Celtics survive Mavericks comeback to take 3-0 lead

Despite a nightmare fourth quarter that nearly saw them squander a 21-point lead, the Boston Celtics are one game from winning a record 18th NBA championship.

Boston held off a spirited comeback attempt from the Dallas Mavericks to collect Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals 106-99 and take a 3-0 lead, all but putting the series away in front of the American Airlines Center crowd. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit.

Game 4 is arranged Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Dallas (ABC).

The Mavericks entered the match with some reason for hope after Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis, one of Boston’s best players in Games 1 and 2, was ruled out for the game due to a “rare” injury. That absence appeared to hurt Boston early on, as Dallas hammered the paint as it took an early 22-9 lead.

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As they have many times this postseason, the Celtics quickly regrouped. They chipped away at the deficit until its was only one point by the end of the first quarter and played Dallas to a tie in the second quarter.

Then came the third quarter, when the bottom fell out for the Mavericks. Just as Dallas stars Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving started to tire, the Celtics hit them with a barrage of 3-pointers to take a commanding lead in the second half.

It could have been over from there, but the Mavericks responded with a 22-2 run over the course of nearly eight minutes to cut the deficit to one. The blow that stifled that frenetic comeback ended up coming via whistle, when Dončić fouled out of the game with about four minutes left.

It was the first time Dončić had fouled out all season, and in his postseason career.

Without Dončić, the Mavericks fell just short of pulling off the comeback. And now they need to mount an even bigger comeback for the series.

Dončić exited with 27 points, six assists and six rebounds, while Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 35 points on 13-of-28 shooting. The Mavericks have relied on their two-man game for much of the playoffs, but it was the Celtics’ duo that made the bigger difference overall.

Both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each had their first 30-point games of the series. Tatum had 31 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Brown came on strong in the second half to posted 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Here’s how it all played out, with Yahoo Sports NBA experts Jake Fischer, Vincent Goodwill and Dan Devine explaining every swing of Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

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