You can read the full report from tonight’s game below:
After Game 2, a pertinent question was whether the Celtics would do even better if Jayson Tatum had a hot hand. He did. The answer was that the Celtics built a huge lead but came agonizingly close to surrendering it – in fact, Tatum’s plus/minus was -4 on the night. His critics will claim this is the worst action since Genghis Khan’s last invasion.
In Game 2, Jrue Holiday stepped up, though a lot of his points were off Tatum’s slick passes. Tonight, it was Jaylen Brown’s turn, especially in a monster third quarter. He wound up with 30.
Dallas fans may feel aggrieved over the calls that put Luka Dončić out of the game. But the sturdily built Slovenian had an off night in many respects – 11-for-27 from the field, 1-for-7 from 3-point range, and I question the box score that says he only had three turnovers. It felt like more.
Irving was magnificent. He has been a bit of a lightning rod due to some unorthodox views of science and some disgruntlement at prior teams such as Brooklyn and … oh yeah, Boston. He won a championship in Cleveland, though having LeBron James didn’t hurt.
Maybe the sports punditocracy will eventually learn that it takes more than one player to win. Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen and some outstanding role players. In Dončić, Irving and Tatum, we’re seeing three of the game’s greatest players of the past decade and change on the court, but the Celtics’ so-called supporting cast has simply been better than than their counterparts on the Mavericks roster, Dereck Lively’s strong rookie performance notwithstanding.
Boston can wrap it up on Friday. See you then.
Boston takes 3-0 Finals lead with 106-99 win
Washington hits the last free throw, but it’s academic.
The arena in Dallas is dead silent.
Jaylen Brown gets the postgame interview.
“This is basketball. They went on a run, they had some momentum, but we kept our poise.”
Brown praises Irving:
“Kyrie was great tonight. That was a vintage Kyrie performance. It just wasn’t enough.”
How will you handle Game 4 on Friday?
“Stay in the moment, smile and appreciate everything.”
Celtics 106-98 Mavericks, 0:10.1 left, 4th quarter
Hardaway gets open for a 3 despite being fouled tactically, but he misses. Brown gets the rebound – what a half he’s had. Ball to Tatum, who’s fouled and hits both.
Horford fouls with 10.1 seconds left to avoid giving up a 3-point shot. Washington misses the first.
Celtics 104-98 Mavericks, 0:22 left, 4th quarter
Wild sequence, as Washington misses and Horford decides he’s a point guard. Bodies collide. Ball goes out. Turnover Boston.
Irving tries a wild 3 with 25 seconds left. White gets the rebound and Washington fouls.
White makes both shots.
Timeout Dallas. Have the Celtics survived?
Celtics 102-98 Mavericks, 1:01 left, 4th quarter
Irving makes both shots. He has 35.
Inside to Tatum, who spins, leaps and dunks.
Green misses at the other end, but Lively gets his 13th rebound and scores.
Tatum misses a 3.
Irving feeds Lively for a dunk the other way. The lead is two points, and Duke fans are going berserk with Irving, Tatum and Lively in the thick of it here.
Jaylen Brown steadies the ship with a jumper.
Celtics 98-92 Mavericks, 2:32 left, 4th quarter
The dagger? Derrick White hits from 3 off a great drive-and-dish from Holiday.
Holiday fouls Irving as he drives on the other end.
Celtics 95-92 Mavericks, 3:08 left, 4th quarter
Brown misses with time running out on the shot clock, and Lively has his 12th rebound.
Irving cuts it to one with a pullup jumper!
Tatum misses!
But a huge play by Brown, as he gets the rebound and puts it back in.
Then it’s an offensive foul on Washington.
Celtics 93-90 Mavericks, 4:12 left, 4th quarter
Commentators agree. It’s a block on Dončić. It’s close, but there’s surely not enough to overturn it.
They’re still looking.
And you thought VAR was tedious in soccer …
Call upheld! He’s out.
Celtics 93-90 Mavericks, 4:12 left, 4th quarter
You call timeout, return to the court, and give it to Horford for a 3? He misses, but so does Irving at the other end.
