Doncic’s lastsecond 3 leads Mavs past Celtics
Luka Doncic slammed the scorer’s table in joy this time, rather than anger.
The Dallas sensation hit a tiebreaking 3pointer with 0.1 of a second remaining — his second goahead 3 in the final minute — and the host Mavericks grabbed a 110107 victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.
The Celtics trailed by 11 with three minutes to go before Jaylen Brown put them in front in the final minute with a short jumper. Doncic answered with a difficult 3 over 6foot8 Daniel Theis before Brown pulled Boston even at 107all with another bucket.
Doncic did it again — with Kemba Walker running at him on a stepback shot from the left wing — and turned to the scorer’s table as he had after a lastsecond loss to Phoenix. Devin Booker hit the goahead shot in the final seconds before Doncic’s desperation attempt missed in a 109108 loss to cap a sixgame skid.
“He’s just a very unique player, a very unique person,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. “The wiring of people like Luka Doncic, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant, guys that have this laserlike focus in these situations. It’s difficult to explain how their minds and their brains work.”
Other games: Nikola Jokic scored 41 points and Jamal Murray added 24 as the Nuggets edged the Trail Blazers 111-106 in Denver. Damian Lillard scored 25 points for Portland . ... Lamar Stevens drove for an easy dunk with 4.1 seconds left and visiting Atlanta failed to get off a final shot as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Hawks 112-111 . ... Rookie guard Saben Lee scored a personal-best 21 points as Detroit snapped a three-game slide with a 105-93 win in Orlando . ... Tobias Harris scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and the Philadelphia 76ers beat Toronto 109-102 in Tampa, Fla., to end the Raptors’ four-game winning streak . ... Bruce Brown scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to lead the host Brooklyn Nets to a 127-118 win over the Sacramento Kings . ... Giannis Antetokoumpo had 37 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the host Milwaukee Bucks beat Minnesota 139-112 to spoil new Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch’s debut . ... Kawhi Leonard scored 32 points and the host Los Angeles Clippers routed Washington 135-116, snapping the Wizards’ season-high five-game winning streak.
All-Star selections: New Orleans forward Zion Williamson is an NBA All-Star, and only three others in the game’s 70-year history were younger. Joining him as fellow All-Star rookies: Boston’s Brown, New York’s Julius Randle and Chicago’s Zach LaVine. Phoenix’s Chris Paul is an All-Star for the 11th time, and Brooklyn’s James Harden is one for the ninth consecutive year. Atlanta’s Trae Young, an All-Star last season, is not one this year despite averaging 26.9 points entering Tuesday, the most among anyone not selected. Team captains LeBron James of the Lakers and Kevin Durant of the Nets will draft their teams next week, with rosters unveiled March 4. The All-Star player draft pool is listed elsewhere on this page.