Irving Needs To Step Up At Home
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Andrew Rosario – Sports Editor
Unicorn Game 3 In Question
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
Heading into the NBA Finals, questions followed the Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics as they basically had no competition in the first 3 rounds. Miami and Cleveland went down in 5 and the Pacers were swept in 4. All 3 teams were hit with injuries making it easier for the Celtics to succeed. The Dallas Mavericks road to the Finals was a little more difficult. It took them 6 games to get past the Los Angeles Clippers and the Oklahoma Thunder. Minnesota was to supposed be their toughest matchup but led by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, Dallas took them out in 5 games. Boston hosted the first 2 games and saw the return of the “Unicorn” Kristaps Porzingas who had missed the previous 10 games with a calf injury. His impact was immediate.
Coming off the bench in game 1, Porzingas finished with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks in 21 minutes leading to a 107-89 rout. He only scored 12 points in game 2 but made his defensive presence noticed in the 105-98 victory sending the Celtics to Dallas up 2-0.
Doncic did all he could to keep the Mavs in the game (30 points and a triple double) but for the second straight game, Irving struggled. He shot just 35% from the floor and missed all 8, 3-point attempts in his return to his former team. It didn’t help that as a team Dallas missed 8 free throws.
So, Wednesday when Dallas begins the next 2 games in their arena, they will be looking for Irving to play like the NBA Champion he is. The Mavericks will also look to some of their role players to step up as well. It would help if they can make free throws. Boston has no problem with Doncic getting his. Their task is to contain everyone else and hope that Irving continues to struggle.
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