Luka Doncic fouled out in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night as the Boston Celtics defeated his Dallas Mavericks 106-99 at American Airlines Center.
Doncic finished with 27 points on 27 shots before he headed to the bench to watch his team’s comeback fall short. His fifth and six fouls came in the fourth quarter on close calls that no Mavericks fan would ever agree with.
After the game. Doncic was asked about the whistles that went against him in the fourth. His response likely doesn’t warrant a fine from the league, but reading between the lines, it doesn’t seem like he agreed with the calls.
“I mean, I don’t know,” Doncic said. “We couldn’t play physical so … I don’t know. I don’t want to say nothing, but you know, six fouls in the NBA Finals? When I’m basically I’m like this. C’mon, man. [Be] better than that.”
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) June 13, 2024
While Mavs fans will certainly disagree with the calls that went against Doncic, everyone can agree that the officials were pretty bad in the fourth quarter. It seemed like everything was allowed early in the game, but by the end the only time officials didn’t blow the whistle was when Derrick White grabbed Tim Hardaway Jr. right in front of a referee on purpose and pointed at the referee to confirm he was trying to foul and there was no call.
You can’t tell me changes don’t need to be made to officiating. Derrick white clearly intentionally fouled Hardaway looked at the ref, says foul, ref still doesn’t make the call. Refs have been horrible throughout all of the season but this is just embarrassing. pic.twitter.com/DdeKq8GCWd
When Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said last week that Jaylen Brown was the Boston Celtics’ “best player,” it was widely believed that Kidd was playing mind games (an allegation Kidd denied) rather than expressing an earnest opinion about Boston’s hierarchy. But he may have been right.
Kidd’s initial assertion seemed outlandish because Jayson Tatum undoubtedly has a better résumé than Brown. (Tatum was named First-Team All-NBA in each of the past three seasons, while Brown has just one Second-Team selection to his name.) Brown is a star, but Tatum is a superstar. In the Finals, though, it’s Brown who has shone brightest.
Tatum struggled offensively in the first two games of the series, averaging 17 points per game on 31.6% shooting (although he contributed in other ways). And while Tatum was better in Game 3 (31 points on 11-of-26 shooting), he was quiet again in the fourth quarter as the Mavs mounted a ferocious comeback, making just one of his five field-goal attempts.
That’s when Brown stepped up.
The fourth quarter very nearly turned into a nightmare for the Celtics. Boston was able to stretch its lead to 21 points in the opening minutes but saw that lead evaporate as the Mavs reeled off a 22–2 run to cut the deficit to one. The only Boston basket scored during Dallas’s run—which lasted more than seven minutes—was by Brown. He played a huge role in helping stop the skid, scoring on a putback layup with 3:08 to play that made it 95–92 in favor of the Celtics and hitting a contested jumper with 1:01 to play that made it 102–98. He scored nine of Boston’s 21 points in the final quarter as the Celtics held on to win, 106–99.
“I mean, how can I explain Jaylen?” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “The guy just has a growth mindset. He just wants to get better. He yearns to get better. He’s not afraid to face his weaknesses on the court. So when you have that type of mindset, you’re just going to be able to take on every situation that the game brings you. He puts himself in every single situation that he sees in a game. He uses six, seven, eight coaches a day, and every situation on both ends of the floor, he puts himself in that.
“And that’s how you have to grow, is to become vulnerable and on the things that make you uncomfortable, and he does that.”
Brown’s biggest play of the night, though, may have been the foul he drew on Luka Doncic with 4:12 to play. Brown attacked Doncic in transition and gave Doncic no choice but to commit a foul, causing him to foul out. Doncic’s absence changed the entire shape of the game. Once Doncic was forced to leave the floor, Dallas’s comeback came to a screeching halt. Kyrie Irving did his best to carry the Mavs, but Doncic’s absence allowed Boston's defense to zero in on Irving.
Doncic’s poor performance was the other main takeaway from Game 3. He scored 27 points, but his uninspired defense left him vulnerable to foul calls, eventually leading to his disqualification from the game. His constant complaints to the referees probably didn’t help flip any borderline calls in his favor, either.
