NBA: Mavericks force game 5 as Celtic drew the series level

(Basketball news) The Dallas Mavericks were on the brink of elimination in the Western Conference standings but somehow managed to force a game 5 against the Golden State Warriors as they beat them 119-109. For the Mavericks, Doncic had 30 points and 14 rebounds, it was the 10th double-double in his 14 games this postseason for Doncic, who also had nine assists. Dorian Finney-Smith had 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting and Bullock added 18 points on 6-of-10 – all 3-pointers. Jalen Brunson had 15 points and Maxi Kleber was 5-of-6 shooting overall for 13 points. For the Warriors, Curry had 20 points as Jonathan Kuminga had 17 points from the bench.

''Just got to finish the game. A win is a win,'' said Doncic, who was 10-of-26 shooting with only three made 3s but got plenty of help from his supporting cast.

'Everybody in that locker room felt like we had more basketball to play,'' Finney-Smith said. ''We just wanted to get the win anyway. … Feel like we came out desperate in that first half.''

''It was almost like an ego win (for Dallas). You come out and really have nothing to lose. So that confidence started early,'' Stephen Curry said. ''And we really didn't do anything to slow it down, and then that's when the avalanche starts. You tip your hat to them.''

''Just made the decision to see if we could pull off a miracle, but it wasn't meant to be,'' coach Steve Kerr said. ''Dallas was great tonight. They deserved to win. This is the conference finals. This is how it's supposed to be.''

''I still believe we can win. Swept or not swept, if you lose, you lose,'' Doncic said. ''Got to go game by game.''

The Boston Celtics tied the series 2-2 in the Eastern Conference finals as they beat the Miami Heat 102-82. For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum scored 31 points as Payton Pritchard had 14 points for them, Derrick White added 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Robert William finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. For the Heat, Victor Oladipo led the scoring with 23 points, their starting five of All-Star Jimmy Butler (six points), Kyle Lowry (three points), P.J. Tucker (no points), Max Strus (no points) and Bam Adebayo (nine points) were a combined 7 of 36 shooting. They go to Miami for game 5 tomorrow.

''Obviously, we knew how important this game was,'' Tatum said. ''Everybody just had to come up with a different sense of urgency.''

'Just got to muster that same energy when we came off a win as well as a loss,'' Udoka said. ''This is a three-game series now. Can't always just flip the mindset when we come off a loss and get a little desperate.''

''They came out and jumped us,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ''We're not making any excuses. They outplayed us tonight for sure. We never could get any kind of grip on the game.''

''It's a part of the playoffs. You learn to adapt,'' Adebayo said. ''Guys being out, guys playing half, guys playing 20 minutes in the game, just depends. You've just got to find a way to win.'

Also read: Celtics bounce back as Warriors take a 2-0 series lead in the finals 
 

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