The Mavericks roared back from a huge deficit with a 22-2 run in the fourth quarter. But Jaylen Brown hit big shots and drew big fouls to preserve the Game 3 win for the Celtics Wednesday in Dallas.
Brown hit two big shots down the stretch to hold off a furious Dallas comeback. After Dereck Lively II dunked on consecutive possessions to get the Mavericks within two points, Brown hit a 20-foot jumper to give the Celtics a four-point cushion. Boston never let Dallas get any closer in the 106-99 Game 3 win.
It was his second big answer in crunch time. When Kyrie Irving cut the lead to 93-92, Jayson Tatum drove and missed his floater, but Brown was there for the offensive rebound and tip-in. He finished with 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Still, his biggest plays of the final quarter may have been to get Luka Doncic out of the game. After Doncic picked up some bad fouls early in the quarter, Brown drew Doncic’s fifth and sixth fouls on consecutive Celtics possessions. Doncic committed his fifth foul while hooking Brown’s arms, and he fouled out stepping in front of a driving Brown.
Not only was Brown relentless on offense, but he recognized that Doncic was in foul trouble and essentially forced the Mavericks’ most important offensive player out of the game. Perhaps the calls were borderline, but it’s hard to say that any of them were incorrect.
Boston also got 31 points from Tatum and 16 from Derrick White, whose fourth three-pointer gave the Celtics a six-point lead, one possession before he hit Tatum for a dunk.
No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the NBA Finals. With the way Brown and the Celtics have been playing, Dallas getting the series to 3-1 would even be a surprise.
