After three straight wins, the Boston Celtics will look to close out the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks when the best-of-seven series returns to Dallas on Friday night.
After a 106-99 victory Wednesday night, they realize the historic moment ahead of them and another shot at the Larry O’Brien Trophy that eluded them two years ago.
All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the Mavs in Game 3 with a combined 61 points, but both know the job isn’t done yet. “We just say, as long as it takes. Nobody is relaxed. Nobody is satisfied,” Tatum said after the game.
For Brown, Wednesday night’s victory came down to experience. “All year we’ve heard that the Celtics are a thing of the past, for the last six to eight months, that’s all we’ve heard about the different deficiencies we’ve had in the past. This is a new team, you know what I mean. We have learned from those experiences. And in these moments you can see that we learned from it. “We stepped up and found a way to win.” he said.
In total, five Celtics players have scored in double figures in each game of this series. Tatum and Jrue Holiday have also led the rebounds (8.7 and 7.7 rebounds per game, respectively), demonstrating the depth of the team that had the best regular season in the NBA (64-18) and has only lost two times in the NBA. playoffs so far. The Celtics were without Kristaps Porzingis, who was one of their biggest contributors in Games 1 and 2, but was sidelined Wednesday with a left leg injury.
Meanwhile, after two losses in Boston, the Mavs, down 21 points, caught fire in the fourth and exploded on a 22-2 run down the stretch, eventually coming up short in the final seconds of Game 3. star Luka Doncic (29.7 points and nine rebounds per game in this series) fouled out with just over four minutes left.
Eight-time NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving finally found his groove and finished with 35 points, but it wasn’t enough to turn the Mavs’ fortunes around. The third consecutive loss leaves the Mavericks on the verge of elimination, although they hope to become the first team in NBA history to return after trailing 0-3 in a best-of-seven series.
When asked how the Celtics are controlling the Mavericks on the perimeter, Irving said: “They’re going to make adjustments. They know that much of our offense during the playoff run has been based on getting easy looks for our bigs. They have been taking it away, putting guards on the big guys, without really helping them. Lots of one-on-one defense. “It’s about finishing and hopefully that will create some space where we can release a balloon.”
Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals will air live on ESPN and NBA League Pass at 1:30 a.m. WAT in the early hours of Saturday morning. More than 3,000 fans will gather to watch the game at NBA Finals parties in Lagos, Johannesburg, Durban and Nairobi.
Will they witness the Celtics’ celebrations or will the Mavs send the series back to Boston for Game 5? Doncic believes that everything is still possible: “We are not in the offseason yet. They still have to win one more game. Like I said, we are going to believe until the end.”