Doncic has never been a great defender but that’s been especially problematic against a Boston team whose scoring depth makes hiding Doncic on defense impossible. And he’s clearly struggling with injuries that hinder his mobility, making him even more of a defensive liability. Doncic certainly looks like he could use a rest, and now that the Mavs have fallen behind 3–0 in the series, it appears he’ll be getting one very soon.
McIlroy is looking for his first major victory in a decade. / Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports
… things I saw last night:
5. The couple that got married in the stands during a Giants game. 4. Giancarlo Stanton’s 449-foot shot for his 17th home run of the season. Stanton, Juan Soto (17) and Aaron Judge (25) have combined for 59 homers this season, which is more than five teams have on the year. 3. Christian Pulisic’s free-kick goal vs. Brazil. 2. Angel Reese’s big game against the league-leading Sun. She had a career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds as she notched her fourth straight double double. 1. Jaylen Brown’s ferocious dunk at the end of the third quarter.
Luka Dončić got into it with the crowd again during Game 2 of the NBA Finals. This time it was Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck sitting courtside who drew Dončić's attention.
Following an incredible first half performance, Dončić picked up five quick assists early in the third quarter. During that run, Grousbeck apparently did something that the Dallas Mavericks star didn't like.
According to multiple media members, Grousbeck taunted Dončić. Then, on the next possession, the Mavs star hit a turnaround jumper and let Grousbeck have it as he ran back up the court.
Luka Doncic goes to work in the post with the turnaround jumper!
Grousbeck apparently made a technical foul gesture, signaling to the officials that Dončić should receive a technical for complaining. The gesture directly resulted in Dončić backing down an All-Defensive Second Team player and hitting him with a move that left him flat-footed as he buried a jumper. Celtics' Derrick White didn't even attempt to contest the shot.
Celtics governor Wyc Grousbeck stood up during a recent dead ball and made a technical foul sign to Luka Doncic that the Mavs star saw nearby. After Doncic followed by scoring next, he ran back and had some words for Grousbeck that brought laughter by nearby fans.
Despite the fact that Dončić has been playing well, the Celtics still extended their lead during the third quarter. Boston led 54-51 at the half and this Dončić highlight cut it to three again, but by the end of the third Boston was up by nine. Dončić had six points and six assists in the quarter.
After ending the Miami Heat's season with a 118-84 victory in Game 5 at TD Garden on Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics are on to the second round where they'll face the winner of the first round series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic.
The ultimate outcome of Boston moving on to the second round past the shorthanded Heat was expected, but after the Celtics lost Game 2 of the series in stunning fashion, critics bashed the toughness of this Celtics' core, led by stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Why did the Celtics lose to the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals? Fans and media critics pointed to Boston's lack of toughness.
Why did the Celtics lose to the Miami Heat in seven games in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals? Fans and media critics once again pointed to Boston's lack of toughness.
So with fans and media questioning Boston's toughness earlier in the series, did it get to Tatum at all? Don't count on it.
"No, I think [in] the world we live in, it's gotta be something wrong with every team," Tatum told the media Wednesday night. "That's what they like to say. You can see how talented we are. I think it's lazy, or easy, to say that teams can out-tough us, right? I never understood that. What's the definition of tough? Having louder guys on your team? That s--- don't make you tough. Everybody has their own definition of what toughness is. It's playing the right way, showing up every day to do your job without complaining. I think that's being tough."
Tatum: "What’s the definition of tough? Having the louder guys on your team? That shit don’t make you tough. Everybody has their own definition of what toughness is. It’s playing the right way, showing up every day to do your job without complaining. I think that's being tough.” pic.twitter.com/SRzn1vdA6x
Whether Tatum likes it or not, the Celtics have had their fair share of head-scratching losses with their young superstar core over the past few postseasons, and in many cases, those losses have kept Boston from reaching its ultimate goal of winning an NBA championship.
The Celtics are hoping to break that trend with a title later this summer.
