NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. MAVERICKS

June 12, 2024

Jason Kidd

Dallas Mavericks

Game 3: Postgame

Boston Celtics 106, Dallas Mavericks 99

Q. Kind of the motto with this team has been resiliency. Obviously the story is going to be you're down 0-3, make history. How do you go about taking it one game at a time?

JASON KIDD: Yeah, that's I think what we talked about after the game, one possession at a time. We'll watch film tomorrow and get ready for Friday.

Q. Jason, you played 11 players in the first half. What were you looking for with the rotations in an attempt to find somebody who could contribute early on?

JASON KIDD: Yeah, we were trying to find someone to come off the bench and give us a spark. It doesn't always have to be someone making a shot. I thought the guys that played tonight helped us get the lead or get back into the game.

When you look at some of the guys who played, we got good looks, some of them made them, some of them didn't. I thought the group that played, once that third quarter got away from us, it just showed the group kept playing.

I thought D Live was great during the timeouts, just he was still positive, telling guys that we could still get back into this. It turns into a one-possession game.

Also with the bodies that we were throwing out there, with just the fatigue, trying to get fresh legs and trying to keep everybody fresh. We knew it was going to come down to the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, we lost Luka there when he fouled out.

Q. Obviously you haven't had a chance to look at the replay of the foul, Luka's sixth. What did you think of that?

JASON KIDD: They called a foul. I was stuck. I had to challenge it, so ...

Had to challenge because it was a close call. But the referee called it a foul. Got to move on, move forward.

Q. Third straight game you don't crack 100 points. Came out, lit it up in the first quarter. Why do you think things bogged for you offensively?

JASON KIDD: We missed some layups. We had some good looks. We missed some layups, some open threes. Again, we miss a three, Ky misses a pullup that we would take every time. It's a one-possession game. Unfortunately, we could just not get over the hump tonight.

Q. Luka is obviously dealing with a bunch of injuries. He has such an intense workload on the offensive side of the ball. What more would you like to see from him on the defensive side of things when he's the one that Boston is hunting?

JASON KIDD: Yeah, he's definitely got a bull's-eye on his chest. He's got to be able to guard and understand that we're there to protect him and help him if he does get beat.

Again, he's carrying a load offensively. They are putting him in every pick-and-roll and iso. He's got to be able to play the game where he can rest on offense and let others carry the load.

Q. You were 10 of 13 in the paint in the first quarter, 16 of 41 after that. What did you see from the Celtics that gave you a problem after the first?

JASON KIDD: I don't know if it was the Celtics. I think we just got -- we missed some bunnies tonight. Understanding that that's just part of the game, I think with fatigue, mentally and physically. We just missed some layups that we haven't missed here in the Playoffs.

Give them credit; they make it tough. They will wear on you as the game goes on. We got off to a good start. But I didn't see where they affected us in the sense of we missed some layups. That's just the game of basketball. It happens.

Q. Outside of the film room and X's and O's you'll do over the next day until Game 4, what is kind of a way to clear your mind, the team's mind, get a different message for Game 4 that them?

JASON KIDD: I think for us, this is a quick turn, so we don't have time to, like, go to the park or anything. We got to figure out how to score the ball, take care of the ball.

Again, Brown and Tatum, when you give up 60 points to those guys, we don't have time to go clear our minds. We've got to do better. That's for everybody who's playing.

Q. Was there any discussion about Luka's fifth foul, challenging that? If not, why not?

JASON KIDD: Maybe we should have challenged all of them. I mean, you're going to ask that question about challenging in the fifth foul, why wouldn't we challenge them all?

Q. It seemed because Brown hooked him. Looked like there was a hook there.

JASON KIDD: Yeah, it looked -- looks can be deceiving.

Q. Two-possession game in the final minute in Game 2, two-possession game in the final minute in Game 3. To come away from that down 0-3, how do you keep the guys feeling positive as opposed to thinking maybe you missed your best shot?

JASON KIDD: Yeah, that's a great question. I think when you look at experience, we're all learning what it means to be on this stage and going through it. There's a lot of young players on our side who have never done this before. Just understand, we'll talk about that, that this experience that we're going through is a healthy thing. It's not a bad thing.

We're down 3-0. We felt like Game 2 and Game 3 were better for us. That's the way we have to play. Then offensively we just got to get some other people to step up and make some shots.

Q. In the second half y'all were on this big run and you called that timeout. Your reasoning behind that? How do you balance wanting to get your guys some rest but also keep the momentum of the run?

JASON KIDD: What timeout?

Q. In the fourth.

JASON KIDD: End of the fourth? I called a couple timeouts.

Q. The one that was end of the 20-2 run.

JASON KIDD: When we missed the two shots?

Q. To be honest, I don't remember what happened before. I just know it was a timeout.

JASON KIDD: That's tough. Why you guys laughing? I asked what timeout was it. I called a couple timeouts. You got to do better.

Q. (No microphone.)

JASON KIDD: Thank you. We missed the three and we missed Ky's pullup. It's a one-possession game. We exerted lot of energy on the defensive end and the offensive end, so that's why we called a timeout.

That's for clarify that. Way to step up.