5 storylines to watch in Game 5 between the Mavericks and Celtics

Get ready for another white-knuckle ride in Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics on Monday. Tipoff at TD Garden is scheduled for 7:30 CT on ABC.

One thing this series has showed us is that no lead is safe. The Celtics’ 5-out offense encourages wild swings in either direction, and the Mavericks role players have been agents of chaos with their own hot-and-cold stretches, making Game 5 a tough one to predict.

Facing elimination isn’t something the Mavs have had to deal with at all this postseason until they found themselves in an 0-3 hole in the Finals, but it did bring the best out from the entire roster in Dallas’ 122-84 blowout win in Game 4.

Here are five storylines that could decide whether the Mavericks can extend this series to Game 6.

Kyrie has to shake off his TD Garden funk

Kyrie Irving is 0-7 in visits to Boston and 1-13 against the Celtics overall since the unceremonious end to his time with the Celtics in 2019. In the first two games of this NBA Finals, Irving shot just 35.1% from the field, while averaging a pedestrian 14 points and four assists.

He is persona non grata in that building and hasn’t responded particularly well to the “Kyrie Sucks” chants that pour down from every direction on his early touches. Game 5 represents an opportunity for the star guard to clutch up and take the first steps toward addressing that trend, if not reversing it. Despite the sheer force of his will and otherworldly talent, Luka Dončić cannot singlehandedly drag a flailing Mavericks roster to victory against the Behemoths of Boston.

The Mavs need the assertive and efficient Irving from Game 4 (21 points, six assists, 10-of-18 shooting) to show up to the Garden in Game 5. If the shellshocked version from Games 1 and 2 enters the building in Game 5, the Celtics will make quick work of Dallas.

Dereck Lively II as the X-Factor

No one on the Mavericks roster carries as much juice into Game 5 as Dereck Lively II. He’s coming off back-to-back double-doubles and is the Mavs’ leading rebounder in this series. His efficiency in the paint is back in a big way, as he’s converted nine of his 11 field goal attempts in the last two games.

Lively even drained the first 3-pointer of his pro career in Game 4 with a smooth form that raised the eyebrows of Mavs fans everywhere. The jumper most likely won’t become a real weapon for Lively until next season, if it does at all, but any help along the perimeter will be welcome going forward in these Finals, as the Mavs have shot a collective 37-of-125 from 3-point range (29.6%) in the first four games.

Boston has done a great job otherwise of limiting the Mavericks’ strength in the paint — the pick-and-roll lob game — by refusing to double-team Dončić. Neither Lively nor Mavs starting center Daniel Gafford is the most polished offensive weapon in the post, so if that part of the offense can get going, the Mavs have a chance to unlock another offensive barrage in Game 5.

Defending Boston’s 5-out offense

Boston’s 5-out offense brought the much-improved Dallas defense back to earth in the first three games of the Finals. The Mavs made calculated choices on what shots they wanted to give up against in Rounds 2 and 3 of this playoff run against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it largely worked. They gave up the right shots and lived with the results when they went in.

There just aren’t any holes in Boston’s offensive attack to exploit like there were against the two previous opponents. Dallas’s defensive reality has turned into a case of “if Boston is cold, we stand a chance to win.” Nothing short of a rededication to exerting maximum effort every Boston possession in one-on-one matchups and when scrambling to rotate toward the Celtic shooters will be acceptable in Game 5.

Elimination game Luka

Dončić was a stone-cold killer in his 32 minutes in Game 4 (29 points on 12-of-26 shooting, three steals) even though his 3-ball wasn’t falling. He’ll have to be the rest of the way if the Mavs are going to get back in this series.

The Celtics will get Dončić’s best effort again in Game 5. Unlike Irving, Dončić has consistently fed off the frantic energy of the opposing crowd to spark the necessary run.

Much like he did in Game 4, Dončić needs to brush off the officials’ questionable calls (and non-calls) and get back on defense instead of wearing the frustration of it all on his sleeve. He’s been a more-than-capable defender when he makes the main thing the main thing.

Dallas’ Game 5 trend

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

The Mavericks have played in three Game 5’s in this playoff run, all against higher seeds on the opposition’s home floor. Dallas has won all three by double digits. When hoping against hope with the team’s back against the wall, we’re willing to take any little trend like that and run with it.

Dončić is averaging 34 points, nine rebounds and 8.7 assists per game in those three while shooting better than 50% from the field.

The Mavs have gotten better and better the longer the series goes in this playoff run, showing a knack for adjusting both game-to-game and on the fly. The problem in Boston, though, is that plugging one leak tends to open up another.

Something’s got to give in Game 5.

How to watch

Tipoff for Game 5 between the Mavericks and the Celtics is scheduled for 7:30 CT on ABC.