Mavericks vs. Celtics best bet: Game 5

Mavericks vs. Celtics NBA Finals best bet Game 5: Expect Doncic, Dallas to put up strong effort in Boston

The Mavericks are 4-3 in elimination games since drafting Luka Doncic. Photo by Julio Cortez/AP.

Spencer Closs

June 15, 2024

The Boston Celtics return home to try and close out the Dallas Mavericks.

The pregame narrative: No team has ever come back from 3-0 down in an NBA playoff series but the Mavericks look to move one step closer to the unthinkable with a Game 5 win. I expect them to keep it close.

Check out this Mavericks vs. Celtics best bet for Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday, June 17.

Mavericks vs. Celtics best bet

Best Bet: Mavericks +7 (-113)

The Mavericks flipped the script in Game 4 and beat the Celtics 122-84 to bring the series back to 3-1. But they still have a steep hill to climb if they want to be NBA Champions.

Boston lost its first game since Game 2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers series back on May 9. Could Dallas have cracked the foundation?

Judging by history, probably not (teams down 0-3 have a 0-156 record in playoff series), but there are a few key points which may help the Mavs get back into it.

Firstly, the emergence of Kyrie Irving was inevitable as he finally broke out for 21 points but more importantly, was efficient while doing so (10-for-18).

The one-time NBA champ is no stranger to performing on the big stage as he averages 26.1 points across 16 NBA Finals games in his career.

If he can build momentum, he's a real threat as a second option for the Mavericks. Quite frankly, they need him to play well if they want a shot.

Kristaps Porzingis was available for the Celtics in Game 4 but didn't log any minutes as a coach's decision. Evidently, his injury is serious and I can't see him being much of a factor here.

Still, though, the success of the Mavs lies on the shoulders of Luka Doncic.

Luckily for them, he turns up his play in elimination games. In seven career games of such sort, he averages 34.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists on 46.4% shooting.

If he's up to standard and players like Tim Hardaway Jr. (15 points, 5-for-7 from three) can continue to build on his strong performance, Doncic could have the support to force a Game 6.

Whether the Mavs do or not is yet to be determined but I'm expecting them to put up a resilient effort either way.

Key stat: Dallas has a 4-3 record in elimination games since drafting Doncic.

Picks made at 12:43 p.m. on 06/15/2024.

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