Dallas, TX
Dallas Mavericks ousted handily in Boston; Kyrie Irving jeered by Celtics fans
BOSTON — National TV. Calendar flipped to March. Parquet floor in TD Garden to face the NBA-best Boston Celtics.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd called it “a great test to see where we are with the new pieces.” With that in mind let’s charitably grade Boston’s 138-110 whipping of Dallas on Friday night as a C-minus for the Mavericks, though the game wasn’t as bleak as the final score.
Certainly, the Mavericks left ample room for improvement during the regular season’s final 22 games, but Kidd said he saw positive signs from his retooled roster, especially up to the point in which Dallas trailed 81-79 midway through the third quarter.
“It wasn’t the game that we wanted, but we learned a lot about ourselves,” Kidd said. “We have some things to correct, but it’s going in the right direction. We’re closer than we think from the score.”
The Mavericks got a monster game from Luka Doncic, whose 37-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist performance outshined that of the game’s other NBA Most Valuable Player candidate, Jayson Tatum, who finished with 32 points and eight rebounds.
Afterward, the MVP candidates briefly embraced, smiled and spoke on the court.
“He’s just a great guy,” Doncic said. “We both have a lot of respect for each other, which is amazing. We battled it out there.”
This night’s bottom line and the 1-3 finish of this Mavericks road trip, though, exemplify the uphill climbs faced by Doncic in the MVP race and that of Dallas in the playoff race.
When this trip began the Mavericks were riding a seven-game winning streak and coming off a win over Phoenix that moved them to 6th in the West, half a game behind New Orleans.
Now the Mavericks (34-26) are eighth in the West as they return to Dallas for a quick-turn noon Sunday game against Philadelphia, trailing the sixth-place Pelicans by 1½ games and seventh-place Sacramento by half a game.
It’s no shame, nor surprising, to fall to a 47-12 Boston team that drained 21-of-43 3-pointers en route to its 10th straight win, but Dallas ideally needed to go 2-2 on this trip. The Mavericks almost certainly would have done so if not for Max Strus’ 59-foot buzzer-beater in Cleveland.
“It was a game for three quarters, 3½ quarters damn-near,” rookie Dereck Lively II said of Friday’s loss. “We’ve just got to be able to work through some of the downs that we have. Just because our offense isn’t working doesn’t mean our defense should let up.
“There’s some times when some other players are in our heads about things, but I feel like we’ve just got to … be able to trust ourselves in those moments.”
P.J. Washington had his third consecutive strong offensive performance, scoring 17 points to go along with his seven rebounds.
Washington made three 3-pointers in the third quarter alone, and he missed an attempt with 5:38 left in the period that could have given Dallas an 82-81 lead. The Mavericks remained within striking distance after three quarters, 102-90.
The Celtics, though, scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter and 12 of the first 14 to blow the game open.
There were multiple intriguing subplots. This was only Kristaps Porzingis’ second game against Dallas since his Feb. 10, 2022, trade to Washington — and his first since April 1, 2022, when in a home victory for the Wizards he had 24 points and nine rebounds.
Porzingis on Friday scored 24 points and pulled down six rebounds.
Kyrie Irving has returned to Boston often since departing in free agency after the 2018-19 season, but it was his first TD Garden visit as a Maverick.
Unlike his return to Cleveland on the second game of this trip, where he got a video tribute and ovation, Irving was booed Friday every time he touched the ball. Late in the game, when he was on the bench and the game out of hand, fans chanted “Kyrie sucks!”
Kyrie Irving on being booed at TD Garden: “They have a right to boo. From my career record against them in the last few games, I haven’t won so until I beat them, they have all the right to continue to boo. I think that’s what makes the theatrics of sports and competitive sports…
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) March 2, 2024
Mostly, though, this night was about how well the Mavericks would measure up to the Celtics – and whether Doncic or Tatum would make the more persuasive case for MVP.
The latter answer clearly was Doncic, two nights after turning 25 with a 30-point, 16-assist, 11-rebound effort in Toronto.
“At 25 he’s just gotten better; I can’t wait for 26,” Kidd joked, then turned more serious.
“He loves to play the game. He’s emotional. He is fiery. He believes he can take on the world. He can beat the world. And that’s what you want for your best player. At 25, he’s incredible.”
Anyone who tuned in to ESPN on Friday night learned that Doncic indeed is playing MVP-caliber basketball. But what did the Mavericks learn about themselves on this measuring stick night?
“That I think we can compete with the best,” Kidd said. “Not looking at the score, but we truly believe that we have the talent to compete. It’s being consistent and understanding it’s hard to win this league; it’s hard to beat the best teams.
“You don’t have to play perfect, but you have to stay together. You have to stay consistent. And that’s what we’re fighting to do right now, just like everyone else in this league.”
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Dallas, TX
National reaction to Stars’ Game 3 win: Dallas sports are 3 wins away from ‘Bonkersville’
The Dallas Stars took down the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, and in doing so put a bow on what was perhaps the best three-day weekend in the history of Dallas professional sports.
The Stars have taken two straight games in the series vs. Edmonton and now lead 2-0. That’s after their American Airlines Center cohorts, the Dallas Mavericks, have roared out to a 3-0 lead in the NBA’s Western Conference finals.
Two more Stars wins, and one more Mavs victory, and Dallas sports fans will be in double-Finals pandemonium.
Here are some reactions from the Stars’ thrilling win, one that featured a wild comeback, a controversial call and a hat trick for Jason Robertson.
The Dallas stars is going crazy!
What’s really up Dallas 💪🏿
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) May 28, 2024
Still hard to fathom typing that Dallas is one Mavericks victory and two Stars wins from becoming Bonkersville.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) May 28, 2024
Tidy little 4-0 weekend for the hometown SQUADS.
— Corby Davidson (@corbydavidson) May 28, 2024
We are THIS close to the Mavericks and Stars playing in the finals.
Again —— this never happens— Mac Engel (@MacEngelProf) May 28, 2024
we’ve got a couple of gutsy teams making determined runs right now
— dave lane (@oldwaver) May 28, 2024
We are 3 total wins away from both tenants of the AAC reaching their respective Championship series and that is absolutely incredible. Such a special time in DFW. Unreal.
— Iron Cheffield (@SeanCBass) May 28, 2024
Wayne Gretzky, on the TNT set between periods, on the embellishment call: “Maybe one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen. A tough guy like Marchment, he doesn’t embellish. That should have been one penalty.”
— Damon R. Marx (@DamonMarxDMN) May 28, 2024
Calling an embellishment on a called penalty is the dumbest thing in hockey.
— Sportstoons (@sportstoons) May 28, 2024
JASON ROBERTSON HATTY 🎩👒🤠🧢🎓
That’s the first Stars’ hat trick of the playoffs.
He sneaks it in to give Dallas a 4-3 lead.
— Lia Assimakopoulos (@Lassimak) May 28, 2024
ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? ROBO!
— Bob Sturm (@SportsSturm) May 28, 2024
Great comeback, the game of this run so far for Jason Robertson and damn good to have Roope back too. Pretty pretty good night!
— Mark Followill (@MFollowill) May 28, 2024
In the biggest games your stars have to deliver. Jason Robertson and Jake Oettinger delivered. #texashockey
— Chuck Cooperstein (@coopmavs) May 28, 2024
That felt like Edmonton’s best effort. Pretty practical to see the Stars roll off four straight here.
— Saad Yousuf (@SaadYousuf126) May 28, 2024
What a big boy win. Just fantastic work. The kind of stuff championships are made of.
— Bob Sturm (@SportsSturm) May 28, 2024
Twitter: @dmn_stars
Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Dallas, TX
Officers find fatally wounded teen near Dallas park, police say
Authorities are investigating after officers on Monday morning found a fatally wounded teen near Thurgood Marshall Park in Dallas, police said.
At about 9:30 a.m., officers were requested in connection with a health and welfare check call in the 4900 block of Mark Trail Way in the Red Bird neighborhood of Dallas.
Someone reported seeing a person on the ground in a breezeway, police said. In a Monday news release, authorities identified the person as a 14-year-old boy, but did not release his name, citing his age.
Investigators determined that the boy had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the location by Dallas Fire-Rescue, police said.
No suspect information was available as of Monday evening, according to police. The death is being investigated as a homicide.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Dallas Police detective Timothy Johnston at 214-671-3523 or timothy.johnston@dallaspolice.gov. They should reference case No. 082082-2024.
Dallas, TX
1 dead following downtown Dallas shooting Sunday; suspects at-large, police say
Authorities on Sunday evening found a man in downtown Dallas who was fatally shot, police said.
At about 11:30 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 1000 block of Young Street in response to a shooting call, according to a Monday news release.
Officers found a man, identified as Xavier Jasso, 25, who had been shot, police said, adding that he later died at a hospital.
Jasso was shot by “unknown suspects,” according to the news release.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information related to the shooting is asked to call the Dallas Police Department by calling 214-422-9275 or emailing patty.belew@dallaspolice.gov. They should reference case No. 081896-2024.
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