Tag: Mavs

‘Fun’ key to Mavs’ bid for unprecedented NBA Finals comeback

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Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks reacts after fouling out in the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics in Game Three of the 2024 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center on June 12, 2024 in Dallas, Texas.   (Getty Images via AFP)

LOS ANGELES – Dallas superstar Luka Doncic says the Mavericks must set aside the enormity of the task facing them in the NBA Finals and get back to having fun if they are to mount an unprecedented comeback against Boston.
The Slovenian fouled out with just over four minutes remaining in game three on Wednesday and could only watch from the bench as the Celtics thwarted the Mavs’ late rally for a 106-99 victory and a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven championship series.
Dallas head into game four on Friday knowing no team has come back from 0-3 down to win an NBA playoff series.
If they are to become the first, Doncic said, they must forget their frustrations with the officiating, forget history and play the freewheeling game that saw them cut a 21-point deficit to one in the fourth quarter in game three.
“Go back to playing fun,” Doncic said of the message after Dallas studied the game three film on Thursday.
“We talk about how we come back from (21) points in the fourth quarter in the Finals. We were having fun. We were defending. We were running. Our pace was great. Just taking good shots.”
Doncic fouled out for just the third time in his career and for the first time in the post-season, but he’s made a habit of appealing to and arguing with game officials throughout his NBA career.
He’s said before it’s a habit he should break, and he admitted again on Thursday that complaining to game officials — sometimes to the detriment of his attention on the game in progress — was counter-productive since officials will always “have the last word”.
“I just really want to win,” Doncic said. “Sometimes I don’t show it the right way, but at the end of the day, I really want to win. I’ve got to do a better job showing it a different way.”
Doncic has been outstanding offensively in the Finals, averaging 29.7 points, nine rebounds and six assists over three games despite playing with a longstanding right knee sprain and sore left ankle and a painful chest injury sustained in game one that reportedly required pain-killing injections to allow him to play.
In the fourth quarter, however, he’s averaging 2.7 points and shooting just 20 percent from the field.
But Doncic has been ineffective on the defensive end, his weaknesses showcased in his sixth, disqualifying foul on Wednesday when he was whistled for a blocking foul as he tried to defend Jaylen Brown.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said Doncic needs to play smarter defensively and “understand that we’re there to protect him and help him if he does get beat.”
Star teammate Kyrie Irving — who won a title with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 — had the same message for first-time finalist Doncic.
“He’s not alone in this,” said Irving, whose shooting struggles in games one and two in Boston increased the load on Doncic. “He’s played as best as he can despite the circumstances, just injuries and stuff.
“He’s been giving it his all. It’s not all on him.”

Irving channeling 2016 as Mavs plot NBA Finals rally

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Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports)

DALLAS – Kyrie Irving is drawing from the experience of Cleveland’s 2016 NBA Finals comeback as he attempts to help dig the Dallas Mavericks out of an 0-2 hole against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
The Mavericks host their first game of the NBA Finals on Wednesday, desperate for victory after dropping the opening two road games of the best-of-seven series in Boston last week.
For Irving, the situation is eerily familiar to his experience with the Cavaliers eight years ago, when Cleveland went 2-0 down to the dominant Golden State Warriors before rallying and eventually winning the series 4-3 with victory in game seven.
Irving, who famously shot the game-winning three-pointer in the series decider against the Warriors in 2016, sees parallels between his past and present.
“It took a lot of will to win in 2016,” Irving said.
“We had time to fail together. We had time to go through our trials together. We lost in 2015.
“A lot of guys came back in 2016 and we won. So there was an inner motivation there. We also knew who we were going against, how well they played.”
Instead of being daunted by the challenge posed by the top-seeded Celtics, Irving wants his teammates to view their situation as “an opportunity to respond.”
“That’s all you can ask for in a basketball season,” he said.
“If you asked me in September or October, would I want a chance to be down 0-2 and having a chance to respond in Game 3 or be out of the playoffs, I think I would choose the former. It’s as simple as that.
“We’re the only teams left. This is about chess. That’s all it is.”
If the Mavericks are to haul themselves off the canvas, Irving knows he will need a more productive game after misfiring so far.
In games one and two against Boston, Irving scored a mere 28 points and was 13-of-37 from the floor, and 0-of-8 from three-point range.
“First thing is just accepting that I haven’t played well or up to my standards, as well as I would have liked,” Irving said.
Irving also believes that the scorelines from the first two games of the series don’t do Dallas justice.
“The margin of their victories hasn’t really displayed the full story in terms of the Celtics beating us,” Irving said.
“We just have to continue to lean in on each other, especially when it gets tough out there. We’re going against a great team.
“We know what we’re in for. But now we have to raise it to an even higher level, and it starts with me.”
Dallas coach Jason Kidd, meanwhile, hopes the home support can emulate the raucous atmosphere he experienced as a player in 2011 as a member of the Mavericks last championship-winning team.
“This is an incredible atmosphere,” Kidd said. “To win that championship in 2011, the city is incredible. They love their Mavs.
“To win it then and now to be here in 2024 is special because you don’t really get an opportunity to do that.
“I understand the opportunity that I have to be the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. It’s a dream come true.
“But we’re trying right now to figure out how to win one game, and that’s the next one tomorrow night.”

Mavs blow chance in Game 2, face even tougher road

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Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks reacts during the third quarter against the Boston Celtics in Game Two of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 09, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images/AFP

Game 2 provided Dallas with a huge chance.

The Mavericks could have flown back to Dallas with the home-court advantage in the NBA Finals. They could have tied the title series at a game apiece. They could have put the heavily favored Boston Celtics into what would have been their most precarious spot of the season.

Instead, they’re down 2-0 — and now the odds of pulling this off just got a whole lot longer.

They missed eight free throws, gave up 21 points off turnovers, didn’t take advantage of an uncharacteristic 3-point clankfest from the Celtics – 10 for 39 — plus wasted another big effort from Luka Doncic on a night where he battled through ankle, rib and knee issues and still did whatever he wanted. They were better than they were in Game 1. That said, they still weren’t good enough. Final score: Boston 105, Dallas 98, and the Celtics are now two wins away from what would be their record-setting 18th NBA championship.

“At the end of the day, they are better than all the teams we’ve played,” Dallas’ PJ Washington said. “It’s the finals, and we’ve just got to be better. … Their record says that they have been the best team all year. They have two superstars, they have a lot of great role players and they play team ball. So, we’ve just got to be better.”

READ: NBA Finals: Luka Doncic triple-double not enough for Mavericks

Or else.

The only path for Dallas to capture this title now is to win four of the next five games, against a team that hasn’t come close to losing four games in a five-game stretch at any point this season. The Celtics are 14-2 in these playoffs, 78-20 overall this season and the only way that their fingerprints aren’t on the Larry O’Brien Trophy before long is for them to come completely apart.

Which isn’t likely. Possible, sure. Likely, no.

“The journey to this point has been great, but we still know being up 2-0 means nothing,” said Celtics guard Jrue Holiday, who led Boston with 26 points in Game 2. “Job’s not done. We have to do whatever it takes.”

Doncic had the 50th known triple-double in NBA Finals history — 32 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists. He also had eight turnovers and went just 4 for 8 from the foul line, two reasons why he pointed the finger of blame directly at himself after the game.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to make some more shots,” Doncic said. “I think my turnovers and my missed free throws cost us the game. So, I’ve got to do way better in those two categories. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to make shots to win the game.”

READ: NBA Finals: Celtics hold off Mavericks for 2-0 lead

Dallas tied a season-low with six 3-pointers, but that wasn’t what the Mavericks should lament most when they review how the game went from beyond the arc. They were 11-1 in these playoffs when holding teams below 38% on 3s; make it 11-2 now, since Boston shot 25.6% in Game 2 and won. The Celtics aren’t likely to struggle that much from deep too often.

“Every game we lose, it’s a missed opportunity for us,” Doncic said.

Dallas was right there, which will make the loss hurt even more. It still took a pair of unlikely plays by the Celtics — a 34-foot, beat-the-clock 3-pointer by Payton Pritchard to end the third quarter, and a chasedown block by Derrick White in the final minute of the fourth on a play where it seemed like Washington got fouled on a dunk try — for Boston to wrap Game 2 up.

“That’s what Payton Pritchard does,” White said of the deep heave.

In the biggest moments, Boston found a way. That all said, it’s not over. Comebacks from 2-0 down in the NBA Finals aren’t unprecedented.

The last team to lead the finals 2-0 was Phoenix in 2021; the Suns didn’t win another game in that series against Giannis Antetokounmpo, Holiday and Milwaukee. Golden State led Cleveland 2-0 in 2016; Cleveland won in seven, something that Kyrie Irving will surely remind his Dallas teammates of now since he hit the 3-pointer that basically sealed that title for LeBron James and the Cavs. And nobody needs to tell Dallas that 2-0 leads guarantee nothing; the Mavericks had that lead against Dwyane Wade and Miami in 2006, the city was planning parade routes, and the Heat won the next four games for their first championship.

“We are not down,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “We’re positive. This is a group that believes. We didn’t get an opportunity to get a split or win two here on the road. Now Boston held serve. Now we’ve got to go home and hold serve.”

To his credit, he made it all sound very simple. But he knows the task is much harder now.

Mavs plan to get Celtics to fight among themselves

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Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, fornt, and Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving vie for the ball during the first half of Game 1 of basketball’s NBA Finals, Thursday, June 6, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

BOSTON — Jason Kidd couldn’t figure out how to stop the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Now he’s hoping they will get in their own way.

The Mavericks coach seemed eager to sow dissension in the Boston locker room on Saturday when he singled out Jaylen Brown as the Celtics’ best player — words transparently designed to irk Jayson Tatum, an actual NBA first-teamer who was sixth in the voting for the league’s MVP.

Asked during his off-day media availability about a game-plan to defend Brown, Kidd said, “Well, Jaylen’s their best player …” prompting reporters to perk up and wonder: Did he really say that? (It was the final question of his news conference, so there was no follow-up.)

Tatum said it won’t work.

READ: NBA Finals: Attitude, not environment, key for Mavericks in NBA Finals fightback

“We understand that people try to drive a wedge between us. I guess it’s a smart thing to do — or try to do,” Tatum said. “We’ve been in this position for many years, of guys trying to divide us and say that one of us should be traded, or one is better than the other. So it’s not our first time at the rodeo.”

On that, Brown agreed completely.

“We’ve been just extremely focused on what our roles and our jobs are. We have all had to sacrifice,” he said. “Right now, at this point, it’s whatever it takes to win. And we can’t let any outside interpretations try to get in between us.”

Drafted third overall in back-to-back years, Brown and Tatum have emerged as one of the NBA’s best duos, combining to lead the Celtics to the Eastern Conference finals five times in their seven seasons together. But even with the success — 64 wins this year, the league’s No. 1 overall seed, and a second trip to the NBA Finals — they have had to combat speculation that there wasn’t room in the locker room for both of them.

Although Tatum’s career numbers have been better, Brown is the highest-paid player in the league — a quirk of timing and age that gave him the first shot at a supermax contract extension that will earn him more than $300 million over five years. Brown also outplayed Tatum in the 2022 NBA Finals, was the MVP of this year’s conference finals and outscored Tatum 22-16 in the Game 1 victory over Dallas on Thursday night.

That may explain why Kidd said on Saturday — twice — that Brown was Boston’s main threat.

READ: NBA Finals: Celtics’ formula leaves Mavericks searching for solution

“Jaylen’s their best player,” the Mavericks coach said. “He did everything, and that’s what your best player does. Just understanding how to play both sides — defense and offense at a high rate — he’s been doing that the whole playoffs.”

But no one else seems to think so.

Tatum averaged 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists this season, and Brown averaged 23, 5.5 and 3.6. And even with Brown outscoring him in Game 1, Tatum’s numbers are also better in the playoffs so far. (And besides: The real star of the opener was Boston big man Kristaps Porzingis.)

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said he’s not worried about internal rivalries getting in his team’s way, as long as his players “focus on the truth.”

“What goes on in our locker room, how we communicate with each other, how we build relationships with each other and how we treat each other on and off the floor, that’s the most important thing,” he said.

The Mavericks have their own Big Two, with five-time All-NBA first-team guard Luka Doncic teaming up with Kyrie Irving to form an All-Star backcourt. Irving, who teamed with LeBron James to win the 2016 NBA championship in Cleveland even as they struggled to co-exist, said he tries not to pay attention to talk pitting him against his teammate.

“I’m just here to play basketball,” Irving said. “You’ve got to be selfless in your approach. Obviously, you’re not going to get it right all the time, but as a teammate, you just want to push those other things to the side that don’t really matter or get you better as a team. So we just leave it to everybody else to argue whose team it is and who has the most responsibility. It’s all our jobs to be prepared.”