BOSTON Celtics nearly wasted a 21-point lead before holding off to a 106-99 win over Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
After building their largest lead at 91-70 on back-to-back triples by Jaylen Brown and Derrick White early in the fourth quarter, the Celtics were stunned by a huge Mavericks run that cut the deficit to 92-93 on a Kyrie Irving basket.
The Celtics responded with conversions from Brown, White, and Jayson Tatum to extend the lead to 100-94, but the Mavericks made their last run at 98-100 on back-to-back baskets from Dereck Lively II.
Brown, however, converted a perimeter basket to make it 102-98 with a minute left before White and Tatum sealed the victory for the Celtics by nailing two free throws each.
Tatum top-scored with 31 points, to go with six rebounds, five assists, and a steal as the Celtics moved closer to their record 18th NBA title after taking an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Brown added 30 markers, eight rebounds, and eight assists, while White chipped in 16 points, including four three-pointers, for the Celtics, which can wrap up the series in Game 4 on Friday night (Saturday in the Philippines).
The Mavericks had a strong start to lead by 12 points in the opening quarter, but the Celtics slowly clawed their way back behind Tatum and Sam Hauser to cut the deficit to 30-31.
Both teams traded leads in the second quarter, but Dallas took a slim 51-50 halftime advantage courtesy of late conversions from Irving and Luka Doncic.
Boston started to pull away in the third quarter behind Tatum and Brown as they took an 85-70 lead before widening it to as high as 21 points early in the fourth period.
Irving top-scored for the Mavericks with 35 points, Doncic added 27 markers before fouling out with three minutes left, while PJ Washington and Lively ended with 13 and 11, respectively./PN
BOX SCORE:
BOSTON 106 — Tatum 31, Brown 30, White 16, Hauser 9, Holiday 9, Horford 8, Tillman 3, Pritchard 0.
DALLAS 99 — Irving 35, Doncic 27, Washington 13, Lively 11, Gafford 6, Green 3, Jones 2, Exum 2, Kleber 0, Hardy 0, Hardaway 0.
Quarterscores: 30-31, 50-51, 85-70, 106-99.
