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Dallas ready for Game 3, Kyrie Irivng gave tips to bounce back against Cetics🏆How about Celtics?
The last 12 games Kyrie Irving has played against the Boston Celtics have all finished the same way.
His squad lost.
Irving and the Dallas Mavericks would want to see the streak end Wednesday night, when they visit the Celtics in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Boston leads the series 2-0.
“First thing of that is just accepting that I haven’t played well or up to my standards, as well as I would have liked,” Irving said. “Being back in Boston, there’s such a level of desire that I have inside of me to play well. Wanted to be there for my teammates. As a competitor, it’s frustrating. But I don’t want to let that seep in or spill over to any other decisions I have to make there as a player.”
Irving shot only 35% in the first two games of the finals in Boston, averaging 14 points and four assists in his former home arena, where fans clearly dislike him. He has shot 50% or below in each of his last ten games against the Celtics.
“I just can feel the stakes being raised up a little bit more,” Irving said. “The pressure is natural. Makes diamonds. … We just have to continue to lean in on each other, especially when it gets tough out there. We’re going against a great team. They’re not going to stop pressing us, stop their pace, stop testing us on both ends of the floor. We know what we’re in for. But now we have to raise it to an even higher level, and it starts with me.”
The odds
Dallas is a 2.5-point favourite in Game 3, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, and unless the line changes drastically, Boston will be an underdog this season.
Wednesday will be the Celtics’ 99th game of the year. They’ve only been underdogs three times in the first 98 games: at Sacramento on December 20 (a 144-119 Boston win), at Milwaukee on January 11 (a 135-102 Bucks win), and at Milwaukee again on April 9 (a 104-91 Bucks victory).
Tatum watching
Florida Panthers standout Matthew Tkachuk says he’s rooting for the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals for a simple reason: he went to school in St. Louis with Jayson Tatum.
And, as one might expect, Tatum supports the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.
“I actually watched him win last night,” Tatum said Tuesday, referring to Florida’s 4-1 win over Edmonton that gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead in that title series. “Trying to learn and understand the rules in the game of hockey more and more. I got to watch the game last night. They won. Like I said, I’m extremely happy for him and his family. Hopefully they win it all.”
Closing in
Boston enters Game 3 of the NBA Finals with 1,582 3-pointers made this season, including the playoffs.
That means the Celtics are 15 3s shy of shattering the NBA’s full-season record. Last season, Boston made 1,596 long-range shots, setting a record.
