Led by Xavier Tillman, Celtics’ defensive trust earns them 3-0 series lead in NBA Finals

Kristaps Porzingis was unable to play in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, leaving the Boston Celtics without their best backline defender. The Dallas Mavericks pounced at the opportunity to punish them for it.

From the jump, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving attacked. They mixed in some tough perimeter shot-making, but they were simply finding ways past Boston’s defenders, who were used to Kristaps Porzingis behind behind them.

The Mavericks’ early-game onslaught culminated in a Dereck Lively II and-one bucket. But that’s when Jrue Holiday called his teammates together.

“In that moment that Jrue kind of brought us together and just clapped his hands like, ‘Yo, we got to wake up. We got to lock in. We got to get some stops,’” said Jayson Tatum.

“Because at that point, they had like 25 points. In the last five, six minutes, we held them to like five or six points. But to start the quarter, we weren’t getting any stops. You know, we are not going to win a game like that. We just have to reset and lock back in at that moment.”

Holiday huddled up the Celtics with 5:48 to go in the first quarter. After Lively made his free throw, the Mavs were up 22-9. For the next 29:58, Boston outscored Dallas 76-48.

Doncic and Irving found gaps in Bostons’ defense, but the Mavs’ offense was isolation-dependent. That playstyle worked when the Celtics were on their heels, but as soon as they locked in, Dallas’ effectiveness came to a screeching halt.

The ball-dominant play of Doncic, in particular, ran into a buzzsaw who found his way into the rotation due to Porzingis’ absence: Xavier Tillman.

“Xavier was amazing tonight,” said Al Horford. “His energy, defensively he held his own, time and time again. He was just ready for the moment. It’s not easy being in that position. He came in and he knocks down that big three as well. But defensively he was special.”

With Porzingis’ out, the Celtics drop defense was abandoned. They embraced a switch-heavy style on that end, allowing Doncic to take on Tillman, Sam Hauser, and others one-on-one.

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Not only was Tillman up for the challenge, he thrived.

The 25-year-old big man who Boston traded for at the deadline got targeted relentlessly, yet Doncic wasn’t able to find any space. Tillman stayed with him stride for stride, picking up two blocks on the Slovenian superstar in the process.

“Big shout out to X,” Derrick White said. “To not be in the rotation but to stay locked in and he gives us big-time minutes, plus nine, and he just does a little bit of everything out there. Then he guarded his ass off and hit a big shot and rebounds, and he just did a little bit of everything for us.

“Credit to him. Great, great teammate, great guy, and he was big for us.”

The opportunity he received in Game 3 was a moment Tillman has always been ready for.

“This is something, as far as staying ready, is something I’ve been doing for the majority of my career,” Tillman said. “My rookie year, I was fortunate enough to play because when my best friend was hurt, Jaren [Jackson Jr.] was recovering for his meniscus, so I was starting a lot. Second year, I was out of rotation. Third year, two guys got was injured, Brandon Clarke and Steven Adams. So I stepped up again, you know what I’m saying.

“So this is something that like I’ve been preparing for, I guess for a while now. So I was ready for the opportunity. They were kind of hinting at potentially if KP’s workout didn’t go well and he didn’t feel comfortable that I was going to have to step in today.”

Hauser’s stand-up perimeter defense was just as impressive.

“Sam has been doing it all year,” said White. “He gets attacked literally every time he checks into the game, and we just got a lot of faith and confidence in him. He just does what he needs to do.”

Porzingis’ drop defense helps the Celtics contain Doncic and Irving’s antics. They can bring pressure from behind while simultaneously cutting off passing lanes to the three-point line. Without him, they had to adjust.

Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images

Boston ran some switch defense in Games 1 and 2 when Porzingis was off the floor, but they had to go to it all night in Game 3. And for it to be effective, everyone had to play their part. From Tillman to Hauser to Jaylen Brown to Jrue Holiday.

That’s exactly what happened, and the result was a win.

“I just think that top to bottom, we trust everybody, and we just compete at a high level,” said White. “Obviously, they are great players, and it’s a challenge, but just consistently being in the right position and just competing.”

Dallas came out hot, and after Boston took a 21-point lead in the fourth, the Mavs still found a way to storm back. They erased the deficit, bringing the game to within two in the final few minutes.

Yet even when the Celtics’ offense sputtered into isolation and one-dimensional creation, their defense found a way to scrape together a victory.

In the dying moments of the game, with the Celtics up by four points, Irving got Horford switched onto him. He dribbled down some clock, got to the wing, and threw up a three. But the Boston big man was right there, and the shot doinked off the front of the rim.

At every turn, the Celtics trusted their team to switch onto two of the best perimeter players in the world, and that trust earned them a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals.