Associated Press| The Detroit News
Dallas — Luka Doncic winced ever so slightly as he stepped onto the stage to address reporters a day after his Dallas Mavericks fell behind Boston 3-0 in the NBA Finals.
A rough first finals for the 25-year-old superstar, no doubt – an injury-filled postseason punctuated by fouling out for the first time in his playoff career, thanks to a four-foul fourth quarter in a 106-99 loss to the Celtics in Game 3.
Near the end of six seasons filled with comparisons to LeBron James, here's another for Doncic. Just like the player he idolized as a teenager, Doncic is on the verge of having to weather failure on basketball's biggest stage before getting more chances to experience the ultimate success.
“I didn’t really study the first finals of some people,” Doncic said Thursday, the eve of Game 4 in Dallas with the Celtics on the verge of an 18th championship, which would break a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in the NBA.
Doncic did remember the first Eastern Conference finals – two, actually – for Michael Jordan in Chicago a generation ago.
“Obviously, there’s the story of MJ against Detroit,” the five-time All-Star said. “That was a big thing. I think he just learned from it. You’ve got to go through lows first to go on top. I think that’s great experience.”
After finally breaking through against the Pistons, Jordan won the title in his first trip to the NBA Finals in 1991, the start of a 6-0 run in the title series over an eight-season span.
Doncic is at risk of the same fate in his first finals as James, who was swept with Cleveland against San Antonio in 2007. James lost again with Miami – against Dallas, no less – in 2011 before winning back-to-back titles with the Heat.
Asked if he thought his game could improve in the offseason, Doncic said, “Oh, definitely, a lot of holes,” before reiterating he would learn plenty from his first finals. Then he paused.
“But we're not in the offseason yet,” Doncic said. “They've still got to win one more game. Like I said, we're going to believe until the end.”
The end is near for Dallas because Doncic didn't get enough help from co-star Kyrie Irving in the first two games, or from his supporting cast in any of the first three.
Still, the Slovenian sensation has had his own difficulties, particularly in Game 3. The Celtics relentlessly targeted Doncic's defense, which has been solid to good overall in these playoffs.
The four fouls came so quickly in the fourth quarter, his sixth forced a challenge that Dallas lost with 4:12 remaining. The Mavs were on a 20-2 run when Doncic was disqualified, and scored again to get within a point before Boston held on to avoid blowing a 21-point lead with 11 minutes remaining.
With a long history of complaining to officials, Doncic made a point earlier in the playoffs to go back to having fun. He's had trouble sustaining it, and didn't have kind words for the refs after fouling out in regulation for the first time in his career.
“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 is 3 for 3 on miserable fourth quarters in the finals, with more turnovers (four) than baskets (three) and zero 3-pointers. Before the rare foul-out (the third of Doncic's career), he sat most of the fourth with the Celtics comfortably in front in Game 1.
Dallas' best closer hasn't been closing in this series, and added a chest contusion to a postseason litany of ailments that included a sprained right knee and a sore left ankle.
Although the chest injury – sustained in Game 1 – was the only one on the latest injury report, it's significant enough that Doncic confirmed to ESPN the network's report that he had been taking a pain-killing injection by acknowledging he would probably have another one before Game 4.
“My message to him is he’s not alone in this,” said Irving, who bounced back from a sluggish offensive start to the series with 35 points in Game 3. “He’s played as best as he can despite the circ*mstances, just injuries and stuff. He’s been giving it his all. It’s not all on him.”
The spotlight in still on him, just as it was for Jordan in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and James before the first of his four titles nearly 20 years ago.
“I think the history is there for us to learn from, when you look at great players and the struggles,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “But the great ones, they use that going into the next season or the next couple seasons to try to get back there because now they understand experience is a big thing.”
Doncic won't do that until this season is officially over.
Celtics on the brink of an 18th title
It's over. That's what the numbers say. There will be a record-setting 18th championship for the Boston Celtics to celebrate soon, maybe very soon. They have a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals, a lead that has never been wasted in any NBA series, ever.
The stats are absolute.
The Celtics, to their credit, are taking nothing for granted.
On perhaps the next-to-last day of the NBA's 78th season, the Celtics – who could finish off the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 on Friday night – were desperately trying to keep things as close to business as usual as could be expected, given that the team's first title in 16 years is now just one win away.
