Celtics beat Mavs in Game 3 of Finals to move one win from title - ESPN

DALLAS — For a few minutes in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics looked like they were about to have some bad habits come back to haunt them.

The Dallas Mavericks, who had looked dead and buried when trailing by 21 points with 10 minutes to go in the fourth, and who already trailed 2-0 in this best-of-seven series, roared back into the game with a 22-2 run, putting Boston's lead in peril and — particularly with the status of Kristaps Porzingis in doubt moving forward — threatening to make this a series.

But just when things were looking bleakest, the Celtics turned them right back around, holding Dallas to one field goal over a five-minute span as they righted the ship, claimed a 106-99 victory and took a 3-0 lead in this series.

As a result, Boston is now one win away from a record-setting 18th NBA championship — one the Celtics can claim as soon as Friday in Game 4 here at American Airlines Center.

«Experience is the best teacher,» said Jaylen Brown, who finished with 30 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists in 41 minutes. «All year long we've been hearing about the Celtics are the past, for the last six to eight months, that's all we've been hearing is all the different shortcomings we've had in the past.

»This is a new team, you know what I mean. We've learned from those experiences. And in these moments, you can see that we learned from it. We stepped up to the plate, and we found a way to win."

It looked like Boston had found a way to win much earlier, having responded to a 25-12 run by the Mavericks over the opening seven minutes of the game — a run that saw Kyrie Irving, who finished with 35 points after combining for 28 in the two games in Boston, get going for the