Despite a nightmarish fourth quarter that almost saw them blow a 21-point lead, the Boston Celtics are one win away from capturing a record 18th NBA championship.
Boston held off a spirited comeback attempt by the Dallas Mavericks to win Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals 106-99 and take a 3-0 lead, virtually putting the series away in front of the American Airlines Center crowd at Dallas. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit.
Game 4 is scheduled for Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Dallas (ABC).
The Mavericks entered the game with reason for hope after Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis, one of Boston’s best players in Games 1 and 2, was ruled out with a ‘rare’ injury . That absence seemed to hurt Boston early on, as Dallas pounded the paint taking an early 22-9 lead.
As they have done many times in the postseason, the Celtics quickly regrouped. They cut the deficit down to one point at the end of the first quarter and played Dallas to a tie in the second quarter.
Then came the third quarter, where the bottom fell out for the Mavericks. As Dallas stars Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving began to tire, the Celtics hit them with a barrage of 3-pointers to take a commanding lead in the second half.
It could have been over from there, with Boston taking a 91-70 lead at the 11:07 mark of the fourth quarter. But the Mavericks responded with a 22-2 run in nearly eight minutes to cut the deficit to one. The blow that snuffed out that frenzied comeback eventually came at the whistle, when Dončić fouled out of the game with 4:12 remaining.
It was the first time Dončić committed a foul all season and in his playoff career.
Without Dončić, the Mavericks failed to come back. And now they have to stage an even bigger return for the series.
Doncić came out with 27 points on 27 shots, six assists and six rebounds, while Irving led all scorers with 35 points on 13 of 28 shooting. The Mavericks relied on their two-man game for much of the playoffs, but it was the Celtics duo that made the biggest difference overall.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each had their first 30-point games of the series. Tatum had 31 points (mostly in the first half), six rebounds and five assists, while Brown came on strong in the second half to post 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Here’s how it all went down, with Yahoo Sports NBA experts Jake Fischer, Vincent Goodwill and Dan Devine explaining every swing in Game 3 of the Finals.
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The Mavs come back strong and are down 3
Say this for the Mavs: They won’t go down without a fight. After a Jrue Holiday foul, Kyrie’s three free throws make it 23-2 Dallas, and we have a one-possession game in the final five minutes. It’s crucial time for the NBA Finals. Hell yeah.
The Mavs show some life
The Mavs came out of their final timeout playing like a team that knows its season is on the line. A 10-0 run in less than three minutes, capped by Josh Green hitting a catch-and-shoot 3 from wing on a Luka dish, cut Boston’s lead to 11 with 8:23 left.
The Mavs are moving something forward
Not so fast… Dallas’ comeback effort here early in the fourth comes together, trimming a 21-point deficit to 11. It featured some quality effort – finally – from the non-Donic/ Irving Mavericks: a Josh Triple Green, a long ball from PJ Washington, a backhand from Lively.
Boston 3 evening
This stepback 3 from Derrick White was the 16th of the evening for the Celtics, on their 40th attempt. Coming into tonight, Boston was 51-10 when recovering at least 40 long balls; with a 21-point lead, they are 11 minutes behind the score at 52-10.
Will the Mavs show combativeness?
It feels like Jaylen Brown’s dunk was an announcement that things are over. Not just tonight, but for the season. 85-70, the Celtics lead.
Boston under firm control
Absolute domination by Boston coming out of halftime – a 35-19 third quarter, punctuated by a hot stab in the butter and a tomahawk dunk from Jaylen Brown, just down Broadway. The Celtics enter fourth with a 15-point lead, 85-70, and are just 12 minutes away from putting the Mavericks in a 3-0 hole that no team has ever climbed out of.
Is Dallas over?
This game appears to be over. This series seems to be over. The Jumbotron camera just panned to Patrick Mahomes sitting courtside. The MC asks the crowd to make some noise. And it’s absolutely dead here.
Jaylen Brown takes on the challenge
Jaylen Brown smells blood in the water. He’s in Luka’s pocket every chance he gets. He runs down the hill like a running back who has seen a hole in the offensive line. Continued brilliance in both directions for the All-Star winger who wanted to prove he was more than a scorer this season.
Mavs hitting a wall?
The Mavericks’ offense, time and time again, is all about forcing a change in the pick-and-roll to chase a perceived mismatch. But those perceived mismatches hold up — as Al Horford, Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard did repeatedly tonight, and as Xavier Tillman just did. Dallas doesn’t have many places to go. Now 21 for 39 (53.8%) in the paint, with just one corner 3 on two corner attempts.
Boston comes out of halftime stuck
Whatever Joe Mazzulla said to the Celtics in the locker room – maybe something about killer whales or UFC fighters hitting each other below the belt? – he might want to write it down to use again in the next match. Boston scores on its first six second-half possessions, capped by a Jayson Tatum catch-and-shoot 3 set up by a Jaylen Brown drive-and-kick — Brown has seven assists, BTW — and Jason Kidd wants a timeout with the Cs ahead by five, 64-59.
Tatum loves games 3
Jayson Tatum told me after Game 3 against Indiana that those were his favorite games of a series. He loves to silence the road crowds in these third games, and his last three give him 25 and a 64-59 Boston lead.
Tatum and the Celtics take a small lead
Tatum’s offense has arrived in Dallas. And his teammates joined in the fun. The Celtics lead 64-59.
Or are the Mavs in the groove?
Which makes you feel good if you’re the Mavericks: Luka and Kyrie continue to find matchups they like in the pick-and-roll; after struggling to make shots inside in Games 1 and 2, you have a 30-16 advantage in points in the paint at halftime; and you finally generate some more shots, with six second-chance possessions leading to six second-chance points.
This is how the NBA Finals should go
Lots of chasing matchups, lots of backtracking, and we have the best match of the series so far. Both teams feel much more in rhythm than what we saw in Boston, which should make for a thrilling finale.
Are the Celtics pretty?
What makes you feel good if you’re the Celtics: Nearly 85 percent of your shots in the first half came either at the rim or beyond the 3-point arc; you finally have Tatum; Tillman, Hauser and Pritchard were attacked, but mostly resisted. If any of Jaylen Brown (2 for 6), Derrick White (1 for 7) or Jrue Holiday (2 for 6) are keeping pace with the types of looks you like, you’re in good shape.
It’s a different game in Dallas
Jayson Tatum hasn’t made more than six shots or scored more than 18 points in Boston’s first two games. He’s already leading both here, scoring 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting to carry the load for a Celtics team trying to weather the storm in Dallas. The Celtics needed every one of those points to keep up with Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić (37 points combined on 50% shooting) as they fueled a 51-50 advantage for the Mavs at halftime.
Tatum keeps Boston in
Jayson Tatum is the only thing stopping that from happening. He has 20 in the first half and it’s tied at 50. Well over half of C’s shots come from 3s.
Kyrie does his thing
Kyrie Irving missed his first nine 3-pointers in the 2024 NBA Finals. He’s made his last four games – three in this second quarter alone, including two nasty stepbacks in Boston games – and has 20 points in 19 minutes. It’s the shot Dallas desperately needed; so far their second star is playing like one.