“At the end of the day we’re the most vulnerable in this,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, who, at 35, could be the youngest coach to win a title since Bill Russell won one as a player-coach for Boston in 1969. “So, we have to remain with a sense of urgency. We have to have an understanding of our environment. We have to know that we’re just as vulnerable as anybody else in this situation, and how we handle that will determine our fate.”
His point: Don't let up. A team that has gone 79-20 in its first 99 games of the season – on pace for the second-best single-season record in Celtics history – would likely be wise to keep doing what's worked all year, one more time.
“Either you survive or you don't,” said Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, repeating something Mazzulla told the team earlier Thursday. “That resonates with me.”
It might seem puzzling that it's the Celtics – the team up 3-0 – talking about survival and vulnerability. The reality is, obviously, that it's the Mavericks who are backed into the corner that no NBA team has ever successfully escaped from.
They're 0-5 against Boston this season. They've been outscored nearly 2-to-1 from 3-point range in this series. They saw a 13-point lead turn into a 21-point deficit on their home floor in Game 3. It's hard to find the proverbial silver lining right now, though the Mavs insisted they still have hope.
“We’re not in the offseason yet,” Mavericks star Luka Doncic said. “They’ve still got to win one more game. Like I said, we’re going to believe until the end.”
There were no concession speeches from the Dallas side on Thursday, no outward signs of surrender whatsoever. But there was an understanding of how tall this mountain – down 0-3 – is to climb, and how nobody in the NBA has managed to scale it.
Boston came close last year, rallying from a three-game deficit to force a Game 7 at home against Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals, only to lose. And that came after the Celtics lost the 2022 NBA Finals to Golden State, that series ending in Boston as well. Those were learning experiences. These finals will be one as well for the Mavs.
“When you look at the Celtics, they lose to the Warriors two years ago. They lose to Miami in Game 7 (last season). So, it's just experience of understanding that you’re not promised to get back, that you’ve got to work,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “You see the group that is out there today. They know how to play. They’re a really good team.”
By Friday night, they could be a championship team.
The only way for the Celtics to lose this series, obviously, is if they lose the next four games. Never mind the stat about how teams with 3-0 series leads in a best-of-seven series are unbeatable – 156 teams have gone up 3-0, 156 teams have eventually prevailed in that series. Consider this one instead – the last time the Celtics lost four consecutive games in the same season was in May 2021, two coaching changes and a whole slew of roster turnover ago.
“I think from our experiences over the past couple of years, the thing that we’ve really gotten a lot better at is not relaxing, not being complacent. From game to game or series to series, we always want more,” Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said. “Maybe in recent years we took things for granted at some points or were happy to make it to certain rounds, where (now) we’re not satisfied. Even now up 3-0, nobody is celebrating or anything. We still feel like there’s a lot more that we can do. There’s a lot more that we want to do.”
There's really only one thing left for this Celtics team to do. One more win and Banner 18 – one that'll break the tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most championships in NBA history – will finally be secured.
Mazzulla doesn't care when it happens, just that it happens.
“There’s four rounds left in this fight,” he said. “And however long it takes, whatever it takes, we’ll see how it goes.”
Silver understands Clark decision
As a basketball fan, Adam Silver would have loved to have seen Caitlin Clark on the U.S. Olympic women's team for this summer's Paris Games.
As NBA Commissioner, he understands why it didn't happen.
Clark was not selected for the team that was announced by USA Basketball earlier this week, a decision that has sparked conversations within the game. The rookie for the WNBA's Indiana Fever has been perhaps the most scrutinized player in the league this season, and Silver has said he's rooting for her.
“From my standpoint – and I'm independent from USA Basketball, somebody whose job is to oversee the NBA and ultimately the WNBA – I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed, but it would have been nice to see her on the floor," Silver said Thursday. “There’s no question that she’s one of the most popular players at this point in the world. The ratings demonstrate that.”
That was Silver, the fan, talking. Silver, the basketball executive, understood the mandate USA Basketball had – come up with 12 women that would have the best chance of winning yet another Olympic gold medal.
“My mandate is a bit different than USA Basketball’s,” Silver said. “My job is to get more people to watch and love basketball. USA Basketball has a very specific mandate about fielding the best possible team from a competitive standpoint, and I accept that they all did their jobs the way they were instructed to.”
