LOS ANGELES: Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks dominated Boston 122-84 on Friday to fend off elimination in the NBA Finals, denying the Celtics a sweep in the best-of-seven championship series.
Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half and Kyrie Irving added 21 for the Mavs, who snapped the Celtics’ 10-game playoff winning streak but still have a mountain to climb as they try to become the first team to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win an NBA playoff series.
Now down 3-1, Dallas will try to stop the Celtics from celebrating an 18th title when they travel to Boston for game five on Monday.
“Like I said at the beginning of the series, it’s first to four,” Doncic said. “We’re going to believe until the end.
“I have big belief in this team that we can do it, so we’ve just got to keep believing.”
Doncic, roundly criticized after game three when he fouled out with more than four minutes left and could only watch as the Mavs’ comeback bid fell short, was dialed in on the defensive end as Dallas held the Celtics to 36.2 percent shooting.
Boston star Jayson Tatum scored 15 points and Jaylen Brown had just 10 as the Mavs posted the third-largest margin of victory in NBA Finals history.
“Thought they played with a ton of energy and physicality,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said of the Mavericks. “And they are a great team, that’s the reason why they are here when they play like that.”
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 15 points off the bench for Dallas and 20-year-old rookie Dereck Lively added 11 — including his first career three-pointer — as the Mavs topped 100 points for the first time in the series.
Dallas handed Boston their first road defeat of these playoffs and ended their bid for the 10th 4-0 sweep in Finals history.
With Doncic and Irving leading the way, Dallas built a 34-21 first-quarter lead — the Mavs’ highest-scoring quarter of the series.
There was no let-up in the second, the Mavs dominating every facet of the game on the way to a 61-35 halftime lead.
Lively electrified the crowd at American Airlines Center with his three-pointer, followed by an alley-oop dunk on the next possession in the first period.
“I think our energy was way higher,” Doncic said. “Everybody was locked in (on the) defensive end.”
The Celtics, harried at every turn, made 14 of their 41 three-point attempts. They were out-scored 60-26 in the paint and out-rebounded 52-31 — Dallas’ dominance on the boards leading to a 16-2 edge in second-chance points.
“They did a great job flying around, making indecision on whether to shoot it or drive and their multiple efforts,” Mazzulla said. “And I thought their five men did a great job protecting the paint. Whenever we went in for a layup, they had multiple guys contesting.”
Doncic said it was the prospect of elimination more than criticism of defense that had him stepping up the intensity, forgoing his usual complaints to officials and letting his game speak for him.
Stripped by Jrue Holiday on a drive to the basket, Doncic dived for the loose ball and swatted it to Irving, who played it back to him for a layup.
Fouled on the play, Doncic made the free throw to put Dallas up 43-25 midway through the second quarter.
Mavs coach Jason Kidd — and Mazzulla — said Doncic was just his normal MVP-candidate self.
“There was not a different Luka out there,” Kidd said. “He’s great, he’s been great, he’s one of the best players in the world, as much as we want to criticize him, he’s a hell of a player.”
The Mavs were up 92-57 when Doncic and Irving checked out of the game to a standing ovation with 1:29 left in the third quarter, Irving offering Doncic a congratulatory embrace on the bench.
Mazzulla had already pulled his starters by then, their attention already turning to game five and their next chance to break out of a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for most NBA titles.
Mavericks humble Celtics 122-84 to stay alive in NBA Finals
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Mavericks humble Celtics 122-84 to stay alive in NBA Finals
- Luka Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half and Kyrie Irving added 21 for the Mavs
- Dallas will try to stop the Celtics from celebrating an 18th title when they travel to Boston for game five
Chelsea paid for costly errors in Arsenal defeat, says Rosenior
LONDON: Liam Rosenior admitted Chelsea paid the price for costly mistakes after Arsenal took advantage of his side’s blunders to win 3-2 in the League Cup semifinal first leg on Wednesday.
Rosenior’s team face a tough task to set up a final against either Manchester City or Newcastle following their error-strewn display in their new manager’s first home match.
Chelsea were guilty of sloppy marking for Ben White’s early headed opener before goalkeeper Robert Sanchez gifted striker Viktor Gyokeres Arsenal’s second goal after half-time.
Alejandro Garnacho got one back for Chelsea but Martin Zubimendi then netted for Arsenal after more lacklustre defending from Rosenior’s men.
Substitute Garnacho’s second goal gave Chelsea a glimmer of hope heading into the second leg at the Emirates Stadium in February.
“Disappointed to concede from a corner. Disappointed with the third goal as well because we were right back in the game and we were on top at that moment,” Rosenior said.
“We switched off from a restart from a central free-kick but I can’t fault the players.
“We need to make sure we perform well individually and we don’t concede as many goals.”
Rosenior was without a host of key players, including Cole Palmer, Reece James and Liam Delap, due to injuries and illness.
‘It’s another step’
In his second game since replacing Enzo Maresca as Blues boss, the 41-year-old took heart from the way Chelsea kept fighting to find a way back into the tie.
“We’ve had illness in the squad, we’ve picked up a few knocks this week but what the squad has shown is that they are willing to run and fight for each other,” he said.
Rosenior, who oversaw a 5-1 FA Cup third-round win at Charlton in his debut last weekend, refused to condemn Sanchez for the latest in a long line of shaky performances.
“Rob’s a very good goalkeeper. He made an outstanding save at 3-1 to keep us in the tie, so for me load of things to improve but the overall attitude of the team I liked,” Rosenior said.
“Hopefully, we get a few bodies back for Brentford on Saturday.”
Arsenal are now unbeaten in 10 games in all competitions as they moved a step closer to their first silverware since the 2020 FA Cup.
The Gunners had lost their previous four semifinals across a variety of competitions, including the League Cup last year.
Mikel Arteta was impressed with Arsenal’s ability to subdue Chelsea for long periods, but he was left to rue their failure to kill off their London rivals.
“I have to praise the players for the performance against a really good opponents. It’s a really tough place to come. That’s why I really value what the team has done again,” Arteta said.
“We had two massive chances to score the fourth one and the result would have been very different. At that moment they created a chance and scored a goal. So it is a very different feeling. It’s game on.”
As well as leading the Premier League, Arsenal are also still chasing Champions League and FA Cup glory.
But after so many last-four failures in the recent past, Arteta won’t take anything for granted.
“It’s another step. It’s just half-time. We know the big fight we are going to have at the Emirates in a few weeks because they are a top side,” he said.
“What we’re doing every three days is impressive.”
