Even if the Mavericks hit a shot to take the lead with seconds left, the Celtics still had a chance to respond. At least they were supposed to.
But those plans disappeared when Marcus Smart fouled the Mavs’ Luka Doncic with 11.4 seconds left on the clock. The Celtics did have a foul to give so Doncic didn’t go to the free-throw line … but that also meant the shot clock was turned off. There was originally about six seconds left on the shot clock, leaving enough time for the Celtics to get a look, but the foul stopped those plans.
The Mavs — and Doncic — would get the final look of the game.
Doncic feasted on the Celtics’ mistake. Just like last season, Doncic hit a game-winning 3-pointer to put the Mavericks ahead. This time, he didn’t leave any time on the clock as the Celtics lost 107-104 on Saturday at American Airlines Center.
Boston coach Ime Udoka said Smart’s foul wasn’t supposed to happen and that wasn’t part of the strategy.
“It was not supposed to be a foul,” Udoka said postgame Saturday. “Feel the guys asked me coming out of timeout, I let them know. Just a mistake there.”
The Celtics set up the final few possessions well. Smart appeared to have drawn a foul that wasn’t called one possession earlier on a two-for-one opportunity. While the Celtics didn’t get any points, it was still a tie game and the C’s should have had a chance to win it.
The Mavericks had 14.7 seconds left when Doncic got the inbounds pass in the backcourt. It was still tied 104-104, so even if they got a bucket, Boston could take a timeout and advance the ball. Best-case scenario: The Celtics got a stop and a look at the potential game-winning shot.
But the foul threw those plans out.
“That’s something we got to let everybody know and make sure they know,” Udoka said. “Obviously, with five, six second differential, we want that last shot. I gotta communicate that to everybody so everybody knows.”
The Celtics played a spirited game Saturday, coming all the way back from down 19 points to take the lead late in the fourth quarter. Jayson Tatum finally broke out of his slump on his way to an efficient 32 points, but the C’s never got a chance at a response.
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Celtics’ Marcus Smart ‘was not supposed’ to foul Luka Doncic ahead of game-winning 3-pointer - MassLive.com
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