Through her first 13 WNBA games, Clark – the league's rookie of the month for May – is averaging 16.3 points, 6.0 assists and 4.9 rebounds. She's one of two players with at least those averages entering Thursday; Las Vegas' Jackie Young is at 16.9 points, 6.7 assists and 5.0 rebounds.
Silver said he's certain Clark is “going to have a great career ahead of her.”
“I’m sure there’ll be lots of opportunities for her to represent our country," Silver said.
Exclamation point?
A win for Boston on Friday night would give the Celtics not just a championship, but the most emphatic season-ending exclamation point in NBA history.
Boston enters Game 4 against Dallas on a 10-game winning streak, having won the last three games against Cleveland in Round 2, sweeping Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals and now taking the first three games of this series.
No team in NBA history has gone on such a streak – not even close – to cap off a championship season. Detroit won the final seven games of its 1989 title year and six teams (Golden State in 2018, San Antonio in 2007, the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002, Houston in 1995, the Warriors in 1975 and Milwaukee in 1971) finished championship years on six-game winning streaks.
The longest such end-of-season streak for a title-winning Celtics team was five games, in 1959.
Maybe it’s a Boston thing to end a season in such a way. The Bruins, Red Sox and Patriots have all had similar runs on their way to titles.
There have been two teams in Major League Baseball history to finish a championship season on eight-game winning streaks – the 2005 Chicago White Sox and the 2004 Red Sox.
In the NHL, two teams have gone on double-digit winning streaks to cap their runs to the Stanley Cup: the 1992 Pittsburgh Penguins (who won 11 straight games) and the 1970 Bruins (who won their last 10).
And in the NFL, the longest end-of-season winning streak by a Super Bowl winner is 17 games by the perfect-season 1972 Miami Dolphins – but the No. 2 streak to end a season is 15 in a row by the 2003 Patriots.
Up 3-0
This is the 12th time a team has had a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals. All but two of those previous matchups ended in Game 4.
The Celtics are bidding for the 10th four-game sweep in NBA Finals history and the first since Golden State swept Cleveland in 2018.
The other sweeps in the title series: San Antonio over Cleveland in 2007, the Los Angeles Lakers over New Jersey in 2002, Houston over Orlando in 1995, Detroit over the Lakers in 1989, Philadelphia over the Lakers in 1983, Golden State over Washington in 1975, Milwaukee over Baltimore in 1971 and the Celtics over the Minneapolis Lakers in 1959.
Two teams have gone down 3-0 and avoided a sweep. Seattle forced Chicago to six games in 1996 and Cleveland forced Golden State to five games in 2017.
Celtics on brink
Once the Celtics get to three wins in the NBA Finals, they almost always get that fourth for the championship.
The one exception: the last time they were in a clinching position.
Boston led the Los Angeles Lakers 3-2 in the 2010 NBA Finals, then dropped Games 6 and 7 on the road as Kobe Bryant won his fifth and final championship.
Every other time the Celtics have gotten to three wins in the title series, they've won it all. Boston is 17-11 all-time in finals-clinching opportunities – 10-3 at home, 7-8 on the road.
Keeping it 100
Boston's Payton Pritchard is in line to play in his 100th game of the season on Friday night. If he plays – there's no reason to think that he won't – he'll be the first player to reach the 100-game milestone this season.
Officially, that is.
Obi Toppin played in 99 games for the Indiana Pacers, not including the In-Season Tournament championship game against the Los Angeles Lakers. That game wasn't recorded in NBA stats since it wasn't part of the 82-game regular-season slate. Had it counted, Toppin would have been credited for appearing in 100 games this season.
If this series goes seven games, it's possible that Boston's Sam Hauser and Dallas' Derrick Jones Jr. could also play in exactly 100 games. Both have made 96 appearances heading into Friday night.
