NBA Finals Picks 6/14 – Boston Celtics @ Dallas Mavericks

NBA Finals Picks 6/14 – Boston Celtics @ Dallas Mavericks

by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com

The NBA Finals resume tonight with the visiting Boston Celtics (64-18, first in the Eastern Conference) looking to sweep the Dallas Mavericks (50-32, fifth in the Western Conference) at American Airlines Center on ABC. Boston took a commanding 3-0 series lead after holding off Dallas 106-99 on Wednesday night. With a win tonight, Boston will secure the franchise’s 18th NBA championship which would set an NBA record. Boston is a 1-point favorite and the total is 211.5.  

The changing of venues for Game Three inspired the Dallas Mavericks early on as they jumped out to a 25-12 first-quarter lead in front of a raucous crowd at American Airlines Center. Boston responded with an 11-0 run over a span of two minutes that pulled them within 25-23. The game remained a nip and tuck battle for the rest of the first half as Dallas led 51-50 at halftime.

Boston asserted their dominance after halftime by outscoring Dallas 35-19 in the third quarter and taking an 85-70 lead. A minute into the fourth quarter, Boston stretched the lead to 91-70 after Jaylen Brown and Derrick White each knocked down a three-pointer. The game appeared to be out of reach as America Airlines Center went silent and the Dallas players looked defeated but Dallas put together a miraculous 22-2 run that brought them within 93-92 with three and a half minutes remaining. 

NBA Finals Picks 6/14 – Boston Celtics @ Dallas Mavericks

Unfortunately for Dallas, their superstar Luka Doncic was unable to finish the game due to picking up his sixth foul and fouling out with 4:12 left in the contest. Doncic entered the final quarter with just two fouls but still ended up fouling out. Boston closed out the game with a 13-6 run over the final 3:11 to pick up the 106-99 win. 

Dallas has put themselves in an ominous position as no team in NBA postseason history has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a series. The previous 156 teams have all lost. Boston is looking to sweep an NBA Finals series for the first time since 1959 when they swept the Los Angeles Lakers. 

SERIES RECAP: BOSTON

The first three games of 2024 NBA Finals have encapsulated the Boston Celtics historic season perfectly as they’ve defeated Dallas in three different ways. Game One ended with Boston picking up an easy 18-point victory due to the excellent play of star center Kristaps Porzingis, who returned to the lineup after an injured right calf kept him out for about 5 weeks. Game Two saw Jrue Holiday – Boston’s fifth leading scorer in the postseason at 13.2ppg – explode for a team-high 26 points on 11-14 shooting from the floor.

Game Three was more of the norm for Boston as the All-Star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown dominated in a 106-99 victory. Tatum scored a team-high 31 points (11-26 FG, 4-13 3Pt, 5-5 FT) and added 6 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal across 41 minutes. Tatum had combined for 34 points in the first two games of the Finals. Brown finished with 30 points (12-22 FG, 2-9 3Pt, 4-5 FT), 8 rebounds, 8 assists and a block across 41 minutes. Tatum and Brown became the first Boston duo to put up at least 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a postseason game.

If Boston wins tonight, they will complete one of the most dominant seasons in NBA history. During the regular season Boston finished with a 64-18 record and won an NBA-record nineteen games by 25 or more points. The Celtics also won 10 games by 30+ points. As for the postseason, Boston has now won 10 straight games and are 7-0 on the road. They would also become the 7th team in NBA history to win the title with 2 losses or fewer.  

NBA Finals Picks 6/14 – Boston Celtics @ Dallas Mavericks

Boston winning a championship will end a dubious streak for 17-year veteran big man Al Horford. The 5-time All-Star has played in 184 postseason games and never won an NBA title. He’s second on the list to Hall-of-Famer Karl Malone who participated in 193 postseason games without winning a title.   

 

SERIES RECAP: DALLAS

Dallas seemed like the trendy pick to defeat Boston in the 2024 NBA Finals after making an impressive run through the tougher Western Conference. Dallas knocked off three 50-win teams – 51-31 Clippers, 57-25 Thunder and 56-26 Timberwolves – to reach the Finals while Boston did not face a 50-win team enroute to winning Eastern Conference. Going through the gauntlet of superior teams in the Western Conference has not helped Dallas at all against Boston as many believed it would.

Superstar Luka Doncic has been excellent in the 2024 Finals and the entire postseason. He was named the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP after leading Dallas to its third NBA Finals appearance in franchise history. Despite Dallas being down 3-0, Doncic is averaging 29.7 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2.3 steals and 3 threes while shooting 47.3 percent from the floor. He posted a 32-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist triple-double in Game 2 at Boston. 

NBA Finals Picks 6/14 – Boston Celtics @ Dallas Mavericks

Dallas did not get a lot of production outside of Luka Doncic in Games 1 and 2 of the Finals, particularly from fellow All-Star Kyrie Irving. The 8-time All-Star Irving averaged just 14 ppg on 35.1 percent shooting from the floor in the first two games at Boston. But he bounced back in a huge way on Wednesday night scoring a game-high 35 points (13-28 FG, 4-6 3Pt, 5-5 FT) and added 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 45 minutes. Kyrie Irving’s 35 points is tied for the most points in Finals history for a Dallas player. He tied Jason Terry who scored 35 points in Game 5 of the 2006 NBA Finals against Miami. 

Rookie Dereck Lively II posted a double-double of 11 points (5-6 FG, 1-1 FT) and 13 rebounds in Game 3 on Wednesday night. The ultra-athletic center has seen a dip in his production after suffering a neck injury in Game 3 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on May 26. Lively’s Game 3 performance was his most productive game since a 14-point, 9-rebound effort at Minnesota on May 24, which was the game before he sustained the neck injury. 

THE PICK: BOSTON (-1)

Boston withstood Dallas’ early Game 3 barrage on the road by turning a 13-point deficit into a 22-point lead and eventual win. I think Boston closes Dallas out tonight on the road and wins title No. 18. Lay the Point and the Celtics tonight! 

NBA Finals Picks 6/14 – Boston Celtics @ Dallas Mavericks