Dončić fouls out! Oh, how big is that? He’s furious.
They’ll check the replay, but given the threshold for offensive fouls in this league, it’s hard to imagine this being overturned.
Celtics 93-90 Mavericks, 4:38 left, 4th quarter
Dončić misses inside, then commits a foul at the other end. That’s five on him. Celtics call timeout.
With 11:07 left in the game, the Celtics went up by 21.
With 6:11 left, the Mavericks cut it to 3.
Less than five minutes of playing time.
Celtics 93-90 Mavericks, 5:25 left, 4th quarter
Washington misses. Holiday misses a wild one. Lively gets the rebound and Dallas calls timeout. That might actually help Boston, which desperately needs to remember what it did to go up by 21 just a few minutes ago.
Celtics 93-90 Mavericks, 5:41 left, 4th quarter
Out of the timeout, Lively swipes the ball after Washington pokes it away from Tatum. Brown has to foul at the other end.
Washington makes both free throws, and the lead has dwindled from 21 to 9.
Finally, the Celtics answer with the hot hand from each half – Tatum feeding it to Brown for a turnaround jumper.
Irving scores. Tatum misses. Washington hits a 3. This is getting scary for Boston.
Brown misses a very long 3. This is getting very scary for Boston.
Washington misses. Horford immediately turns it over by traveling in transition.
Replay shows that Tatum got away with a foul on Dončić’s last miss.
Holiday fouls Irving on a 3-point attempt. He can cut it to a one-possession game. And he does.
Celtics 91-80 Mavericks, 8:23 left, 4th quarter
In case this turns into a massive Dallas comeback, I’ll document each scoring play they make …
Washington hits a 3.
Brown misses, Pritchard fouls inside.
Dončić drives, spins and scores. He has 27.
Dončić picks up his fourth foul. Pritchard misses a shot, Dončić misses, but Lively puts it back and in – hey, that’s a run.
Tatum misses. Green hits a 3, and that’s 10-0 run. Timeout Boston.
Celtics 91-70 Mavericks, 11:06 left, 4th quarter
So will things change in for Dallas in the fourth?
Dončić gets an offensive foul.
Brown hits a 3.
Irving commits a foul.
White hits a 3.
Dallas calls timeout.
I’m starting to think I won’t be live-blogging a Game 7.
Sorry … got a little excited on Brown’s dunk there. He elevated midway through the lane and just stayed elevated until he reached the rim.
Brown is still just 1-for-6 from 3-point range. Celtics fans will probably forgive him for that. He has 21 points and 8 assists. The only other Celtic in double figures is Tatum, who should be well rested after his break in the last few minutes of the third quarter.
Dallas needs something big here. An 0-3 deficit in this series would surely be too big of a mountain to climb.
Celtics 85-70 Mavericks, end 3rd quarter
White hits a pair of free throws, interrupted by a whole lot of substitutions. Dončić is back in. Tatum is not.
Irving and Hauser trade misses, rare missteps for each of them tonight.
P.J. Washington hits a 3 to give Dallas a lifeline. Then White hits a bank shot from somewhere near El Paso.
Washington misses. Celtics run the clock down, and Brown LEAPS LIKE HE’S MICHAEL JORDAN FOR THE DUNK!
White goes back to the other end and blocks Irving’s shot at the buzzer.
Did I say Tatum had no help tonight? I was wrong, and now Dallas is surely playing for its playoff life.
Celtics 78-67 Mavericks, 1:44 left, 3rd quarter
If there’s one thing that might concern Celtics fans at this moment, it’s Tatum suddenly starting to sputter from 3-point range, even as he continues to score inside. He takes a break on the bench as we return from the timeout.
If there are two things that might concern Celtics fans at this moment, the second is that Dončić and Irving still exist, though the former will also get a brief rest.
Brown misses – he’s 1-for-6 from outside – but Sam Hauser gets the rebound. Back to Brown, who’s fouled. He makes both shots, and the lead is back to eight.
Boston clamps down on defense, and Kleber has to fling it and hope. Brown hits from just inside the arc, and it’s a 10-point lead. He has 13 points in the quarter despite missing all those 3s.
Xavier Tillman (!?) hits from 3, and the lead is 13.
Irving stops the run with a long 2-pointer.
Celtics 71-65 Mavericks, 3:50 left, 3rd quarter
Just when it looks like Dončić’s nagging injuries are cutting him down, he makes a nice fluid move and scores.
A couple of misses each way, and Boston calls timeout.
I have email with the subject line “Please” and no message. I’m sure we all feel that way sometimes.
Celtics 71-63 Mavericks, 5:18 left, 3rd quarter
Dallas started the third quarter 4-for-5. The bad news for the Mavs: Boston started 6-for-6.
Dončić tries a labored shot in the lane, misses, then fouls in apparent frustration.
Tatum drives, the defense converges, and Tatum dishes to Brown for the dunk. The lead is seven.
Who else but Irving to answer? No one, that’s who. Irving answers. He has 24.
A miss each way, and then Brown hits a big 3. The lead is eight.
Dončić passes back and forth with Irving, then misses in the lane.
Tatum misses a well-defended 3, White blocks a shot from Hardaway, and the Celtics are off to the races. Tatum dunks and was probably fouled, but there’s no call.
Dončić finally gets one to fall. He has 23.
Celtics 64-59 Mavericks, 8:44 left, 3rd quarter
Brown puts Boston in front.
Irving reinstates Dallas’ lead.
Holiday hits a big 3. Boston back in front.
Then a possible momentum changer. Holiday swipes the ball on some sloppy Dallas passing. Brown drives, dishes to Tatum, and the Celtics star drains a 3.
Five-point lead. Timeout Dallas.
Celtics 56-57 Mavericks, 10:06 left, 3rd quarter
Brown fakes, then shoots from 10 feet out. It’s good.
Gafford answers.
Holiday gets on the board, but there’s Gafford again with a putback dunk. He’s playing like he doesn’t want to lose his spot to Dereck Lively down the road.
Tatum makes a backdoor cut and scores to put the Celtics back in front.
Dončić makes another awkward move in the lane but draws the foul. He makes both free throws, and the lead changes hands again, like commercial real estate in the exurbs.
As in Game 2, it’s hard to see how the Celtics are in the position they’re in right now.
Dallas has a 23-17 rebounding edge, and they’re killing Boston inside in the absence of Porzingis.
Dallas has hit nearly 50% of their shots (47.7%), while Boston is barely over 40% (40.9%).
Holiday, White and Brown have combined to shoot 1-for-10 from 3-point range.
But Tatum has picked up the scoring slack. And Horford has hit a pair of 3s, while Hauser has hit three.
If you hit three 3-pointers and get two rebounds, is that a full house? If not, why not?
Celtics 50-51 Mavericks, halftime
Al Horford. Still going. He hits a corner 3.
Lively evades the Boston defense for a powerful dunk.
White misses – he’s 1-for-7.
Turnover Dallas, and Tatum makes the tough transition layup despite Lively’s presence.
Dončić misses – he’s 1-for-6 from 3-point range.
Washington gets two free throws. Misses one. Makes the second, and that’s your halftime margin.
Celtics 45-46 Mavericks, 2:29 left, 2nd quarter
Irving hits a long 3.
Brown misses a longer 3. Why’d he take that so soon?
Irving shuffles his feet and hits against. He’s 4-for-5 from 3-point range and has 20.
But Sam Hauser answers. He’s 3-for-3.
Dončić breaks his drought with a shot in the lane. Holiday breaks his drought, keeping the ball alive several times and finally grabbing a loose ball inside and scoring.
Timeout Dallas. Use ‘em or lose ‘em.
Celtics 40-38 Mavericks, 5:20 left, 2nd quarter
The review awarded possession to Boston. The Celtics miss, and Dončić drives but gets the ball swatted away by Tillman. Josh Green comes in to give him a break.
Irving goes 1-on-1 with Tillman and doesn’t succeed.
More misses here and there, but then Irving hits another 3.