NBA Finals
Boston vs. Dallas
(Celtics lead 3-0)
▶Game 1: Boston 107-89
▶Game 2: Boston 105-98
▶Game 3: Boston 106-99
▶Game 4: June 14 @ Dallas, 8:30
▶Game 5: June 17 @ Boston, 830
▶Game 6: June 20 @ Dallas, 8:30
▶Game 7: June 23 @ Boston, 8
Eastern Conference
Third round
Boston vs. Indiana
(Celtics win 4-0)
▶Game 1: Boston 133-128 (OT)
▶Game 2: Boston 126-110
▶Game 3: Boston 114-111
▶Game 4: Boston 105-102
Western Conference
Third round
Dallas vs. Minnesota
(Dallas leads 3-1)
▶Game 1: Dallas 108-105
▶Game 2: Dallas 109-108
▶Game 3: Dallas 116-107
▶Game 4: Minnesota 105-100
▶Game 5: Thursday, May 30 @ Minnesota, 8:30
▶Game 6: Saturday, June 1 @ Dallas, TBA
▶Game 7: Monday, June 3 @ Minnesota, TBA
Eastern Conference
Second round
Indiana vs. New York
(Indiana wins 4-3)
▶Game 1: New York 121-117
▶Game 2: New York 130-121
▶Game 3: Indiana 116-101
▶Game 4: Indiana 121-89
▶Game 5: New York 121-91
▶Game 6: Indiana 116-103
▶Game 7: Indiana 130-109
Boston vs. Cleveland
(Celtics win 4-1)
▶Game 1: Boston 120-95
▶Game 2: Cleveland 118-94
▶Game 3: Boston 106-93
▶Game 4: Boston 109-102
▶Game 5: Boston 113-98
Western Conference
Denver vs. Minnesota
(Minnesota wins 4-3)
▶Game 1:Minnesota 106-99
▶Game 2:Minnesota 106-90
▶Game 3:Denver 117-90
▶Game 4:Denver 115-107
▶Game 5:Denver 112-97
▶Game 6:Minnesota 115-70
▶Game 7:Minnesota 98-90
Oklahoma City vs. Dallas
(Dallas wins 4-3)
▶Game 1: Oklahoma City 117-95
▶Game 2: Dallas 119-110
▶Game 3: Dallas 105-101
▶Game 4: Oklahoma City 100-96
▶Game 5: Dallas 104-92
▶Game 6: Oklahoma City 100-96
▶Game 7: Dallas 117-116
Eastern Conference
First round
Milwaukee vs. Indiana
(Indiana wins 4-2)
▶Game 1:Milwaukee 109-94
▶Game 2:Indiana 125-108
▶Game 3:Indiana 121-118 (OT)
▶Game 4:Indiana 126-113
▶Game 5:Milwaukee 115-92
▶Game 6:Indiana 120-98
Boston vs. Miami
(Celtics win 4-1)
▶Game 1:Boston 114, Miami 94
▶Game 2:Miami 111, Boston 101
▶Game 3:Boston 104, Miami 84
▶Game 4:Boston 102, Miami 88
▶Game 5:Boston 118-84
Cleveland vs. Orlando
(Cavaliers win 4-3)
▶Game 1:Cleveland 97, Orlando 83
▶Game 2:Cleveland 96, Orlando 86
▶Game 3:Orlando 121, Cleveland 83
▶Game 4:Orlando 112, Cleveland 89
▶Game 5:Cleveland 104, Orlando 103
▶Game 6:Orlando 103, Cleveland 96
▶Game 7:Cleveland 106-94
New York vs. Philadelphia
(Knicks win 4-2)
▶Game 1:New York 111-104
▶Game 2:New York 104-101
▶Game 3:Philadelphia 125-114
▶Game 4:New York 97-92
▶Game 5:Philadelphia 112-106
▶Game 6:New York 118-115
Western Conference
L.A. Clippers vs. Dallas
(Mavericks win 4-2)
▶Game 1:L.A. Clippers 109-97
▶Game 2:Dallas 96-93
▶Game 3:Dallas 101-90
▶Game 4:L.A. Clippers 116-111
▶Game 5:Dallas 123-93
▶Game 6:Dallas 114, L.A. Clippers 101
▶Game 7:Sunday @ L.A. Clippers, TBA
Denver vs. L.A. Lakers
(Nuggets win 4-1)
▶Game 1:Denver 114-103
▶Game 2:Denver 101-99
▶Game 3:Denver 112-105
▶Game 4:L.A. Lakers 119-108
▶Game 5:Denver 108-106
Oklahoma City vs. New Orleans
(Thunder wins 4-0)
▶Game 1:Oklahoma City 94-92
▶Game 2:Oklahoma City 124-92
▶Game 3:Oklahoma City 106-85
▶Game 4:Oklahomas City 97-89
Minnesota vs. Phoenix
(Timberwolves win 4-0)
▶Game 1:Minnesota 120-95
▶Game 2:Minnesota 105-93
▶Game 3:Minnesota 126-109
▶Game 4:Minnesota 122-116
