The Boston Celtics took a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals on Wednesday night. No team has recovered from that deficit in NBA history.
The Dallas Mavericks have a long shot at making history. To do so, their biggest star will have to get under control, says ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
Mavs superstar Luka Dončić is averaging 29.7 points, nine rebounds and nine assists through the first three games of the series, so his on-court performance isn't the issue.
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Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić looks for a foul during the first quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The Dallas Mavericks host the Boston Celtics at the American Airlines Center on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. (Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
However, Windhorst took offense to a “terrible play” Dončić made when he told his bench, “You better challenge” a call that gave him his sixth foul of the night, “as if it were the bench's fault.”
That was the beginning of a historic rant by Windhorst, who criticized Dončić's attitude.
“I'm standing here in the Mavericks tunnel. There's the Celtics tunnel. That's where the winners are,” Windhorst joked. “If Luka ever wants to be a winner coming out of this tunnel, he will have to use what happened in this final as a learning experience.
“Here we have a situation in which Luka complains about the refereeing. They have begged him, they have spoken to him. [and] They have begged him. He's costing his team because of how he treats the referees.”
Luka Dončić of the Dallas Mavericks reacts in the third quarter against the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals at the American Airlines Center on June 12, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. (Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
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Windhorst noted that the Mavs wouldn't be in this situation if it hadn't been for what Dončić did during the regular season, averaging nearly a triple-double of 34 points.
But now he is “the reason the Mavericks aren't going to win,” and if someone doesn't talk to Dončić soon, the organization will never get over the hump.
“He's got to get over this. And the fact that he came out after the game and blamed the refs showed me that he's not close yet. So, maybe over the summer, someone will take care of him. Because no one with the Mavericks and no one.” others in his life have done it. That's where the Mavericks are right now. “They will never get to this tunnel with the trophy if he doesn't improve those aspects of his game.”
Luka Dončić of the Dallas Mavericks in the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals at the American Airlines Center on June 12, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. (Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
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The Celtics survived a 22-2 run by the Mavericks in the fourth quarter to win Game 3 of the NBA Finals, 106-99. They have won 10 in a row in the playoffs and are 7-0 on the road. Game four is Friday night.
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