BSJ Game Report: Celtics 106, Mavericks 99 - Tatum & Brown combine for 61, C's on precipice of a championship

DALLAS --Everything you need to know about the Celtics Game 3 win over the Mavs, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics fell behind by 13 early in the first quarter as the Mavs came out blistering hot and aggressive. But the Celtics chipped away, got 13 from Jayson Tatum, and answered to go into the second quarter down only one. Tatum and Kyrie Irving dueled to a standstill in the second to keep it a one-point game at halftime. Boston dominated the third, out-scoring Dallas 35-19 behind a monster quarter from Jaylen Brown. It got up to 21 early in the fourth but Dallas went on a 20-2 run to cut the lead to three. The teams went back and forth but Dallas was never able to tie the game. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Winning at all costs: This was not pretty after the lead touched 21. The Mavs played great, Boston settled for some shots, and things got out of control. Luckily for the Celtics, the Mavs missed some makeable shots, the defense stepped up, and Tatum and Brown found ways to make key plays down the stretch.

 “If you want to be a champion you have to be resilient in those moments,” Tatum said. “We showed that tonight.” 

It doesn’t matter how they got there. They got there to go up 3-0 in the Finals. This isn’t the time for nitpicking and hand-wringing.

- Jaylen Brown’s takeover: I had some halftime conversations with people about how Brown looked a little off in the first half. He more than made up for it in the second half. He had 15 points in the third quarter, nine in the fourth, including a pull-up jumper with a minute to go that basically sealed the win.

- One win away: Barring a catastrophe of historical proportions, the Celtics are going to win the NBA title. Let that sink in. They are on a 10-game winning streak in the freakin’ playoffs. They're 15-2. 

Kinda makes all the angst after Boston lost Game 2 against Miami look pretty silly, doesn’t it?

TURNING POINT

Brown’s jumper at the 1:01 mark and the subsequent defense finally shut the door. The jumper made it 102-98, part of a 6-1 finish to the game over the final minute.

THINGS I LIKED 

- Figuring out a way: I’m sure if this was earlier in the playoffs or during the regular season, attitudes would be different. But obviously right now it’s all about winning however they can. Frankly, this season has been full of wins like this … the so-called “they would have lost this game last year” games. They’ve been winning these kinds of games all season long, so it shouldn't be a surprise they pulled this one out.

- Xavier Tillman: I didn’t like the move to start and was pretty quickly proven wrong. Joe Mazzulla said he went with Tillman because of his experience playing against the Mavs during his years in Memphis. 

“I thought with that comfort level of playing against those guys for so long, he was going to be able to execute the things that we needed to execute,” Mazzulla said. “I thought he did a great job in our switching and did a great job in our screening, getting into our spacing. And that's what we talk about with those guys, is regardless of who is in, who is out, I trust the next man up because of the work they put in and the staff that prepares them.”

He ended up as a +9 on the night, including a huge 3-pointer in the third as part of a run to turn a one-point halftime deficit into a 21-point fourth-quarter lead.

“That big shot he made in the corner, I just knew it. I just knew when I drove, they were going to help, and he was going open,” Brown said. “I trusted it all the way. I just knew it was going in. I don't know how to tell you. It was just like a divine experience. I knew X was going to make that shot, and he did. That was big for us. I thought X was great.”

The Jays: They are the first Celtics teammates to each have at least 30/5/5 in the same playoff game. They were certainly complicit in the lead falling apart, but they also stepped up to preserve it when they needed to. 

Brown had another eight assists in this game. Tatum had six.

The game plan: It’s working to perfection. Luka Doncic and Irving combined for 62 points in this game, but Doncic only had two points in the fourth and Irving missed two jumpers in the final two minutes of the game. Boston is working them to the bone and watching the dividends roll in. Doncic especially has gotten sloppy in all three fourth quarters, totaling just eight fourth-quarter points in three Finals games and fouling out of this one. These guys were supposed to be the closers. 

Sam Hauser: Nice to see him hit 3-4 from 3. Kinda wish he got a few more looks when it was clear he was hitting.

Derrick White: Overcame a tough shooting first half by going perfect after halftime to drop 13 points over the third and fourth quarters.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

Nah, I’m not bothering with this section tonight. I’m unbothered in this situation.

HIGHLIGHTS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Math was the biggest winner

Both teams made 38 baskets. The Celtics shot 37% from 3 and Dallas shot 36%, so that was pretty close. Dallas only made one more free throw. And yet, Boston won by seven. 

And that's because Boston took 46 3-pointers and Dallas took 25. So even though the Mavs were 29-61, just under 50% from 2, Boston hit 17 3-pointers and Dallas hit nine. That's eight more points than Dallas, minus the one extra free throw they hit. 

That's math at work. That's why so much of what Mazzulla preaches offensively tilts toward the 3-point line. 

There will be some nights where chasing that math is ugly, and talking about basketball in terms of math can be unsettling, but the goal is to win. And this is how you win in 2024.

- It’s fun to watch the Joe Mazzulla narrative shift

People were still firing Mazzulla in February and March. He was called a liability when the clearly disinterested Celtics dropped a couple of games in Atlanta. 

All the while, I sat here and told people he was a good coach who had his team’s attention and everything they accomplished this season was a testament to that. 

Well, now people are finally starting to come around, and I say better late than never. 

Every single player on this team has found a way to praise Mazzulla in these Finals. Derrick White flat-out said Mazzulla is a basketball genius. Tatum’s quote was more gushing: 

“One thing where I truly do appreciate Joe, aside from being I think an excellent coach, is that I truly do believe that he cares about us, our team as individuals, obviously myself, the conversations that we have.

“He always, through the season, the summertime, obviously through this postseason, has had days where he's called me, called me into his office. Not necessarily talk about X's and O's, but check on me as a person, how I'm dealing with everything.

“That does mean a lot for somebody to take time out of his day to show that compassion or whatever, just know that he's there for me. That relationship between yourself and a coach is important. That's something I truly value about the relationship that me and Joe have.”

One thing I’ve said about Mazzulla is that you can’t win until you win. Well, Joe is winning. 

Next up: Game 4 is Friday night at the American Airlines Center