End of the trail: No finals miracle

Boston guard Jaylen Brown and Celtics fans celebrate as Mavericks guard Luka Dončić gets a hand from Kyrie Irving as they leave the court after head coach Jason Kidd calls a timout in the fourth quarter.  After a stirring Game 4, the Mavs couldn’t replicate that performance and fell to the Celtics 106-88, losing the NBA Finals in five games.

(Smiley N. Pool/staff Photographer)

Mavs’ season came a long way

Unable to recapture Game 4 magic, Mavs fall in rout

18 Jun 2024 - The Dallas Morning News

BOSTON — The Mavs are coming home without the finals or the Celtics, who may not make it out of the West End for a week. The locals take their hoops seriously. Deliriously, you might say. The Bruins flamed out, the Patriots stink and the Red Sox are already a dozen games back of the hated Yankees, but the C’s came through with their Nba-record 18th title and first in 16 years, locking down streets around TD Garden for blocks in anticipation of the post-game party.

Back in Dallas, meanwhile, there will be no need to shut down Uptown.

No parade for the conquering heroes.

No bad karaoke of “We Are the Champions.”

Not after the Celtics’ dominating 106-88 win Monday, rendering the Mavs’ facesaving blowout Friday merely a curiosity in a gentlemen’s sweep.

In the finals reckoning, the Mavs simply couldn’t contend with everything Boston brings to the table. Be glad they didn’t join the nine other teams that have been swept.

“They’re a great team,” Luka Doncic said.

“That’s what they do.” Besides the fact that Luka and Kyrie Irving combined for 43 points, which is about 20 short of what they need from their superstars, the Celtics matched the Mavs in the paint, the one area where they’d held an advantage the first four games of the Finals. Boston also reasserted itself on the glass, outrebounding the Mavs 51-35, a virtual flip-flop of Game 4.

Mavericks forward Tim Hardaway Jr. leaves the court as confetti falls after a Game 5 loss to the Celtics. Hardaway didn’t score a point in over eight minutes of game time.

(Smiley N. Pool/staff Photographer)

Here’s how you knew it wouldn’t be the Mavs’ year: Payton Pritchard, Boston’s real-life leprechaun, made his second half-court halftime buzzer beater of the series.

Otherwise, the Celtics just did what they’ve done all year while winning 64 games and losing just three in the playoffs. Jayson Tatum led with 31 points and Jaylen Brown backed him up with 21, earning the NBA Finals MVP, meaning Jason Kidd got that right after all.

Even the return of Kristaps Porzingis, a sentimental favorite at TD Garden, didn’t hurt the Mavs all that much. Not like he did in Games 1 and 2. He averaged 16 points in helping the Celtics build a 3-0 lead but was good for just 5 on Monday with a single rebound.

The Mavs’ only real shot at extending the series to six games was if Luka and Kyrie went off and somebody on the bench did something. Anything. Josh Green came up with the game of his life, scoring 14 points and making 4 of 6 3s. But that was almost as many treys as the rest of the Mavs put together.

Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dante Exum, who came up big off the bench in Game 4? Only 4 points between them.

The finals put a spotlight on the Mavs’ biggest weakness, their lack of firepower off the bench. Behind re-signing Derrick Jones Jr., Nico Harrison’s next priority needs to be finding someone who can shoot. The Mavs don’t have much cap room to make any noise in free agency, so any significant additions will have to be made by trade. Hardaway’s expiring contract should at least help.

The first step in the Mavs’ journey, Kidd said, was the biggest. They made it to the finals. The experience will be invaluable for a promising young team. They’ve got an idea now what it takes.

“Yes, we lost 4-1,” Kidd said. “But there are a lot of positives in this run. We have a young core. This is an exciting time to be a Mavs fan and also the coach of the Mavs.”

Let’s not forget how far this team has come, and not just because it started out in Abu Dhabi, either. In the last three seasons, they’ve lost twice to the team that won it all. This season, the drafting of Dereck Lively II, the additions of P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford at the trade deadline as well as the coalescence of Luka and Kyrie into one of the NBA’S most potent backcourts made for one of the most memorable seasons in Mavs history.

Do you think Joe Mazzulla was worried about what the Mavs might do if they’d forced a Game 6? Asked before the game what advice he’d give all the young people who view him as a role model and his personal journey as a testament to persistence, Mazzulla said, “Have faith and execute what’s necessary to win Game 5.”

The Celtics would not allow themselves to be distracted from a goal denied them in the finals two years ago. They were, without doubt, the better team. They were also a team that’s mostly been together for seven years.

The Mavs have been a family for five months.

In the end, Kyrie couldn’t shake his hex at the Garden, but he called it one of his most enjoyable seasons overall. Redemption, maybe. He likes his teammates and the people in the organization.

“Makes coming to work fun,” he said.

What happened Monday will sting for awhile, but the Mavs took us on a wild ride the last couple of months, one that we didn’t see coming when we booked our summer vacations. Next year will come with higher expectations. This team earned them.