Who’s slowing Luka Dončić down: the Celtics or himself?

Luka Dončić fought the law — and the law won.

If there was a reason to believe the Dallas Mavericks could beat the Boston Celtics for the 2024 NBA title despite Boston’s sizable advantage in Finals experience, it was Luka Dončić and his proven ability to respond in pressure situations with his best, utilizing an old-school array of skills and tactics to get to wherever he wanted to on the floor and make whatever play was necessary. Wise beyond his years was a standard way of describing Dončić’s game, which landed him on his first All-Star team while still a teenager and his first all-NBA team before he was legal to drink.

His competitive fire was old school, too, as he alternately grinned and sneered and mf-ed anyone who showed the slightest doubt that he would come through in the clutch. His confidence, bordering on arrogance, seemed justified. No matter what kind of defense he faced, he figured out how to unlock it, whether it was with improbable shot-making or pinpoint passing. It might take him a quarter or maybe even a full game, but eventually, whatever question a team’s defense posed, he’d find an answer. In almost every instance, if Dončić or the Mavs didn’t win, it was because they couldn’t stop the other team, not because they were easily stopped.

This year’s run appeared to be when he would bring home the biggest prize of all — a championship — and vault himself into both the best-player and face-of-the-league conversations.

After all, here he was, at 25 years old, the undisputed leader of a team that had taken down the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and then the league’s No. 1 defense, the Minnesota Timberwolves.

What chance did the Celtics and their well-earned reputation as post-season choke artists have against Cool Hand Luka?

Welp — from what we’ve seen through three games, a terrific chance. Largely because they’ve found a way to frustrate Luka in a way that no opponent has before. In Game 1 he had a very un-Dončić-like single assist and four turnovers as the Celtics enjoyed a run-away victory. In Game 2, he had a triple-double with 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, but he also had eight turnovers, at least half of them live-ball ones that led to Boston fast breaks and swings in momentum. Combined with his poor free-throw shooting (4-for-8), it killed a Dallas chance to even the series at 1-1 before…