Less than a minute into the last quarter of the third game of the NBA playoffs finals, and the home crowd of Dallas was leaving the hall - Boston was leading by 21 points - 91:70, but the Mavericks were home to one of the most incredible comebacks, if only the Celtics weren't those who had a "home" trial and celebrated with 106:99.
Boston took a 3:0 lead in the series, and no team has ever managed to squander that in the history of the NBA, so the "greens" are smiling at a record 18th title.
Dallas, after a point advantage at halftime and excellent games by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, completely "fell" in the third quarter when Jaylen Brown took over the role of leader from Jayson Tatum and involuntarily "buried" the Mavericks' basket for a 15-point advantage before the decisive 12 minutes - 85 :70,
Two quick three-pointers at the very beginning of the last quarter led Boston to + 21 (91:70), and then Jason Keys took a time-out, and Doncic and Irving repeatedly received help from teammates Washington and Liveli, so Dallas had an attack when Doncic penetrated that already halfway through the fourth section, he came close to all the points behind. The referees overlooked the right elbow to the body of Dončić by Tate, but on the other hand, they gave the Slovenian superstar three fouls that are no longer judged even in Europe. In the third (sixth overall), Jaylen Brown ran into Doncic, Kidd was looking for a challenge, but...
The game was over there, but the home team "held on" until 2,32 minutes to the end, and Dončić earned six fouls and was sent off for the first time in the playoffs.
Finally, Irving played well against his former club, he was the most effective player of the game with 35 points scored (three rebounds, two assists), while Dončić scored 27 (six rebounds and six assists). However, once again it was shown that Boston's main strength is a large number of quality players. The most effective player was Jayson Tatum with 31 points, but he was almost absent in the attack of the second half. The key role was assumed by Braun, who scored a point less, with eight rebounds and assists. White scored 16 points, as well as a three-pointer, along with five rebounds and four assists.
Derrick Lively scored 11 points with 13 rebounds for Dallas from the bench, and PJ Washington also scored in double figures with 13 points and eight rebounds thanks to a good game in the finish.
The fourth, possibly final match will be played on June 15 at 2,30:XNUMX in the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Bonus video:
