Boston, MA

5 biggest takeaways from Game 3 of Celtics-Mavericks

Published

2 years ago

June 13, 2024

The Celtics hold off a fourth-quarter rally from the Mavericks to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.

• Download the NBA App

DALLAS — The NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV lacked drama until suspense finally entered the arena with a blast Wednesday, not once, but twice in a frantic fourth quarter and threatened to shake up the series.

The first time: The Dallas Mavericks, down 21 points, turned tornado and ripped through a 22-2 run. Would they actually take the lead?

(They didn’t.)

The second time: Luka Doncic was whistled for his sixth and final foul after colliding with Jaylen Brown with 4:12 left. Would the call be overturned on review?

(It wasn’t.)

And because of that, history now asks this suspenseful question:

When will the Boston Celtics finish the job and make the 18th championship in franchise history official?

No cigars have been lit back in Boston, but the Celtics can smell the aroma from Dallas. Because teams that lead 3-0 in a best-of-seven series are 156-0, including 14-0 in the Finals. Because, aside from that Game 3 fourth-quarter sizzle, the Mavericks haven’t dropped many hints that history will be proven wrong.

Here are five takeaways from the Celtics’ 106-99 win in Game 3 and why the ending is perhaps inevitable:

1. The return of the J in Jayson

The once familiar sight of a high-arching trajectory finishing with a splash finally — and consistently — came to the rescue of Tatum, who until Game 3 couldn’t find a rhythm.

His jumper was good enough to give him a jolt of confidence, to help the Celtics assume early control of the game and to give Boston one more weapon to throw at Dallas.

The Celtics had plenty of help and didn’t need Tatum to score efficiently in the first two games, and a good thing, too, because he was faulty. Not so in Game 3. With the series shifting to Dallas, the Celtics missing Kristaps Porzingis and the Mavericks desperate, a return to form by Tatum would be most welcome by Boston.

Tatum responded. He scored 20 of his 31 points in the first half and constantly countered each overthrow attempt by the Mavericks to assume a big lead. Despite Doncic and Kyrie Irving (combining for 37 points) punishing the Celtics in the half, once the buzzer sounded at the break, the Mavericks had just a one-point advantage, mainly because of Tatum.

By setting the tone, Tatum also set the table for the player who might win Finals MVP …

2. Brown put Dallas (and Doncic) down for the count

The 1-2 punch was complete when Brown took the cue from Tatum and finished the job. Brown was sensational in the second half, and not just because that’s when he scored 24 of his 30 points.

Two plays put it in perspective:

His dunk put the Celtics up 15 near the end of the third quarter and (temporarily) put the Mavericks and American Airlines Center to sleep.

Then, realizing Doncic was one foul away from disqualification, Brown attacked and wisely beat Doncic to the spot, causing the contact that sent Doncic to the bench for good.

Brown also demonstrated what this series has revealed: he’s a tough assignment for Doncic.

Or anybody in that second half (and especially the fourth quarter).

“I think this team has trusted me, especially in this playoffs and those moments to just be who I am,” Brown said. “I felt like I’ve been able to just deliver just by being patient and being poised. Those opportunities have presented themselves, and I’ve been able to take advantage of them.

“But we were able to make plays and find a way to win. And we’ve been in those positions, and we’ve lost. It was great to overcome that with my brother, Jayson, and with our team. That was special.”

So Tatum and Brown, as they’ve done all season, and pretty much through much of their careers together, were two much — 61 points combined.

3. It was all in vain for Irving

After a week of owning up to the obvious — that his impact in this series was lacking — Kyrie Irving turned back into the punishing point producer that everyone saw throughout the postseason.

He had 28 points combined in Games 1 and 2. He had 35 in Game 3. Shaking defenders, reaching his sweet spots on the floor and dropping step-back jumpers, Irving was at times impossible to keep in check.

And in the end, it meant nothing for Dallas — just as Tatum’s poor shooting meant nothing in the first two games for Boston.

The crucial moment for Irving came when Doncic fouled out with four minutes and change remaining. Could he be the savior, compensate for the big absence and give the Mavs a chance in this series?

Irving did bring the Mavericks within a point on a layup moments later. But it was the closest they would get, and Irving never scored another basket, just a pair of free throws, because the Celtics forced him to pass.

“Jrue (Holiday) was picking me up full court,” he said. “They knew they were going to pressure me to get the ball out of my hands.

“I just tried to make the right plays, make sure guys were in the right spots, have them understand that we still have a chance to win this basketball game. That was all I was thinking.”

4. Mavs’ support still lacking

In a decision that could only be described as desperate, Mavs coach Jason Kidd blew the dust off Tim Hardaway Jr. and gave him extended Game 3 minutes. Hardaway fell out of the rotation months ago and only saw 27 minutes in this series.

But Kidd was grasping for answers, which happens when, once again, the roll call for the role players mostly came up empty.

Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington, Dereck Lively II, Derrick Jones Jr. — players who constantly stepped forth in the postseason and made Doncic’s life easier — were mild at best.

This is their first taste of mid-June hoops, so their struggles are somewhat understandable. They’re clearly no match for what the Celtics are bringing to help Tatum and Brown.

5. No Porzingis, no problem

Porzingis was a scratch due to his latest injury, which was ironic, considering that injuries were what spoiled his time with the Mavericks. What it didn’t do was spoil the Game 3 outcome for the Celtics.

Al Horford and — surprise — Xavier Tillman were enough to keep the Mavericks from taking advantage. Porzingis was especially effective as a rim protector in Games 1 and 2, thwarting the Mavericks with timely blocks and making them think twice before attacking the rim.

There were no abundant dunks off lobs by Lively and Gafford and the rest, once again, even without Porzingis. Horford had a pair of steals and a block.

And Tillman, who was quietly acquired midseason from Memphis, was pressed into duty and responded with a pair of blocks — and his first 3-pointer of these playoffs — in 11 minutes. It was the most important 11 minutes of his career, considering the stakes and the situation.

“To hear the bench going crazy on our end… it was pretty awesome.”
Xavier Tillman on his corner three during Boston’s 3Q run 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Wu6KCpOaSY
— NBA (@NBA) June 13, 2024

“Obviously, I was probably going to play some more,” said Horford. “Then we needed somebody from the bench to come in and give us minutes, and Xavier was amazing tonight. His energy, defensively he held his own, time and time again. He was just ready for the moment.

“It’s not easy being in that position. He came in and he knocks down that big three as well. But defensively he was special. He didn’t get an opportunity the first two games and he has stayed with it, really took advantage of it.”

* * *

Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.

Source link

Boston, MA

MIT professor shot and killed in his Brookline home

Published

12 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

MIT professor shot and killed in his Brookline home

Crime

Nuno F.G. Loureiro, 47, was pronounced dead on Tuesday after being shot on Monday night.

Nuno F.G. Loureiro, 47, was fatally shot at his home in Brookline on Monday, police said. MIT

An MIT professor was shot and killed in Brookline on Monday night.

Brookline police responded a report of a man shot in his home on Gibbs Street, according to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office.

Nuno F.G. Loureiro, 47, was transported to a local hospital and was pronounced dead on Tuesday morning, the DA says.

Loureiro was the director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center and a professor of nuclear science and engineering and physics. Originally from Portugal, the Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs announced his death in a regulatory hearing before the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Portuguese Communities on Tuesday, according to CNN.

“Sadly, I can confirm that Professor Nuno Loureiro, who died early this morning, was a current MIT faculty member in the departments of Nuclear Science & Engineering and Physics, as well as the Director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Our deepest sympathies are with his family, students, colleagues, and all those who are grieving,” an MIT spokesperson wrote in a statement.

In January, Loureiro was honored as one of nearly 400 scientists and engineers with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from former president Joe Biden.

The investigation into the homicide remains ongoing. No further information was released.

Source link

Boston, MA

Brookline police investigate shooting that wounded man

Published

1 day ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Brookline police investigate shooting that wounded man

A man was hospitalized after being shot Monday night in Brookline, Massachusetts.

The shooting happened on Gibbs Street. There was a large police presence at the scene.

The victim was brought to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. His condition was not known.

Police said the victim was shot three times and grazed by another round.

Authorities did not say if any arrests had been made.

No further information was immediately available.

Source link

Boston, MA

Boston Police say homicides are up 30 percent as Mayor Wu sticks to ‘safest major city’ claim

Published

2 days ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Boston Police say homicides are up 30 percent as Mayor Wu sticks to ‘safest major city’ claim

Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox reported homicides are up nearly 30% this year, as Mayor Michelle Wu continued to tout Boston as the safest major city in the country at a year-end public safety briefing.

