Three stars from Friday’s NBA playoffs
The Magic forced a Game 7, and the Mavericks used "Luka Magic" to send the Clippers home. Here are three stars from Friday’s NBA playoffs.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell | 50 points, 22-of-36
Donovan Mitchell scored over half of Cleveland’s points in their 103-96 loss to the Orlando Magic in Game 6, which pushed their first-round series to a Game Seven in Cleveland. He went 3-for-9 from distance, and a highly-efficient 19-of-27 on two-pointers.
You could say Mitchell took on too much himself, but aside from Darius Garland’s 21 points and Max Strus’ 10 points and two three-pointers, he got almost no scoring from his teammates — six other Cavs combined for just 15 points. Mitchell scored every single one of 18 of Cleveland’s points in the fourth quarter.
Now Cleveland may need another monster Mitchell game to advance.
Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs | 22 points, six 3PM
Jalen Suggs turned himself into a deadly outside shooter this season, upping his three-point percentage to 39.7 percent. That showed in Orlando’s Game 6 win, when he shot 6-for-13 from three-point range, once when he was being fouled.
Suggs is one of the best defensive guards in the league, but even with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner combining 53 points, they needed Friday’s offensive explosion from Suggs to stay alive in the playoffs.
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving | 30 points, two steals
Kyrie Irving stepped up in a big way to close out the Clippers in a 114-101 victory. He put up 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting, going 5-of-9 from distance.
Irving was a game-high +22 in his 42 minutes, and in the decisive third quarter, when Dallas took a 15-point lead, Irving and Doncic tied the Clippers' entire team with their 20 combined points.
He also got revenge on his former Brooklyn Nets teammate James Harden, who demanded a trade in part due to his unhappiness with Irving. Now Irving is headed to the second round, and Harden is heading into an uncertain free-agent market.
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