Boston Celtics one win away from clinching NBA title

ANKARA

The Boston Celtics now need only one more win to claim the NBA title after they toppled the Dallas Mavericks 106-99 on Thursday in Game 3 of the final series.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics to victory with 31 points, while his teammate Jaylen Brown contributed with 30 points.

Kyrie Irving's 35-point contribution for the Mavs was not enough for victory.

"Not really trying to look too much into it," Tatum said and added: "The game of basketball is about runs. It’s never going to go like you expected. If you want to be a champion, you have to be resilient in those situations, and we did that tonight."

Game 4 will be played on Saturday in Dallas.

The Celtics are looking for a record 18th NBA championship, and it was 2008 when they last won it.

The Mavericks were 2011 champions, which is their only NBA title.