You can read the full report from tonight’s game below:
After Game 2, a pertinent question was whether the Celtics would do even better if Jayson Tatum had a hot hand. He did. The answer was that the Celtics built a huge lead but came agonizingly close to surrendering it – in fact, Tatum’s plus/minus was -4 on the night. His critics will claim this is the worst action since Genghis Khan’s last invasion.
In Game 2, Jrue Holiday stepped up, though a lot of his points were off Tatum’s slick passes. Tonight, it was Jaylen Brown’s turn, especially in a monster third quarter. He wound up with 30.
Dallas fans may feel aggrieved over the calls that put Luka Dončić out of the game. But the sturdily built Slovenian had an off night in many respects – 11-for-27 from the field, 1-for-7 from 3-point range, and I question the box score that says he only had three turnovers. It felt like more.
Irving was magnificent. He has been a bit of a lightning rod due to some unorthodox views of science and some disgruntlement at prior teams such as Brooklyn and … oh yeah, Boston. He won a championship in Cleveland, though having LeBron James didn’t hurt.
Maybe the sports punditocracy will eventually learn that it takes more than one player to win. Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen and some outstanding role players. In Dončić, Irving and Tatum, we’re seeing three of the game’s greatest players of the past decade and change on the court, but the Celtics’ so-called supporting cast has simply been better than than their counterparts on the Mavericks roster, Dereck Lively’s strong rookie performance notwithstanding.
Boston can wrap it up on Friday. See you then.