Cox said there have been 31 homicides in the city thus far this year, compared to 24 for all of last year, but said that number still reflects a near record-low for the city — and represents a 16% decrease from the city’s five-year average.

“In comparison to last year’s 67-year low in homicide rates in the city’s history, we have had an increase, although we don’t know what the final number will be,” Cox said Monday at the Boston EMS Training Center in West Roxbury. “This year still represents a 16% decrease from our five-year average, and the lowest number in the last 20 years, but for the 67-year low I made mention to.”

The 29.1% uptick in homicides was reported by the police commissioner at an end-of-year public safety briefing that was a more tempered affair than how 2024 police statistics were reported last December.

At last year’s press conference, Cox boasted that the “city has never been safer,” when joining the mayor in rolling out end-of-year crime statistics that featured a record-low number of homicides and shootings.

The number of murders in 2024 “appears to be the lowest since 1957,” and is “by far” the lowest amount since the Boston Police Department began tracking such data in 2007, when there were 68 homicides, Cox said at the time.

Wu, who was gearing up for a reelection campaign at the time, pointed to the data as evidence that Boston is the “safest major city in the country.” She stuck to that same refrain on Monday, despite the uptick in homicides, and a significant spike in shoplifting that was also highlighted by the police commissioner.

“Being a home for everyone means being there, not just during the good times, but all the time,” Wu said. “It means showing up for families, even when they feel the ground beneath them is falling through and when they’re having the worst days and the worst moments of their lives.”

Referring to the city’s public safety teams, including police, firefighters and EMS personnel, Wu said, “It’s because of the care, the hard work, and the empathy of these teams that Boston is the safest major city in the country.”

Isaac Yablo, Wu’s senior advisor for community safety and director of the Office of Violence Prevention for the Boston Public Health Commission, said the city’s approach to tackling gun violence has shifted from focusing solely on five hot-spot neighborhoods to “a city-wide focus, so that more residents are being met where they’re at and we’re addressing needs more holistically.”

“As we look into the new year, we will continue focusing on secondary and tertiary prevention, but the main goal will be primary prevention — preventing the violence from happening in the first place,” Yablo said.

Cox said the Police Department has “doubled our efforts in community policing,” following last year’s record-low gun violence, which he said has led to “historic lows” for this year’s number of shooting victims and gunfire incidents. Both are down more than 30% compared to the department’s five-year averages, he said.

Shoplifting, however, remains “an issue in our city,” Cox said, which has led to the police department making retail theft an increased priority alongside its efforts to “sustain lower levels of violence” — with the two sometimes overlapping.

He attributed that increased focus, by way of a Safe Shopping Initiative the department has partnered on with the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office, to a 113% increase in arrests for shoplifting this year — driven in part by a “substantial increase in timely, more detailed reporting from the retailers.”

“This increased reporting supports Boston Police Department’s ability to address repeat violent and high-volume offenders with the ultimate goal of keeping shoppers and retailers safe,” Cox said.

The police commissioner also shared statistics that suggest crime is down at the troubled intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, an area commonly referred to as Mass and Cass and known for being home to the city’s open-air drug market, as well as the downtown.

Police have targeted Mass and Cass and the downtown in recent years, following reports of increased violence and drug activity, Cox said.

Around downtown, violent crime has declined by 24% this year and police have increased patrols there by 31%, compared to last year. Officers have made 48% more arrests in the downtown, including 30% more drug arrests, he said.

The police commissioner said violent crime is down 8% and property crime has decreased by 10% this year in the Mass and Cass area. Arrests at Methadone Mile have increased by 54%, Cox said,

Cox did not elaborate on whether those statistics for Mass and Cass extend to hot-spot areas like the South End, where residents have complained of open-air drug use, dealing and violence that has spilled over into their neighborhoods.

He also highlighted the department’s focus on reckless motorized scooter operations, which have become a nuisance for residents. To date this year police have seized more than 840 electric scooters, including 160 from the downtown area, representing a 22% increase in seizures since last year, Cox said.

The police commissioner said seizures are made for illegal, unregistered scooter operations.

Mayor Michelle Wu speaks during a press conference on Boston’s year-end crime statistics where she continued to tout the city’s status as “the safest major city in the country.” (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

Source link