THIS Is When It BECAME PERSONAL For Luka Doncic...

Join me on RateGame: https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6477869711?pt=126905374&ct=Heat%20Check%201&mt=8 Last night we saw a superstar pushing the limit of his skills but his body as well, to secure a colossal game 5 win. And even more shocking, we saw the same from a 38 year old veteran. But we gotta start in Oklahoma where Luka came in seeking revenge for the game 4 loss. And when he’s making these, it’s gonna be a long night for the opposition. Doncic started dissecting the defense time after time, making a pivotal game 5 look like an All-Star game. It’s not that OKC let him do anything, they played some really tight defense on him all night, look at all of these tough shots that he hit, these are all great contests. And then watch Dort hounding him all over the court, but it didn’t matter cuz… It sure helps when the role players are hitting their open shots, especially Derrick Jones Jr. who was huge in this one, 19 points on 7 for 9 shooting from the field including 3 of 5 from deep. The Mavs were balling and had the lead pretty much throughout the whole game, as they entered the last period up by 12. Luka continued to cook as he scored 8 straight points to give Dallas an 18 point lead. But, if we learned something from these playoffs, it’s that OKC is not your regular young squad, they are fearless, and are playing like they have years of playoff experience. The Thunder went on a 10-0 run boosted by their home crowd. And the entire arena exploded when.. But, as I said, the role players stepped up big in this game for Dallas, and PJ Washington was keeping the lead at a safe distance. On the other end, OKC must convert on this play to stay in the game, and they move the ball great here finding Chet alone for the 3 but.. Oh my goodness, look at the extension by Derrick Jones to be able to meet Holmgren’s shot at the pinnacle and then throw down the 2 handed monster jam. Amazing play to put his team up by 13 instead of possibly being an 8 point game. The young guns didn’t let go of this game yet, as they kept grinding, making some incredible plays and brought the game back to 9 with a chance to cut it to 7 on this transition, but then.. Wow, Luka playing anything you can do I can do better with Chet, as he denies SGA to secure a big win on the road. Moving on to Boston, where everything was ready for an easy win and a huge celebration. Especially after the news that Mitchell, Levert, Allen and Porter would not be playing. That’s basically half the team. Celtics by 30 I said. But I could not have been further from the truth. They fell into their old trap of complacency, settling and playing disorganized basketball, allowing Cleveland some easy points. On offense there were some players that were a complete no show. Get this: Brown played 41 minutes in this game and went 4 for 9 for 11 points total. Against this Cavs team. Unbelievable. It’s as if he and Tatum are alternating on who’s going to have a miserable game. In a wild turn of events, the responsibility of closing out Cleveland fell on Al Horford who in 2 weeks is gonna be 38 years old. 38. And he responded with an absolutely epic game as if he’s in his prime. 22 points and 15 rebounds, along with 5 assists and 3 blocks. What a statline. 6 threes on 46% from downtown. But as impressive as that is, it’s nowhere near the stunning defensive effort that he showed, completely locking down Darius Garland on multiple possessions where he switched on him. This is astonishing. Garland is one of the quickest guards in the league and AL is at the end of his career. Or is he?! I don’t even know at this point. So, in one of the worst Celtics games of the season, at least in my opinion- he was the bright spot here doing everything he could to win this game. Even this. And in the closing seconds when he delivered the final blow, the celebration could finally begin, and Mazzula took him out so that the crowd could give him a thunderous standing ovation. A phenomenal game for Horford, but again, a horrific performance by Boston overall in a closeout game at home against a depleted Cavs roster. On rategame, the app that I’m a part of, we score the quality of each game, and I could only give it a 5.4. I absolutely agree with CJ, the Celtics have to play with more urgency in the conference finals, and not rely on their aging big man to carry them. Download the app from the link in the description and join me in rating and reviewing these games. Android version coming soon. This is what it takes to win a crucial game in the playoffs, and yesterday we saw some superstars going god mode and doing everything to win at all costs. You gotta check out exactly what happened right here. Talk to you in the next one. Peace out.