Tatum hits another 3. He has 16.
Gafford gets a rebound and slams it home. Dallas is winning the dunk contest, but the game is tied.
Oops – Boston takes the lead. Tatum again. He has 18. But he has no help in this game.
Updated
Celtics 35-33 Mavericks, 7:57 left, 2nd quarter
Holiday kicks it out to White, who once again m… oh! He made this one! That’s his first.
Payton Pritchard, who made a memorable long 3 at the buzzer of the third quarter in Game 2, comes in but misses for Boston.
Dončić gets the ball swatted away. He’s credited with two turnovers but probably could have another one or two. The Dallas megastar is forcing it a bit.
We have a review. That means we have commercials.
Celtics 32-33 Mavericks, 9:08 left, 2nd quarter
Both teams return from the break with an apparent bout of amnesia as to the object of the game – putting the ball through a hoop. In fairness to Dallas, the Boston defense can make that rather difficult, and they force a shot clock violation. White answers with … an airball.
But Dallas can’t capitalize, and Brown races through the lane to take a feed from Horford. Celtics lead. Somehow.
And now they don’t, thanks to Irving.
Celtics 30-31 Mavericks, end 1st quarter
Brown misses … again. Dončić misses.
Hauser hits another shot! Hauser hits another shot!
Dončić misses a shot he shouldn’t have taken, with Tatum in his face. Then Tatum races down the court and takes a zip pass from Derrick White for the emphatic dunk.
Dončić has 13, but Tatum has matched him. Sam Hauser has 6 points for Boston, matching the combined output of Brown (4), Game 2 hero Holiday (2) and White (0, 0-for-3). I wonder how my rock-star friend Paul will find a way to blame the Celtics’ deficit on Tatum.
Celtics 25-29 Mavericks, 1:02 left, 1st quarter
Sam Hauser made a shot! Sam Hauser made a shot! And the lead is two.
Dončić makes it four. How is he doing this? I’m not sure enough is being said about the fact that he is clearly not not dinged up.
Tatum drives, gets fouled and hits two free throws. He has 11. His critics ask why he only has two rebounds.
Dante Exum drives and slams emphatically for Dallas. How’d that happen?
Celtics 20-25 Mavericks, 2:24 left, 1st quarter
So Tatum, held to virtually nothing through much of the first half of Game 2, already has 8 points this time. His critics will complain that he has no assists. If the backcourt on your team was 0-for-6 from 3-point range, would you pass to them?
Dončić and Irving each have 9.
Ads for two things I have no desire to watch – the latest in the A Quiet Place series and The Bachelorette. If I want to be that depressed, I’ll listen to my old Cure albums.
We’re back, and Irving misses badly.
USA and Brazil still tied 1-1 in stoppage time.
Brown swats away a desperate 3-point attempt with the shot clock running out for Dallas.
Dallas commits a defensive 3-second violation, and Tatum hits the free throw. Lead down to five.
Updated
Celtics 19-25 Mavericks, 3:23 left, 1st quarter
Brown is fouled and hits 2 of 3 free throws. The Celtics stayed in Game 2 early by converting at the line even while they couldn’t water if they fell out of a boat from the 3-point line.
Lively somehow draws the assignment to guard fellow former Duke player Tatum, and Tatum puts up an ill-advised 3 over the shot-blocking phenom.
Jaden Hardy misses for Dallas, and Brown scores for Boston.
Washington misses for Dallas, and Tatum gets a favorable roll on another 3-point attempt. Lead is down to six, and Jason Kidd calls timeout for Dallas.
Celtics 12-25 Mavericks, 4:48 left, 1st quarter
Tatum hits a 3. Dončić tries to answer but barely hits the rim. No matter – the Celtics once again miss from 3, and Irving takes advantage with a long one that drops neatly through the net.
Celtics 9-22 Mavericks, 5:35 left, 1st quarter
This is how Game 2 started. Dončić on fire despite laboring physically. Jayson Tatum not yet having an impact – remember, the People Who Declare Such Things On TV have decreed that if Tatum doesn’t lead the Celtics to an NBA championship, kids across the country should take down his poster and put up one of, I don’t know, Aaron Jones?
