The Boston Celtics visited the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals Wednesday night. Boston held court at home, winning the first two games of the series.
A win Wednesday evening would pretty much put this series on ice. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit to win a best-of-seven in the NBA Playoffs.
Unfortunately for Dallas, it just did not have an answer against what is a better Celtics team. The Mavericks lost at home by the score of 106-99 with them getting no help behind Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown did their thng for Boston. Here is a look at 10 winners and losers from Boston’s seven-point victory.
Winner: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Tatum had not necessarily done much scoring in the NBA Finals heading into Wednesday night. That included scoring 16 in Game 1 and 18 in Game 2. His overall game was good. But the scoring just wasn’t there. That changed big time in Game 3. Tatum dropped 31 points on 11-of-26 shooting, taking it upon himself to give the Celtics a 3-0 stranglehold on the series. With Kristaps Porzingis (knee) injured, it was needed.
Loser: Tim Hardaway Jr., Dallas Mavericks
This veteran wing has been pretty much out of Dallas’ rotation throughout the postseason. But with the team struggling shooting from distance in the NBA Finals (25%), head coach Jason Kidd opted to give Hardaway Jr. minutes. It did not pay off. In 19 minutes of action, Hardaway Jr. scored zero points on 0-of-5 shooting. It continued to be a glaring issue for the Mavericks on Wednesday. In short, their second team has been badly outplayed by Boston.
Winner: Al Horford, Boston Celtics
With Porzingis sidelined to injury in Game 3, the Celtics knew that they needed this veteran to continue playing at a high level. Horford was more than up to the task. He hit on 2-of-5 from three-point range, scoring eight points while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out two assists.
Loser: Derrick White, Boston Celtics
White came through big time in the first two games of the NBA Finals, averaging 16.5 points while hitting on 7-of-18 from three-point range. It’s something we saw from the guard at times throughout the postseason. That was not what we saw initially. While White did hit two big three-pointers as the Celtics went on a run, he struggled early (1-of-7 shooting in the first half). In the end, it really didn’t matter.
Winner: Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Dealing with a plethora of injuries, Doncic was initially questionable for Game 3 of the NBA Finals. But there was no way he’d miss this must-win game. He more than answered the call for Dallas, scoring 27 points on 11-of-27 shooting. Doncic added six rebounds and six assists in the losing effort. These three losses are not on him. It’s just that Dallas lacks the necessary depth to compete with Boston. That came out in droves Wednesday night, too.
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Loser: Maxi Kleber, Dallas Mavericks
Kleber just has not found his mark since returning from injury. In the first two games of the NBA Finals, the big man scored a combined two points in 35 minutes of action. He was no better Wednesday evening, scoring all of zero points in eight minutes of action. Dallas also found itself minus-13 with Kleber on the court. That’s just not going to cut it.
Winner: Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
After averaging 21.5 points in the first two games of the series, Brown took a back seat to Jayson Tatum in Game 3 before hitting his stride late. Brown hit on 12-of-22 from the field, scoring 30 points. He added eight rebounds and eight assists in playing the role of a distributor. There really isn’t any thing this underrated player can’t do. He proved that in more ways than one as the Celtics took a commanding 3-0 series lead.
Loser: Josh Green, Dallas Mavericks
We focused on Green after he scored just two points in 20 minutes of action in Game 1. Sure, the Mavericks value his defense. But they needed to get more scoring off the bench if the team was to make this a series. That did not happen in Game 3. Green scored three points in 22 minutes of action. He attempted just two shots. That lack of aggressiveness doomed Dallas in a big way. And it’s one of the primary reasons the team is one loss from being swept.
Winner: Jrue Holiday, Boston Celtics
After dropping 26 points in Game 2, Holiday was back to playing his traditional point guard role Wednesday evening. He scored nine points on 4-of-9 shooting, adding four rebounds and five assists. His ability to control tempo on offense while playing elite-level defense has been a major difference maker in the NBA Finals.
Loser: P.J. Washington, Dallas Mavericks
Consistently inconsistent. That’s the best way to describe what we’ve seen from Washington thus far in the postseason. Some games have seen him come out shooting and dominating from beyond the arc. That was not the case when Dallas needed it the most in Game 3. He hit on just 3-of-8 shots. You can’t lack aggressiveness when being relied on as another scoring option. Unfortunately, that happened Wedneday evening.
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