The public backed the Dallas Mavericks for the second straight game. With the line closing between 6.5-7 points, 53% of all bets and 58% of the money was on the Mavericks, and they looked to be cooked as the Boston Celtics pulled away late, leading by 14 with 3:34.
However, the Mavericks went on an 8-0 run, giving their backers hope before having their hearts ripped out in a 105-98 Boston win.
The first dagger came with 50 ticks left in the game. Boston led by five and Dallas looked primed to make it a three-point game after Derrick Jones Jr. rejected Jayson Tatum’s dunk. The Mavericks pushed the ball down the court and appeared to have an easy dunk. Instead, Derrick White met P.J. Washington at the rim to block it, sending TD Garden into a frenzy as Jrue Holiday corralled the rebound.
Boston increased its lead to seven with just under 30 seconds left on a Jaylen Brown layup. Luka Doncic missed a 3-pointer off a set-play seconds later, and after Holiday hauled in another rebound, everyone expected the Mavericks to foul.
Except they didn’t.
Boston passed the ball around and dribbled out the 24-second clock as the public surely screamed “FOUL!” at their TV screen. Dallas got the ball back with 1.1 seconds left but didn’t even try to score as Boston escaped with a seven-point win.
