Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

How Celtics avoided repeat of infamous NBA Finals meltdown

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Jun 13, 2024 8:10 AM ET

When the Mavericks were down 21 with 10:18 left in Wednesday's Game 3, the Celtics faithful at a watch party in Boston broke out the bubbly. And justifiably so. The writing was on the wall.

That was until Jason Kidd's team responded with a 22-2 run, turning a 91-70 Celtics advantage into a 93-92 ball game when Kyrie Irving made a 17-foot pull-up jumper.

As the Mavs were staging their comeback, some had flashbacks to Game 2 of the 2011 finals when Dirk Nowitzki's team was down 15 against the Heat with 7:14 left before going on a 22-5 run to steal the game.

It’s giving 2011 Game 2 vibes #MFFL pic.twitter.com/5MrJw7vXS7
— Josh Clark (@Josh_Clark02) June 13, 2024

But these Celtics weren't going to let history repeat itself.

During the final five minutes, the Celtics held the Mavericks to 3-of-10 shooting, contesting every shot with ferocity — Irving missed two shots around the rim that he'd have normally converted.

Some would belittle Boston's win by suggesting that Luka Doncic fouling out with 4:12 left halted Dallas' momentum. However, that assessment would ignore the fact that Boston's defense was on point even during Dallas' 22-2 run. The Mavs were simply feeding off the electric crowd.

The Celtics knew they just had to withstand the Mavericks' flurry, and they'd be in good shape.

"This is basketball. They went on a run — they had some momentum — but we kept our poise," Jaylen Brown said after the win. "We made timely baskets and found a way to win."

The Celtics braved the storm by banking on good habits they built all season.

Give these men their well-deserved rings.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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