Mavericks Center Takes Jab At Celtics Fans Ahead Of NBA Finals Game 3

The Dallas Mavericks have to be happy to be at home for Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.

Playing in Boston didn’t go so well for the Mavericks. The Celtics led by as many as 29 points in their Game 1 win and came up with crucial plays in Game 2 to take a 2-0 series lead while the Mavericks made key miscues.

Mavericks rookie center Dereck Lively II didn’t attribute any of Dallas’ struggles at TD Garden to the raucous crowd inside the arena helping to give the Celtics a home-court advantage. In fact, Lively was unimpressed by the volume of noise Celtics fans made.

“I honestly didn’t think it was that loud,” Lively told reporters Tuesday, per league-provided transcript. “There was a bunch of rumors about how Boston is going to be so loud, so nasty. I thought it was going to be worse. So just knowing that, it just makes you want to go out there and perform in front of your own crowd.”

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Lively’s comment echoed much of what Kyrie Irving, who took the brunt of jeers from Boston’s fan base, said after Game 1. Irving was viewed as public enemy No. 1 but he felt that the crowd was going to be “a little louder” despite the venom it spewed in his direction.

While the noise level may not have bothered Lively, he certainly hasn’t looked comfortable on the floor against the Celtics. The 7-foot-1 center has more fouls (6) than points (4) in the series. He’s also committed four turnovers through two games.

Lively and the rest of the Mavericks role players — Dallas outside of Luka Doncic shot 2-for-17 from 3-point range in Game 2 — are looking for some home-cooking at American Airlines Center to help them provide a greater impact. And the Mavericks sure need it in Wednesday’s Game 3 as the Celtics have yet to drop a road game in the playoffs.

“Come out there, punch them in the mouth,” Lively said. “I feel like we were doing a great job of guarding them, a great job of just going shot for shot with them the majority of the game. A lot of the game just came down to us not being as sound on the defensive end in the fourth quarter, us making free throws and us being able to take care of the ball.”