In a chat with the media after his latest showdown, Mavericks star Luka Doncic shed some light on how his team can capture another win for Game 5 on Monday.
“It’s basketball, there’s five people on the floor so that’s huge for us,” said Doncic. “Everybody played with a lot of energy and that’s how we got to do it. We got to think the same way in Game 5 in Boston.”
The stars have been the story of the series so far, with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown in a full-on brawl right now. But for Doncic in particular, it’s been a rough series for him. After his poor defensive effort in Game 3 was put on blast by the fans and media, people were starting to wonder if he would ever change his ways.
Luka did step up in Friday’s game to save the Mavericks’ season, and Irving was right when he said it silenced a lot of haters. But it’s the role-players who have made the biggest difference so far. Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Derrick White have been fantastic for the Celtics. Meanwhile, after giving the Mavericks nothing through the first three games, the bench finally stepped up to drop a combined 54 points in Game 4.
Contributions from the role-players allowed Doncic and Irving to go off and they had their best game of the series with 29 and 21 points, respectively. While the Mavericks still face overwhelming odds of a comeback, they got the blueprint for success in Game 3 with 25-year-old Doncic playing better on defense and the “other guys” finally stepping up to fill their role.
The Mavericks may have the best player in the series but the Celtics have more depth at every position and the margin for error against them is ridiculously thin. For Doncic, despite how much he and Irving can do on the court, he’s reliant on his teammates to make shots and show some resistance in the paint to lead his team to wins.
Kyrie Irving Says The Mavericks Are Evolving Amid Steep Adversity
Irving was on a 13-game losing streak against his former team before finally breaking the cycle in Game 4. Thankfully, with the home crowd behind him, Kyrie was able to step up and deliver one of his best games of the series.
Set in Boston, the next game will not be as easy. Celtics fans are notoriously ruthless and they’ve been giving Kyrie and his Mavericks team a really tough time. Irving says it’s just been strengthening the trust and bond with his teammates.
“You saw all those Celtics fans in there tonight. They travel in packs,” said Irving. “When we go to Boston, there’s going to be a bunch of them yelling a whole bunch of crazy stuff still, but I think we’ve been able to grow and face kind of this adversity head-on.”
We can expect some heavy boos for Irving in Boston, just like in games 1 and 2, but the All-Star point guard is already at peace with his past and he holds no grudges against his former team. It remains to be seen how the Mavericks will respond with their backs against the wall so far from home but if any group can pull off this comeback, it’s this Mavericks squad.
As someone who has come back from down 3-1 before, 2016 champion Kyrie Irving knows how to step up in do-or-die scenarios, and he’s got the Slovenian superstar to back him up the entire way. If they get the support they need from other key rotation players, the Mavericks could make things very interesting in these Finals.
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