Boston banged its fist on the table from the start in these Finals. The Celtics were largely leading when they returned to the locker room (63-42) but Luka Doncic and his team did not lay down their arms so quickly.
The Mavs started the 3rd quarter with a 22-9 lead to get back into the match and reduce the deficit to 8 points (72-64). And the Celtics can expect to see more, as Joe Mazzulla recognizes.
“They tend to make great runs and we know it’s going to happen.” confirms the coach. “We will have to be prepared to manage them and understand what puts them in the right conditions to stop them quickly. »
A 14-0 to respond to the Mavericks
Luka Doncic brought the Mavericks back to within a few possessions, and Boston had to stop him. To stop it, a timeout from Joe Mazzulla allowed the Celtics to take stock and restart the machine.
“The one where they closed the gap to eight points? It's the Finals, we're playing against a great team and they're going to make some runs. We just have to be aware of why the run was made and sometimes it takes us a possession or two to recognize where the fault is coming from.” recognizes the coach. “You know, this team does a great job of making defensive adjustments on the fly. But I found that the calmness of our guys was important after this timeout. »
The Celtics got their heads out of the water thanks mainly to Jaylen Brown, as well as a valuable defense to achieve a 14-0 which increased the gap to +22 (86-64) and immediately calmed the Mavericks.
“Usually when you give up so many plays and your offense stagnates, the defense dips too,” explains Joe Mazzulla. “But tonight the defense kept us in the game. And Jaylen Brown played a role in that. […] I thought Jayson and Jaylen controlled the match with their choices. Especially when we suffered this 'run'. They got us back on track and JT kept us in the game with a high level of execution. »
