- On the way to the title: Celtics defense cancels out Luka Doncic’s best The Boston Celtics are one victory away from winning the NBA title after a dominant 109-93 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 of the Finals, held on Wednesday night (12).
The Celtics’ main weapon was their defense, which nullified Slovenian Luka Doncic, MVP of the regular season and the Western Conference finals. Doncic, who had been having exceptional performances in the series, was limited to just 20 points and 9 assists, with a 36% floor percentage.
He also committed 8 turnovers, which was crucial to the outcome of the match. “We did a great job on Luka,” said winger Jayson Tatum, who led the Celtics with 32 points and 8 rebounds. “We were able to take him out of his comfort zone and force him to make mistakes.
That was the key to our victory.” In addition to Tatum, the Celtics also had good performances from Jaylen Brown (24 points) and Marcus Smart (11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists). On the Mavericks side, Reggie Bullock was the top scorer with 19 points.
With the victory, the Celtics take a 3-1 lead in the series and could be champions next Friday (14), when the two teams face each other again in Boston. If the Mavericks win, the series returns to Dallas for Game 6. Some important points of the match: The Celtics dominated the game from the start, taking a 10-point lead in the first quarter and expanding it to 17 points in the second quarter.
Doncic struggled to score against the Celtics’ physical defense, often being guarded by Tatum and Robert Williams III. The Mavericks had a good third quarter, closing the gap to 8 points, but the Celtics controlled the pace of the game in the last quarter and secured the victory. What to expect for Game 5: The Celtics are confident they can close out the series at home and win their 18th NBA title.
The Mavericks need a big game from Doncic if they want to have any chance of taking the series to a Game 6. The match promises to be exciting, with both teams fighting with everything to achieve glory. Sources: