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The Boston Celtics are one win away from a record 18th NBA Finals title. They will aim to sweep the Dallas Mavericks when they meet again for Game 4 in their best-of-seven series on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET. If the Celtics win again, they will add to their franchise’s storied history as it will be their first title in 16 years.
On Wednesday, Boston held off a furious Dallas fourth-quarter comeback in Game 3 and won 106-99. The Celtics got 61 combined points from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as Boston improved to 7-0 on the road in the 2024 playoffs.
Dallas fell down by 21 points but went on a 22-2 run to cut the lead to one point. Luka Doncic, however, fouled out for the first time in his playoff career and the Mavericks couldn’t get over the hump with their superstar on the bench. Doncic finished with 27 points while Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 35.
Boston also improved to 10-1 in these playoffs without Kristaps Porzingis after the 7-foot-2 Latvian was ruled out before the game because of a rare tendon injury in his lower left leg sustained in Game 2. The status of Porzingis for the rest of the series appears in doubt.
No team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit in the NBA Finals. Boston can become the 10th team to ever sweep its opponent in the NBA Finals if they win Friday’s Game 4. Regardless of which of these remaining teams win the 2024 title, the NBA will have its sixth different champion in six years — something that has not happened since 1975-1980.
The postseason field started with 20 teams, and now we’re down to two. The Warriors, Kings, Hawks and Bulls were ousted in the Play-In Tournament before the Pelicans, Suns, Clippers, Lakers, Heat, 76ers, Bucks and Magic were eliminated in the first round. The Cavaliers, Thunder, Knicks and Nuggets were sent home in the second round with the Pacers and Timberwolves bowing out in the conference finals.
Here’s a look at the upcoming schedule, as well as all the playoff scores. All games airing on ABC, ESPN and NBA TV are streaming on fubo (try for free).
Celtics…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2024-nba-playoffs-bracket-schedule-scores-celtics-on-the-verge-of-nba-finals-sweep-over-mavericks/
Author : Brad Botkin
Publish date : 2024-06-13 14:32:08
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