Celtics and Mavericks take commanding 3-0 leads in the NBA Conference Finals

The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks are both one win away from facing each other in the 2024 NBA Finals. On Saturday, the Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers 114-111 in a very tight Eastern Conference Final contest. Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-107 in game three of the Western Conference Final. With the wins, the Celtics and Mavericks lead the best out of seven series three games to none and are both one win away from a series sweep.

In the Celtics win over the Pacers at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, all five Celtics starters reached double digits in scoring. Power forward Jayson Tatum of St. Louis, Missouri led the Celtics with 36 points, and had a double-double, as he had 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, small forward Jaylen Brown of Marietta, Georgia had 24 points, center Al Horford of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic had 23 points, point guard Jrue Holiday of Chatsworth, California had 14 points, and shooting guard Derrick White of Parker, Colorado had 13 points.

One reason why the Pacers are down 3-0 is because their All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton of Oshkosh, Wisconsin injured his hamstring in game two. He did not play game three and is not expected to play game four. The other reason why the Celtics can close out the Pacers on Monday night is because of Boston’s late fourth quarter commitment to win game three. On Saturday, the Celtics trailed the Pacers 101-95 with four minutes and 27 seconds left, but outscored Indiana 19-10 the rest of the way. Holiday scored Boston’s final five points, of which three points came from free throws.

The Mavericks had dominant performances from their two backcourt players. Point guard Luka Doncic of Ljubljana, Slovenia and shooting guard Kyrie Irving of Melbourne, Australia had 33 points each. Power forward P.J. Washington of Louisville, Kentucky had 16 points, and small forward Derrick Jones Jr. of Chester, Pennsylvania had 11 points.

However before you declare the Celtics and Mavericks winners of their respective series, remember what happened last year in the East. The Miami Heat had the 3-0 lead on the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, only to lose the next three games, and before Miami won game seven.

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