Mavericks have now lost three of their four Game 1s during these NBA Playoffs

Despite falling to Boston by the third-largest margin of an NBA Finals’ Game 1, Luka Doncic doesn’t believe this will affect his team’s spirit. Dallas has already lost the opening game on three of the four series they’ve played this postseason. 

“Either you lose or you win,” the Slovenian said. “First to four, we’ve got to focus on the next game.” The Dallas superstar contributed with a 30-point and 10-rebound performance, but was only able to record one assist all night.

His co-star Kyrie Irving did struggle throughout the contest, as he was only able to hit 12 points. Ever since the prematch celebrations, he was being booed by the TD Garden crowd, and continued every time he touched the ball.

The Celtics have more blocks than the Mavericks have assists tonight 😳 pic.twitter.com/6vqnAPvuCA

— ESPN (@espn) June 7, 2024

“I thought it was going to be a little louder in here. I’m expecting the same thing (in Game 2). The crowd’s trying to get me out of my element,” said the former Boston guard. “It’s not the first time I’ve lost in Boston. I don’t want to make it a habit.”

Despite Luka leading the pack with an important amount of points, the rest of the team wasn’t able to impact the game offensively as they’ve been doing in the past series. Probably the only other teammate who inspired the Mavericks was P.J. Washington, who added 14 points and eight rebounds. 

Nevertheless, the Dallas team couldn’t find the offensive consistency beyond this, as their squad only tallied 9 assists on their 35 field goals during the match. Also, the Mavs weren’t able to score at least 25 points in any quarter. 

Jason Kidd’s players only produced five assists in the first three quarters, which is the fewest any NBA squad has posted through any game in the last three campaigns. “We’ve got to move the ball,” the tactician said postgame. “The ball got stuck too much.”

Despite winning Game 1 by a large margin, Tatum explains why he’s not confident yet about winning title

The truth is, the Celtics always seemed deserving of winning the opening match of the series, as they were already 29 points up in the first half. However, Tatum is well aware that two seasons ago they lost the championship despite conquering the first game.

“Getting back to this point and being here is really a big deal,” said the All-Star forward. “But two years ago we won the first game and we know the outcome of that series. We still have a lot of work to do.”

His Latvian teammate, on the other hand, is surging with confidence after returning to the NBA courts. The seven-foot big man has been sidelined due to a knee injury since April 29, and had missed out on most of his team’s playoff run. 

“Tonight was affirmation to myself that I’m pretty good,” the center expressed after producing 3 blocks last night. “I’m not perfect but I can play like this and I can add to this team. The adrenaline was pumping through my veins.”