Boston Celtics vow to maintain fight even with commanding NBA Finals lead
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Jayson Tatum (right) of the Boston Celtics during the fourth quarter in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW YORK – Although the Boston Celtics hold a commanding 3-0 lead over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA (National Basketball Association) Finals, coach Joe Mazzulla knows the fight is far from over.
The 35-year-old has been showing his team UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) highlights during their film sessions, in an attempt to demonstrate to them that there is a very fine line between victory and defeat, regardless of the circumstances.
“If you’ve ever been in a fight with someone and you think you’re about to beat them, you usually get sucker punched. The closer you are to beating them up, the closer you are to losing,” Mazzulla said before Boston beat Dallas 106-99 in Game 3 on June 12.
With the Mavericks entering Game 3 down 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, Mazzulla and the Celtics were bracing for Dallas’ best shot, and they got it in the fourth quarter.
Boston were up 91-70 with 11min 7sec left in the game, but the Mavericks then ran wild. Dallas scored 22 of the next 24 points, pulling within 93-92 when Kyrie Irving knocked down a jumper with 3:37 to go. But the Celtics never gave away the lead, and now they are one win away from a record 18th title in NBA history.
Teams who have won the first three games of a play-off series are 156-0 in wins against defeats, but that figure does not necessarily instil a sense of security for Boston.
In last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics found themselves in the same position that the Mavericks are currently in, and they recovered to force a Game 7 against the Miami Heat.
However, their star player Jayson Tatum suffered an ankle injury just 26 seconds into the decider, hampering him for the rest of the game. Miami then blew Boston away 103-84 to win 4-3.
Even though history favours his side, Tatum said he and his Celtic teammates will remain focused only on playing better in Game 4 in Dallas on June 14.
“We still feel like there’s a lot more that we can do, we are not relaxing or anything like that,” he said.
And the Mavericks do not plan on just throwing in the towel either. Dallas superstar Luka Doncic said his team must set aside the enormity of the task facing them and get back to having fun if they are to mount a comeback.
“We talk about how we came back from (21) points in the fourth quarter. We were having fun. We were defending. We were running. Our pace was great. Just taking good shots,” he said after Dallas studied the Game 3 film on June 13.
“I really want to win. At the end of the day, I just really want to win.” REUTERS, AFP
