[ad_1]
Key events
Celtics 9-10 Mavericks, 6:44 left, 1st quarter
Tatum drives and is fouled. He hits both free kicks.
Doncic dived into the lane and somehow managed to get a shot over Horford.
Brown and Doncic trade baskets. Doncic now has 6. He got off to a fast start in the last few games, then slumped. And in Game 3, foul.
Missed long shots.
Irving drives, Tatum gets blocked (perhaps with some contact). Lively rebounds, Horford definitely makes some contact.
This time, Irving drives and finishes, and the Mavs lead.
Doncic commits foul #1 on the other end and we’re in our first timeout.
Celtics 5-4 Mavericks, 9:45 left, 1st quarter
Tatum drives, but is well protected.
Instead, the first scorer for the evening is Kyrie Irving. Then Luka Doncic.
But before we see a repeat of the last few games where Dallas jumped out to an early lead, Brown makes a layup and Tatum makes a 3.
Celtics 0-0 Mavericks, 11:59 left, 1st quarter
We started.
Reminder: I’m accepting suggestions for matching movie characters with Celtics or Mavericks players.
I don’t know why, but I’m starting to imagine Doncic as Han Solo. Would Irving be Obi-Wan? Yoda? Or, given the fact that he’s switched sides several times in his career, Anakin?
The curious stat ESPN focused on: Boston has yet to lose a road game in the playoffs this year. They lost twice at home.
No wonder they are favored in this one.
Luka Doncic heads the ball. Planning a trip to Euro 2024?
Hint after 18 minutes. Allegedly.
Preamble
Kyrie Irving is Deadpool to Luka Doncic’s Wolverine, writes Andrew Lawrence in the highly recommended story linked below.
So which fifth division English football team will buy Irving?
For that matter, which movie characters are the Celtics? Maybe Jason Tatum as Batman, who always wants to prove he belongs in the superhero pantheon despite public skepticism? Or would that make him one of the Ghostbusters? Would Jrue Holiday be Reed Richards so his wife – Football Hall of Famer Lauren Holiday – would be Sue Storm? Wouldn’t Sue Bird be Sue Storm because she played for the Seattle Storm, which would make Megan Rapinoe… Okay, I don’t know enough about the expanded cinematic universes to make that work.
Breaking news: Kristaps Prozingis could play tonight. Well maybe.
Joe Mazzula says Kristaps Porzingis is available, but he “will only be used on certain occasions if needed.”
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) June 14, 2024
What “specific cases” would these be? Maybe if Boston has a chance to close things out and sweep this series in Game 4 tonight? They’d certainly like to keep him around for Game 5 … if necessary. Or game 6 … if necessary. Or game 7…
That couldn’t happen, could it? Don’t tell Boston fans that. Superstition weighs heavily on the minds of this city’s supporters, the result of more than 80 years between World Series victories, with many defeats plucked from the jaws of victory. And if you believe in karma or luck, then Boston should be nervous knowing that the only team in Major League Baseball to win after going 0-3 any kind the playoff series is… the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who ended the Curse and won the Series.
No one has ever come back from 0-3 down in a game NBA playoff series. The last team to force a Game 7 was… let’s see this…
Wait a minute…
The Boston Celtics.
Last year.
And then they lost Game 7 at home.
Sports are weird.
Bo will be here shortly. Meanwhile, here’s Andrew Lawrence on Kyrie Irving’s streak so far:
Late in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night, the Dallas Mavericks were on edge. They nearly overcame a 21-point deficit to come within three points of the Boston Celtics. Then Luka Doncic, the Mavs’ superstar scorer, fouled out — his first in a playoff game.
That left Kyrie Irving, Deadpool to Doncic’s Wolverine, to carry the day. And when he scored Dallas’ next four points, including an 18-foot jumper that cut Boston’s lead to one, it looked like the Mavericks might really make this series a contest. But it was not to be. Boston is just too good and too tough. the result, a 106-99 Celtics win on Dallas’ home floor, put the Mavericks in an 0-3 series hole, a gap from which no NBA team has come back. And it came just as Irving, who scored a game-high 35 points, had two quiet games to start the streak.
This NBA season has been notable for Irving’s deafening silence in the face of endless opportunities to speak his mind. Forget the wars going on around the world and the protests on American campuses. Irving kept things low as LeBron James, Irving’s starter, won the championship he seemed eager to get out oftook to his podcast days before the finals to say how much he missed playing with “the most talented player the NBA has ever seen.”
And there are signs that Irving is a much better teammate these days. After Wednesday’s loss to the Celtics, his first thoughts were about Doncic.
“You just have to let him breathe a little bit,” Irving said of what he wanted to say to his colleague. “Let human emotions come out. Just hug him. That’s it, man. It’s easy to point the finger at him, to say, “You can be better.” That’s easy to say. I think he knows that. But, yes, I repeat I have his back, we all have his back.
You can read the full story below:
[ad_2]
