The Celtics promised them happily. They came with two victories away from home, in Florida against the Magic and the Heat, washing a little the wizened face with which they have started the season. They are an old block team and a new coach and there are tensions between one and the other, but it seemed that they were taking flight. Illusion is an emotion that should not be kept at bay if you have Luka Doncic in front of you, but even more so if you are the Boston Celtics. That it seems that the Slovenian has the mark on the calendar. In this same game last season, back in February of this calendar year, Doncic executed a shot from outside the perimeter that served to shelve the Celtics, but the Slovenian genius has considered that two better than one and has wanted, in November, repeat such an experience. To win. Again. He is a chosen one who chooses the moments. Taking a game on the horn against one of the two most successful teams in history seems like an actionable goal and he carries out the wishes of the people of Dallas, who have only seen the Mavs lose a game this season at the American Airlines Center.
The Celtics could even choose, in those hot decisions that decide games, who went toe-to-toe with Doncic. On defense came Josh Richardson, who was praised for his defense when he came to the Mavericks in a trade for Seth Curry and left the team last summer without pain or glory. He knows Doncic quite well, yes, but what does it matter when you measure yourself against someone of that caliber. He explained it at the end of the game: the defense was good, the attack was better. That last action was reached with a tie on the scoreboard, with the players open so that Luka could operate in the center as he pleased, and Richardson cornered Doncic to the left just by pressing with his hip and following the opponent’s trail. The one from Ljubljana looked for the only place that seemed to be between Richardson’s hand and the tide of Dallas fans, on their feet to enjoy the experience to the fullest, and took the ball towards the basket to make the Mavs explode again, from joy, and incidentally also to the Celtics but out of anger.
#Doncic #points #Celtics