks locked up a 4-2 Western Conference victory over the Clippers, who were again without injured star Kawhi Leonard.

Doncic added seven rebounds and 13 assists to gain a measure of revenge against a Clippers team that ousted his Mavs in the first round in 2020 and 2021.

Dallas next face the Oklahoma City Thunder, the surprise Western top seeds who swept New Orleans 4-0.

The series will offer a tantalizing matchup between Slovenian star Doncic and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, both Most Valuable Player award finalists along with Nikola Jokic — whose reigning champion Denver Nuggets face Minnesota in the second round.

“We stayed together,” Doncic said of a Mavs team that led by 13 in the second quarter only for the Clippers to tie it up by halftime at 52-52.