The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, and they now face a costly 0-3 series deficit heading into Game 4.
The two teams played evenly through much of the first half, but the Boston Celtics gained a large lead in the second half and withstood a huge run from the Mavericks to secure the major victory.
The Mavericks started out attacking the Celtics, opening the game with a 9-2 lead and forcing Boston to take an early timeout with 10:12 left in the first quarter.
Dallas took their largest lead after just four more minutes of action, taking a 22-9 lead following an and-one from center Dereck Lively II with 5:48 left in the quarter.
Boston went on a quick 7-0 run as they cut the Mavericks’ lead to 25-23 following a 10-0 run in a little over two minutes, as the Mavericks took a timeout to slow the momentum with 2:24 remaining in the quarter.
The first quarter ended with the Mavericks maintaining a slim 31-30 advantage, as Boston forward Jayson Tatum made a last-second dunk to end the first 12 minutes of action.
Mavericks guard Luka Doncic finished the quarter with 13 points, three rebounds, and three assists, with guard Kyrie Irving contributing nine points and making four of his seven shot attempts.
The Celtics opened the second quarter and quickly took their first lead of the game, as forward Jaylen Brown made a layup to give them a 32-31 lead less than two minutes into the quarter.
Neither team shot efficiently in the first half of the quarter, as the two combined to score only 10 points in the first six minutes.
Irving quickly got going near the end of the quarter, scoring or assisting on eight straight points for Dallas as the team took a 44-40 lead with 3:41 left in the half following two straight three-point field goals.
Dallas went into halftime with a 51-50 lead after both teams scored just 20 points in the second quarter. The Mavericks shot 47.7% from the field, and the Celtics made 40.9% of their field goal attempts.
Doncic finished the half with 17 points, while Irving put up 20 points and shot 8-14 from the field, including 4-5 from three-point range.
The second half of the game began with Doncic attacking the Celtics’ defense, but the Celtics made six straight shot attempts to take a 64-59 lead with 8:44 left in the quarter.
Boston’s hot shooting continued as they took a 78-65 lead after back-to-back three-point jump shots with 2:14 left in the game.
This lead continued to grow in the game’s final minutes, with Brown making a thunderous dunk in the closing seconds to give the Celtics an 85-70 lead going into the last period.
The fourth quarter started poorly for the Mavericks. They gave up two three-point jump shots as the Celtics took a 91-70 lead, forcing Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd to take a timeout less than a minute into the action.
A quick 10-0 run from the Mavericks over a two-minute span cut Boston’s lead to just 11 points and forced the Celtics to take a timeout to regroup and slow Dallas’ momentum.
Dallas continued to cut the lead down as the team came out of the timeout and went on another 10-2 run following three straight free throws by Irving. They trailed 93-90 with 6:11 remaining in the game.
Doncic fouled out of the game after picking up his sixth foul with 4:12 remaining, as the Celtics began a slight run to extend their lead to 100-94 with 2:17 left in the game.
Boston managed to sneak away with a win despite the Mavericks’ run. The Celtics ended the game with multiple clutch jump shots and free throws to secure a 106-99 win.
Doncic finished the game with 27 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while Irving had his best game of the series as he poured in 35 points and shot 13-28 from the field.
The Mavericks now trail 0-3 in the NBA Finals and will look to be the first team in NBA history to come back from a deficit this large. Game 4 will take place in the American Airlines Center on Friday at 7 p.m.