Arizona alum Josh Green scores 14 points in Dallas Mavericks' NBA Finals loss to Boston Celtics
By Mason Duhon
There will be no championship trophies in Dallas.
The Dallas Mavericks fell woefully short in the 2024 NBA Finals series after rolling through the Western Conference playoff bracket with relative ease. In Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics completed the gentlemen's sweep with a crushing 106-88 defeat over the Mavericks.
How did the game play out?
The Celtics, led by Jayson Tatum and Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, kept the pedal to the metal for the entirety of the game. The oft-maligned Tatum scored a game-high 31 points and snagged eight rebounds, while Brown logged 21 points and an identical eight more rebounds.
Luke Doncic — one of the biggest offensive forces in the NBA — continued to be a major liability on defense and got smoked repeatedly by Brown and Tatum. The Celtics outscored the Mavericks by 21 points in the first half, and the Mavs committed 13 total turnovers. Doncic alone committed seven turnovers, matching the Celtics' total as a team.
One bright side, though, is the grit that Arizona Basketball alum Josh Green displayed.
How did Green do?
He had his most productive scoring day of the 2024 NBA Playoffs in the last game of the NBA finals, logging his postseason-high 14 points to pair with two rebounds. That said, Green being the third-highest scorer in an elimination game with the highest stakes possible in the NBA isn't a winning strategy for the Mavericks (yet, at least).
Green was the leading scorer for the Mavericks through the first quarter, having scored 6 points compared to Doncic's 4. He was shooting well, too: 5-8 (62.5%) from the field and an impressive 4-6 from 3-point range while snagging two boards — one on offense and one on defense.
Green also played an extremely clean game. He was one of two Dallas players alongside Derrick Jones Jr. (10 points) to commit one or fewer turnovers and zero fouls while logging more than 20 minutes. Green likely could have helped down the stretch, considering his -8 plus/minus was tied for third-highest among all players who saw at least 10 minutes on the court.
It's heartbreaking that Green's efforts were for naught in a 21-point loss to end the season agonizingly close to a championship, but he can't say he didn't put it all on the line in the end.
Bear down and keep your head up, Josh.
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