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Boston Celtics v Dallas Mavericks – Game 5
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Tip off: Tuesday 18th June 01:30
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Competition: NBA Finals (Game 5)
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Watch Live: TNT Sports
The Boston Celtics failed to sweep the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4, falling behind early and eventually taking their starters out of the game in the third quarter as the Mavericks made it a 3-1 series.
No side in NBA history has ever recovered from a 3-0 series deficit to win, but that is exactly what Dallas must do if they are to win a second-ever championship. With two games on the road in Boston still to come, it could not be a tougher ask for the Texan outfit.
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Boston Celtics v Dallas Mavericks Best Bets
➡️ Under 7.5 Luka Doncic Assists @ 2.10 on Betfair
Part of Dallas’ struggles throughout this series has been role players failing to knock down their shots, and that has helped to ensure Luka Doncic’s assist numbers have stayed out of double figures. Roleplayers notoriously shoot worse in road games, and in the pressure cooker of a must-win road Finals game, it would be no surprise to see a rough shooting night from the rest of the Mavericks roster again.
With the series on the line, Doncic should be more focused on scoring than setting up his teammates, and even when he does look to his peers, Boston have proven themselves effective at shutting down the lethal alley-oop combinations of Doncic and either Gafford or Lively that carried Dallas through the West. The Celtics have also been excellent at closing out open corner threes, which seriously cuts into the number of potential assists Doncic could have here.
The Slovenian has had over six assists just once in this series so far, and an odds-against price for him to go under the 7.5 line here looks too good to pass up.
⚔️ Boston Celtics v Dallas Mavericks Head-to-Head
The enormous 122-84 win for Dallas in Game 4 means that they now have a positive point differential (+6) in this series, despite losing three of the four games to date.
It was just four points shy of the all-time record winning margin in an NBA Finals game and was Dallas’ first win over Boston all season long. Having only beaten the Celtics for the first time in 2023-24 last time out, they must now win another three straight games, including two at TD Garden if they are to lift the Larry O’Brien trophy.
📊 Boston Celtics Form and Stats
The Celtics scored just 35 first half points as they were simply outplayed on both sides of the ball in Game 4. If they tried to force a drive inside, they found it well-covered by the Mavericks’ defence, whilst the rotations on the perimeter kept the league’s best and most voluminous three-point shooters quiet throughout.
Neither Jayson Tatum nor Jaylen Brown were able to get anything going for the Celtics and coach Joe Mazzulla eventually pulled his starters out of the game in the third, with the deficit hovering around the 40-mark for the remainder of the contest.
Kristaps Porzingis remains a day-to-day decision, so there is no word yet on whether or not he will be able to feature here, with the likely starting lineup set to feature Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford.
📊 Dallas Mavericks Form and Stats
Jason Kidd’s coaching has come under fire through the first three games of the series, but a highly-motivated unit were able to completely shut down the best side in the NBA for a full game last time out.
The Mavericks started with a fantastic pace and never let up, even as the lead ballooned past 20 points. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving split the offensive load effectively, and both were able to feed the rest of the team too, keeping the role players engaged and allowing them to cruise through the latter stages.
With Doncic also coming in for some criticism after fouling out of Game 3, and a perceived lack of effort on defence throughout the series, he bounced back strongly here, playing much better on the defensive end, and this is the attitude that will be required if the Mavericks are to have any hope of an improbable comeback in these Finals.
Kidd was also able to rest his starters when Boston pulled theirs, and only has an injury to Greg Brown to worry about, with the starting five expected to be the usual lineup of Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Derrick Jones Jr, PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
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