Jazz spoil Doncic’s return, tie series

Rudy Gobert gave the Jazz the lead with an alley-oop dunk with 11.0 seconds left and they held off the Mavericks 100-99 on Saturday in Game 4 to tie the first-round series.

Spencer Dinwiddie missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Mavericks.

The Jazz held the Mavericks to 18 points in the fourth quarter after surrendering a double-digit lead in the second half. The Mavs made just two baskets through the first seven minutes of the fourth and shot 33% overall in quarter.

“This is the team we want to be,” Gobert said. “This is who we are.”

Jordan Clarkson scored 25 points for the Jazz, Donovan Mitchell added 23 points and seven assists. Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 15 rebounds — 10 off the offensive glass. He was 3 of 8 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and 9 of 18 overall. The Mavs star Luka Doncic had 30 points, 10 rebounds four assists in his return from a threegame absence because of a strained left calf.

“Getting my wind back,” Doncic said. “A little bit tired now but it felt great to be back.”

Jalen Brunson added 23 points, and Dorian Finney-Smith, Dwight Powell and Reggie Bullock had 11 points apiece. Game 5 is Monday night in Dallas.

“We were down 12 at the half and we stayed the course, and it comes down to the last possession,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “If you’re on the road in the playoffs and it comes down to the last play, you can’t ask for a better situation.”

Celtics go up 3-0: Jayson Tatum scored 39 points, Jaylen Brown had 23 and the Celtics took a 3-0 lead over the Nets with a 109-103 victory. Again making things difficult on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving with their suffocating defense, the Celtics put themselves in position to sweep their way into the second round with a victory Monday night in Brooklyn.

Durant took only 11 shots, finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Irving was 6 for 17 and also had 16 points for the Nets

Siakam, Raptors avoid sweep: Pascal Siakam scored 15 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, Gary Trent Jr. scored 24 points and the Raptors beat the 76ers 110-102 to avoid a four-game sweep in their first round playoff series. Game 5 is Monday night in Philadelphia.