MANILA, Philippines, June 13 ------ The Boston Celtics are one win away from taking home the NBA championship. The Celtics fended off the furious rally of the Dallas Mavericks and held on down the stretch, 106-99, to go up 3-0 in their best-of-seven championship series at the American Airlines Center in Texas.
They are a step closer to winning their first title since 2008 and their 18th overall, breaking their tie with the Los Angeles Lakers. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown erupted for 31 and 30 points, respectively. After trailing by as much as 21 points, 70-91, in the fourth quarter, Dallas cut the lead to just nine after 12 unanswered points capped by a pair of free throws by PJ Washington.
A Brown turnaround stopped the run, but the blitz continued for the Mavericks as they scored 10 straight anew to inch closer to just one, 92-93, with 3:36 remaining. This, despite losing star Luka Doncic who fouled out the possession before. With momentum firmly on Dallas’ side, Brown cleaned a miss by Tatum. After an offensive foul by Washington, Derrick White sank a big 3-pointer with 2:48 to go to help Boston keep the Mavericks at bay, 98-92.
Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II teamed up for a 6-2 mini-run to turn the game to just a two-point difference, 98-100, but Brown plunged the dagger with a pullup jumper, 102-98, with a minute left. Washington and Irving missed triples that would have helped Dallas inch closer. Free throws by White and Tatum iced the game.
White backstopped the two Boston stars with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. Irving had his best game of the finals thus far with 35 points on 13-of-28 shooting. Doncic added 27 markers, six boards and six dimes before fouling out. Dallas led by one, 51-50, going into the half as they squandered an early 13 point advantage. Come the third quarter, the Celtics turned a 58-59 deficit to an 85-70 cushion heading to the final canto.
No team has won the championship after being down 0-3 in the finals. Boston will try to close out the series and bag the championship on Saturday morning (Manila time.) "Stay in the moment, just stay in the moment. Smile, appreciate everything. I'm grateful to be here, all praise to the most high, just stay in the moment," Brown said after the game.
Source: philstar.com
Editor's Note:
Jerry West, an iconic 1960s star guard for the Los Angeles Lakers who inspired the NBA logo, died at age 86, the Los Angeles Clippers announced. West played for the Lakers from 1960 through 1974, winning his only NBA title in 1972, and was co-captain on the 1960 Rome Olympic US basketball gold medal squad. In later years, West served as an executive on several NBA clubs, most recently the Clippers. With impressive speed and quickness and a deft shooting touch, West was nicknamed "Mr. Clutch" for his skilled shotmaking under pressure.
In the 1969 NBA Finals against the arch-rival Boston Celtics, he received the Most Valuable Player award even though the Celtics beat the Lakers for the title. West was a 14-time NBA All-Star and the league scoring champion in 1970. His jersey number, 44, was retired by the Lakers and he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980. In 1969, the NBA created its current logo, which was the silhouette of West dribbling a basketball, an image inspired by a photograph of West taken during a game. For his career, West averaged 27.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists a game. West, who coached the Lakers from 1976 through 1979, would capture eight titles as an NBA executive, five with the Lakers in the 1980s "Showtime" era with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He also was an executive for NBA champions with the Lakers in 2000 and Golden State in 2015 and 2017, before leaving to join the Clippers.
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