Dallas, TX – The Mavs welcome the Celtics to American Airlines Center for a very important game 3 as they look to get one in the win column and not let the Celtics presumably end the series tonight.
Things could potentially be a little easier for the Mavs with Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis out for game 3 with a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon. if you don’t know what that means, many others don’t either. It’s basically a leg injury and the good news is that he is listed as day to day and it isn’t related to his calf strain.
Even without Porzingis though, it’ll still be a little tough for the Mavs who have struggled to score effectively in the first two games of this series. Role players typically play better at home so that is a silver lining for the Mavs but if they don’t have some kind of ball and player movement against the Celtics again, they will go down 0-3.
More ball and player movement is what they had to start the game. They set more screens and moved guys around more and took full advantage of the Celtics switching more than they did in the first two games. Dallas did a much better job of getting downhill and taking advantage of the mismatches. That allowed them to get out to a very hot start going up by 13 early on and making the Celtics look a little disjointed.
That didn’t last long though. The Celtics settled in and looked like the team we saw the first two games. Using an 11-0 and 18-6 run to end the quarter, they got back within one to make it a game after the first quarter.
That was all the Celtics needed because one they got into a rhythm they didn’t really let up. They stopped settling and Jayson Tatum’s offensive bag finally. He was getting to his spots very easy and had a hot first half. But it wasn’t enough in the first half because Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving both had it going.
Both teams needed someone to step up in the second half because what each team was doing wasn’t sustainable. The Mavs were playing a lot of one on one and it was working because Luka and Kyrie were both hitting their shots but both guys would need close to 50 if they wanted to continue playing that way. The Celtics on the other hand took way too many threes and didn’t hit them at the clip needed to build a lead.
Whatever Joe Mazzula said in the locker room at halftime worked though because the Celtics came out with a different kind of energy and dominated the third quarter. Getting whatever shot they wanted beating the Mavs 35-19 in the frame shooting 65% from the floor. It also helped that Jaylen Brown joined Tatum on the offensive side. It looked like the Mavs were done as the Celtics took a 85-70 lead into the fourth.
Boston quickly jumped out to a 21 point lead early in the fourth and it was clear that if the Mavs didn’t make some much needed changes the game would be over shortly after. It definitely looked in doubt but the Mavs fought back using a 24-7 run to make it a game again in the fourth. But it just wasn’t enough. Especially with Luka fouling out with four minutes left in the game.
The Mavs fought and fought but the Celtics were just the more consistent team all night. While Dallas had too many spells of playing either bad defense or bad offense, Boston limited those bad spells. Celtics were the much more physical team, played with more urgency, and had more poise which led to a 106-99 win and taking a 3-0 series lead. They are now one win away from championship 18.
A few reasons for the Celtics win were their consistency, limiting turnovers, three point shooting, and their defense. While a few reasons for the Mavs loss were the inconsistency, being bad in the paint after the first quarter, and lack of ball movement leading to them playing a lot of one on one.
The Celtics were led by Jayson Tatum who had 31 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists and Jaylen Brown who had 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Derrick White was solid contributing 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Mavs were led by Kyrie Irving who had his best game of the series with 35 points and Luka Doncic’s 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. PJ Washington added 13 points and 8 rebounds while Dereck Lively who added 11 points and 13 rebounds off the bench.
Boston will look to close the series out in a sweep Friday night in Dallas.
