The Dallas Mavericks led the Boston Celtics 51-50 at halftime of Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals, but it's going to take a lot more work to avoid a 3-0 hole.
Dallas looked on its way to an easy win for much of the first quarter, taking a 22-9 lead to open the game in front of a raucous American Airlines Center crowd. The did almost all of their damage in the paint, taking advantage of a Celtics frontcourt missing key big man Kristaps Porzingis, who was ruled out for the game due to a "rare" injury.