Horford hits a 3 and has all five of Boston’s first points. Daniel Gafford blocks a Tatum shot at the rim. Game 2 hero Jrue Holiday misses. Dončić and Brown miss long-range shots.
P.J. Washington tosses an alley-oop to Gafford. Holiday and Irving both miss, but then Holiday hits a tough shot on the baseline.
Dončić scores on a remarkably fluid drive – that’s 7 points for him already.
White misses – the Celtics are once again misfiring from outside.
Irving pushes the lead to 10. Tatum answers with a strong drive.
Dončić looks awkward this time and pushed off on Tatum but NBA officials never ever ever ever ever ever call fouls on offensive players, at least not if they’re considered good players, and the result is the same – 2 points, 9 total.
Brown turns it over for Boston. Dereck Lively gets inside, scores and is fouled. He hits the free throw.
My dog has to go out.
Celtics 2-9 Mavericks, 10:09 left, 1st quarter
Dončić scores again. Celtics call timeout.
Celtics 2-7 Mavericks, 10:35 left, 1st quarter
Al Horford barely contests the tipoff, and Dallas quickly go out in front with a Kyrie Irving layup. Horford hits a jumper at the other end, but Dončić hits a 3-pointer. Then it’s a turnover and a Dallas layup, and just as in Game 2, the Mavs are out in front early.
Tipoff … has happened.
Starters are the usual groups of five.
Quick reminder: Porzingis isn’t the only injured player in this series. Luka Dončić was clearly hobbling at times in Game 2, even as he kept hitting fadeaway jumpers on one leg.
Tipoff … eventually, I’m sure.
Justin Lyons is playing a Hendrix-infused guitar solo rendition of the national anthem. Don’t see that every day.
Never tell me the odds …
As far as I can tell, the Mavericks are slight favorites tonight at home. The spread is either 1.5 points or 2.5 points or 3.5 points, the Mavericks are even money or -145 to win, the Celtics are -120 but the moneyline says they’re +125.
Math education in this country must be better than people think, because gambling is complicated.
Elsewhere in the world at the moment …
Christian Pulisic has provided a free-kick equalizer for the US men against Brazil as they try to regain their confidence after that game against Colombia.
You might be able to catch the end of West Indies vs. New Zealand in the T20 Cricket World Cup after this game ends.
Roger Daltrey is performing a few miles away from me. I have no idea how people play rock shows at that age. I’m more than 25 years younger, and I’m wiped out after an hour on stage.
Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends …
The world has probably run out of jokes about how long the NBA playoffs run, but I’ll see if I can come up with any more.
“After such a long absence, can the NBA compete with the USA’s newfound love of cricket?”
“The breaks in this schedule are so long, all the players who only went to college for one year have their PhDs now.”
“Anyone who remembers the NBA regular season is collecting Social Security by now.”
Anyway – game time is allegedly 8:30 pm ET. What shall we chat about until then?
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s some injury news coming into tonight’s game:
Kristaps Porziņģis hasn’t played a game in Dallas since the Mavericks traded him two years ago, and now it is uncertain if he will play there in Game 3 of the NBA Finals for the Boston Celtics.
Porziņģis has a rare tendon injury in his lower left leg, which occurred in the third quarter of Boston’s 105-98 victory for a 2-0 series lead. The team said on Tuesday that he was day-to-day, and Porziņģis said he will do everything he can to play Wednesday night.
Asked if it was a pain-tolerance problem or if he could do more damage, Porziņģis said he didn’t know the specifics.
“That’s something I’ll leave in the medical staff’s hands to determine whether I can go or not,” he said. “Nothing is going to stop me unless I’m told I’m not to, or not allowed to play. That’s the only reason I would not be out there.”
The 7ft 2inch Latvian center has a tear in tissue that holds tendons in place. The Celtics said it was unrelated to the right calf strain that sidelined him for 10 consecutive playoff games before he returned last Thursday for the start of the NBA Finals.
You can read the full story below:
