DALLAS — For all the fretting over Kristaps Porzingis’ ailing legs, Jayson Tatum’s so-so shooting and the cakewalk that led them to the Finals, the truth of the Boston Celtics is this.
They are, once again, one win from an NBA championship.
The Celtics survived a 106-99 heart attack against the Mavericks in Game 3 Wednesday night and can complete a Finals sweep Friday in Dallas. The win was not without worry — a 21-point, fourth-quarter lead all but vanished within the span of five minutes — but Boston never trailed down the stretch. Jaylen Brown answered both Mavericks baskets that cut the Celtics’ lead to one possession during the final six minutes, including a pull-up foul-line jumper at 1:01 remaining.
Brown pocketed 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, trailing only Jayson Tatum’s team-high 31 points. Together, Boston’s stars not only overcame the loss of Porzingis but out-shone Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, who combined to score 62 and again faded in the fourth.
Doncic fouled out trying to take an ill-advised charge against Brown with 4:12 left in a must-win game and finished with 27 points, six rebounds and a matching six assists. The foul call survived a coach’s challenge, and while Irving nailed a pull-up on Dallas’ next possession to trail 93-92, Brown followed a missed Tatum floater to answer seconds later. Another bad Mavericks foul followed, this time an illegal P.J. Washington screen at mid-court, and Derrick White punished Dallas for its carelessness with an above-the-break 3 at 2:48 to play.
Two Irving free throws ensued, then a Tatum dunk and two more dunks from Dallas center Dereck Lively II that sandwiched a bad White turnover. The latter pulled the Mavericks within 100-98, but Brown again delivered with his answer from the line, rising up in isolation to rescue Boston with a bucket and a moment that will live in Celtics lore.
Once Dallas misfired on two more 3-pointers, one from Washington in the left corner and an Irving step-back on the right wing, Boston had the breathing room and margin for error its so desperately needed. Tatum and White both nailed two foul shots in the final minute to keep the Mavericks at arm’s length before celebrating on their court knowing history told them they would soon be champions.
No NBA team has ever overcome a 3-0 series deficit in the playoffs. Game 4 will tip off at 8:37 p.m. Friday night in Dallas.
Regardless of whether Porzingis returns from the tendon dislocation in his left ankle, the Celtics can take comfort in their bench play. Sharpshooter Sam Hauser was a game-best plus-16, notching nine points, three rebounds and an assist. Backup forward Xavier Tillman maximized his first Finals minutes, scoring three points around four boards and a couple blocks.
Powered by a raucous crowd, the Mavericks blitzed Boston with an opening 9-2 run that drew a Joe Mazzulla timeout less than two minutes after tipoff. Doncic made a point to hunt Tatum defensively, scoring seven points against his star counterpart within the first six minutes. His last basket stretched Dallas’ lead to 10 halfway through the quarter, at which point the Celtics started to settle in.
Brown canned a couple free throws, then Tatum downed a 3, and the Mavs called timeout. A minute later, Dallas’ lead shrunk again thanks to a Hauser 3-pointer, and Boston closed with consecutive transition buckets, both while Doncic sat on the floor bemoaning the lack of a foul call. First, Hauser splashed another 3, and Tatum slammed a dunk home with a second left to trail 31-30.
The Celtics paired that fast-break formula with a high rate of corner 3s to play the Mavericks to a draw over a hard-fought, low-scoring second quarter. Dallas continued to hurt them on the offensive glass without Porzingis, but suffered any time it let up in transition defense or couldn’t find shooters in the half-court. Like Game 2, Boston’s drive-and-kick offense whirred, but this time it generated made 3s, and Brown was at the controls.
Trailing 51-50 at halftime, the Celtics out-scored the Mavericks by 16 in the third quarter and led 91-70 with 11 minutes left after a White 3. Then, the game appeared to unravel, only for their stars to rescue them on basketball’s biggest stage and put Boston back again on the precipice of a title.