NBA Playoffs: Mavericks and Celtics start Conference Finals with victories

In Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, Luka Doncic scored 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 108-105 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

For the Mavericks, Kyrie Irving scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half.

Jaden McDaniels scored 24 points to lead the Wolves in his third straight game of 20 or more points, while Edwards, who was named to the second team of the All-NBA squad before the game, was held to only 19 points in a Mavericks team effort.

Karl-Anthony Towns finished 6 for 20 from the field after requiring a late surge to get to 16 points.

This series has a lot of star power, and the Mavericks, for the first time at least, received what they needed from their starting pair, while the Wolves mostly found it difficult to run the offense around them.

Edwards added 11 rebounds and eight assists despite failing to score in the third quarter.

In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Boston Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers 133–128 by taking advantage of some careless play by the latter team. Jayson Tatum scored 10 of his 36 points in overtime.

With 6.1 seconds remaining in regulation, Jaylen Brown made the game-winning 3-pointer, and Jrue Holiday finished with 28 points.

Three steals apiece from Brown, Tatum, and Holiday gave the Celtics a total of 11.

They made NBA postseason history by being the first team to have three players record 25 points and three steals in the same game.

The Pacers outscored the injured 7-footer Kristaps Porziņģis squad by 56 points in the paint, led by Tyrese Haliburton, who finished with 25 points and 10 assists. However, the Pacers made 21 mistakes.