NBA Finals :The Dallas Mavericks faced a crucial choice: prepare for Boston or prepare for vacation. Boston awaits.
Thanks to one of the most decisive victories in NBA Finals history, the series isn’t over. Luka Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half, Kyrie Irving added 21, and the Mavericks decisively kept their season alive on Friday night with a 122-84 rout of the Boston Celtics in Game 4.
Historic Blowout Keeps Mavericks Alive
The 38-point victory margin was the third-largest in NBA Finals history, following Chicago’s 96-54 win over Utah in 1998 and Boston’s 131-92 triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008.
“It’s straightforward. We don’t need to complicate this. It’s not surgery,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd remarked. “Our team was ready. They were prepared to celebrate, and we made a stand. We were desperate. We must keep playing that way. They’re trying to close the door. The hardest thing in this league is closing the door when a team has nothing to lose. Tonight, you saw that.”
Dominance from the Start
The Mavericks’ stars were done by the end of the third quarter, and with good reason. Dallas led by 13 after one quarter, 26 at halftime, and by as many as 38 in the third before both teams cleared their benches.
Before Friday, the Celtics’ worst NBA Finals loss was a 137-104 defeat to the Lakers in 1984. This loss was much worse. Dallas’ largest lead in the fourth quarter was 48 points—the most significant deficit Boston has faced all season.
Despite this setback, the Celtics still lead the series 3-1, with Game 5 scheduled in Boston on Monday.
Celtics’ Preparation Falls Short
“Preparation doesn’t guarantee automatic success,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla stated. “I thought we had a great process. I thought we had a great shootaround. We had a great film session yesterday. The guys came out with the right intentions. It just didn’t go our way, and I thought Dallas outplayed us. They just played harder.”
The loss ended Boston’s 10-game postseason winning streak, the longest in franchise history, and dashed their hopes of becoming the first NBA team to sweep both the conference finals and the finals.
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Jayson Tatum scored 15 points, Sam Hauser added 14, while Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday each finished with 10 for the Celtics.
NBA Finals Mavericks’ Supporting Cast Shines
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points, all in the fourth quarter, and Dereck Lively II contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas. Lively hinted at a promising night for the Mavericks early on by hitting a 3-pointer—the first of his NBA career—midway through the first quarter, giving Dallas the lead for good.
“It doesn’t change anything,” Doncic said. “Like I said at the beginning of this series, it’s the first to four. We’re going to believe until the end. I have big belief in this team that we can do it.”
Dallas led 61-35 at halftime and left many points unclaimed in the opening 24 minutes, shooting only 5 of 15 from 3-point range and 10 of 16 from the foul line. Nevertheless, they were in total control.
Celtics Struggle in First Half
“I think winning is hard. Winning any game is hard. But winning Game 4 of the NBA Finals is pretty damn hard,” Holiday said. “I think they came out desperate and punched us in the mouth, and we couldn’t recover the way we wanted to.”
The first-half lowlights for Boston were numerous and historic:
- The 35 points were the Celtics’ lowest-scoring total in a half during Mazzulla’s two seasons as coach.
- The 26-point halftime deficit was Boston’s second-largest of the season, trailing Milwaukee by 37 at halftime on January 11.
- The halftime deficit was Boston’s largest ever in an NBA Finals game, and the 35 points were the second-worst in the first half of an NBA Finals game.
Teams with a lead of 23 or more points at halftime were 76-0 this season before Friday night. Now, make it 77-0, coincidentally Doncic’s jersey number.
Game 5 Awaits in Boston
The Celtics might have hoped to cut into Dallas’ lead at the start of the second half, but the Mavericks quickly shut that down. A 15-7 run over the first 4:32 of the third quarter extended Dallas’ lead to 76-42.
Any hope Boston had for a significant comeback and sweep was gone. Mazzulla pulled all the starters with 3:18 left in the third, and Dallas leading 88-52.
“I expect us to be much better on Monday,” Celtics center Al Horford said.
The Mavericks still face an uphill battle in this series—no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in NBA history—but they took the first step with this decisive win.
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