Thunder, Celtics dominate Game 1s; who will meet Dortmund in Champions League final?

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🏀 Good morning to everyone but especially …

THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER AND THE BOSTON CELTICS

The Thunder are growing up quickly, right in front of our eyes. Oklahoma City thumped Dallas 117-95 to open their second-round series.

After sweeping the Zion Williamson-less Pelicans with relative ease, the Thunder knew they would get a much tougher challenge against the battle-tested Mavericks, and when Kyrie Irving nailed a third-quarter 3-pointer to draw within one, that very much looked the case. But after a timeout, the hosts finished the quarter with a 3-point barrage to restore the lead to 10 and never let up from there.

• Everyone contributed, but the biggest star led the way: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 29 points and barely missed a triple-double. Chet Holmgren added 19 points, and Jalen Williams scored 18, 10 of which came in a mesmerizing one-minute, 36-second span early in the fourth quarter that put things away.
• Oklahoma City’s bench outscored Dallas’ 42-23.
• The Thunder defense flexed its muscle, forcing 16 turnovers. Perhaps most impressively, it held Luka Doncic to just 19 points, snapping his streak of 24 straight playoff games with at least 20 points.

Dallas was coming off an absolute battle of a series against the Clippers and has lost its past five Game 1s. It won’t panic. I still expect a really good series.

I can’t say the same about Celtics-Cavaliers, especially after Boston pummeled Cleveland 120-95 in Game 1. Jaylen Brown‘s 32 points led the way, but it was its…