The Boston Celtics took a commanding 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals Wednesday night. No team has ever come back from that deficit in NBA history.
The Dallas Mavericks have an outside shot at making history. To accomplish it, their biggest star will need to put himself in check, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst says.
Mavs superstar Luka Dončić is averaging 29.7 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in the series’ first three games, so his on-court performance is hardly the issue.
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Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić looks for a foul call during the first quarter in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The Dallas Mavericks hosted the Boston Celtics at American Airlines Center Wednesday, June 12, 2024. (Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
However, Windhorst took exception to a “terrible play” Dončić made when he told his bench, “You better bleeping challenge” a call that gave him his sixth foul of the night, “as if it was the bench’s fault.”
That was the beginning of an all-time rant from Windhorst, who criticized Dončić’s attitude.
“I’m standing here in the Mavericks’ tunnel. Over there is the Celtics’ tunnel. That’s where the winners are,” Windhorst quipped. “If Luka’s ever gonna be a winner coming out of this tunnel here, he is gonna have to use what’s happened in this finals as a learning experience.
“You’ve got a situation here where Luka’s complaining about the officiating. They have begged him, they have talked with him [and] they have pleaded with him. He is costing his team because of how he treats the officials.”
Luka Dončić of the Dallas Mavericks reacts in the third quarter against the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center June 12, 2024, in Dallas, Texas. (Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
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Windhorst noted the Mavs wouldn’t be in this situation had it not been for what Dončić did throughout the regular season, averaging nearly a 34-point triple-double.
But now he is “the reason the Mavericks are not gonna win,” and if someone doesn’t speak with Dončić soon, the organization will never get over the hump.
“He has gotta get over this. And the fact that he came out after the game and blamed the officials showed me he is nowhere close yet. So, maybe over the summer, somebody will get to him. Because nobody with the Mavericks or anybody else in his life has. That’s where the Mavericks are at this point. They are never going to get to this tunnel with the trophy if he doesn’t improve those aspects of his game.”
Luka Dončić of the Dallas Mavericks in the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center June 12, 2024, in Dallas, Texas. (Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
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The Celtics survived a 22-2 Mavericks run in the fourth quarter to win Game 3 of the NBA Finals, 106-99. They have won 10 straight in the playoffs and are 7-0 on the road. Game 4 is Friday night.
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