The Mavs are in an 0-2 hole as the series shifts to the south. Luka will need a night to remember, but the scoring of P.J. Washington will be the most important factor for Dallas if they want to shift the series momentum.
Want to make Game 3 even more interesting? Check out our 4 best player props below. Good luck!
Dallas must win this game—there are no two ways around it. If they do, Luka Doncic will seize his moment. This game carries a similar vibe to Phoenix’s 2021 finals run, where the Suns were nearly good enough to defeat Milwaukee but lacked one more offensive player to complete the task.
Despite this, Booker delivered two 40-point games against one of the league’s top defenses, even with Jrue Holiday guarding him. Tonight is Luka’s turn for a 40-point performance.
It is his moment on the biggest stage in the most crucial game of his professional career. I believe he won’t let the city of Dallas down tonight.
With or without Porzingis, these numbers are too good to pass up. Holiday has hit this prop twice in this series and since their last playoff loss Game 2 to Cleveland, he’s 7 of 8.
Playing 40 minutes per game, with additional weight as the alpha and leader of this Boston team, he’ll need to set the tone away from home which will be shown by playmaking and rebounding.
Tasked with difficult matchups all night, don’t expect Holiday to score 20+ again, but his rebounding and playmaking numbers should stay intact.
Holiday hasn’t had three straight games with over 2 threes made this playoff run and in Indiana, shot the ball poorly from deep.
With the Mavs making a fair amount of defensive adjustments heading into this game, don’t expect too many offensive rebounds to kick out opportunities for Jrue who thrives off those plays.
Minus KP, Holiday will need to allow Tatum and Brown to get their touches and go iso early on in this contest which will limit his scoring impact from deep.
P.J. Washington has by no means played his best series, shooting just 1 of 8 from beyond the arc in Dallas’s two losses in Boston. However, the uber athletic forward could pose problems for the C’s tonight.
When Washington uses his size to pump-fake and drive into the lane once he gets his defender in the air, he’s a major problem for Boston who will lack interior size with KP potentially out of this ball game.
Washington still had 8 FTA in the first two games of the series and this postseason run when the series shifts home in Game 3, he’s been aggressive on the offensive end - 16 points vs MIN, 27 points vs OKC, 10 points vs LAC.
For Dallas to win Game 3, it will be their third best offensive player, P.J. Washington, piling onto the score sheet.