Facing a tandem as talented as Dallas’s Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving forces opponents to decide what they can and cannot live with on the defensive end.
The Celtics could not stop Doncic, who posted a 30-point, 10-rebound double-double Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. He muscled his way into the paint, scoring 12 points from 6 feet and in. He knocked down a pair of midrange jumpers and drilled a game-high four 3-pointers.
But the Celtics could live with Doncic’s scoring because they kept his teammates from providing enough help. Doncic is averaging 8.4 assists this postseason; the Mavericks had nine assists as a team Thursday night.
The Celtics became the first team to hold Dallas under 90 points this postseason, and they did it with a complete team effort on the defensive end.
Dallas had a miserable night from the 3-point line, shooting 7 for 27 (25.9 percent). Only three of those attempts came from the corners, with the Mavericks making one.
Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford showed in the previous series that they can score efficiently off lobs. Neither of them missed a field goal attempt Thursday night (4 for 4), but they took so few that they were limited to 10 points combined.
The Celtics pride themselves on defensive versatility, and their ability to defend screens with switches played a big role in slowing the Mavericks.
Jrue Holiday and Derrick White kept up consistent ball pressure, and the Celtics’ bigs provided more than enough help. The Celtics swatted nine shots thanks to timely rotations from Brown, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis.
“Something that we have harped on all season, what makes our team really special is we don’t have guys that we hide on defense,” Jayson Tatum said. “Bigs and guards, we switch, we take on the challenge of individual defense.
“Understanding that we have help, it’s a team sport, we all got to be on the same page, but we’re not showing or anything like that, because that could kind of compromise your defense. And, essentially, like, if you want to play on our team you have to be able to guard, and everybody knows that.”
Irving simply did not look like his usual self, and the ear-splitting TD Garden crowd may have had something to do with it.
“We didn’t perform the way we would have wanted to tonight,” Irving said. “It starts with me just being able to get out there and get us settled. Got to take some accountability for just the communication, and just going out there and getting used to the way that the kind of environment was going to be.”
Irving had several sloppy turnovers, including a careless no-look pass that went nowhere near its intended target and bounced out of bounds and a possession where he dribbled the ball off his foot.
“I thought he had great looks that just didn’t go down,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “He had some great looks at three. He had some great looks in the paint. That’s just part of basketball. Sometimes they go in. Sometimes they don’t.”
Porzingis came off the bench in his first game after dealing with a calf injury. He provided an immediate spark, and his rim protection changed the game, Horford said.
“KP got to an unbelievable place there early in the first half, in the first quarter,” Horford said. “I just felt like it really got us going and took us to another level as a team. That was huge for us.”
Earlier this week, Porzingis was asked if he was 100 percent, and he took a long pause before responding. He said he was unsure what to say at the time because he felt fine but hadn’t tested his skills in a game in over a month.
But Game 1, he said, “was an affirmation to myself that I’m pretty good, you know? Maybe I’m not perfect, but I’m pretty good and I can play like this and I can definitely add to this team.
Ball movement was an issue for Dallas, and the stagnation allowed the Celtics to keep the perimeter action away from the corners and force tougher shots in other areas.
“It’s uncharacteristic for us to have only nine assists,” Irving said. “The ball has got to move a little bit more. And again, that starts with me just being able to push the pace, get us some easy opportunities, and just adjust to what they are throwing at us.”
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