There were two choices for the Dallas Mavericks. Pack for Boston or vacation. “Boston awaits.” and Mavericks Create History.
The NBA Finals are far from finished, owing to one of the largest blowouts in title-round history.
Mavericks Create History: Doncic Leads the Charge
Luka Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half, Kyrie Irving added 21, and the Mavericks easily extended their season on Friday night, defeating the Celtics 122-84 in Game 4.
The final margin of 38 points was the third largest in an NBA Finals game, after only the Chicago Bulls’ 96-54 victory over the Utah Jazz in 1998 and the Celtics’ 2008 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, 131-92.
“It’s quite simple. We don’t need to complicate this. “This is not surgery,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd explained. “Our group was prepared to go. They were ready to celebrate, and we took a stand. We were desperate. We have to keep playing that way. They are trying to close the door. The most difficult thing in this league is closing the door on a team that has nothing to lose. Tonight, you witnessed that.”
Mavericks Take Control Early
The Mavericks were done by the end of the third quarter, and for good reason. Dallas dominated from the start, leading by 13 in the first quarter, 26 at halftime, and 38 in the third when both teams emptied their benches.
Prior to Friday, the Celtics’ worst NBA Finals loss was 137-104 to the Lakers in 1984. This was awful. It can get much worse at times. Dallas’ largest advantage in the fourth quarter was 48, the Celtics’ worst deficit this season.
Series Shifts Back to Boston
The Celtics still lead the series 3-1, with Game 5 in Boston on Monday.
After Mavericks Create History Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla Said: “Preparation doesn’t guarantee automatic success,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla remarked. “I think we had an excellent procedure. I think we had an excellent shootaround. I thought we had a wonderful filming session yesterday. I assumed the guys had good intentions. I just didn’t think things went our way, and I thought Dallas outperformed us. “They just played harder.”
The Celtics’ first loss in five weeks ended their 10-game postseason winning streak, the longest in franchise history, and eliminated their chances of being the first team in NBA history to win both the conference and finals in 4-0 sweeps.
Top Points Scored for the Celtics, Jayson Tatum-15 points, Sam Hauser-14, Jaylen Brown-10, and Jrue Holiday-10.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points, all in the fourth quarter, while Dereck Lively II added 11 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas. In the beginning, Lively hinted that the Mavs were in for a good night. Midway through the first quarter, he connected on his first 3-pointer in the NBA, giving the Mavs a comfortable lead.
They took off sprinting from there. And continued running.
“It doesn’t change anything,” Doncic stated. “As I mentioned at the beginning of this series, it is the first of four. And we’ll believe till the end. We’ll just keep going. I have a strong belief in this team’s abilities.”
Dallas led 61-35 at halftime, and they also left a lot of points on the table in the first 24 minutes. The Mavs went into the break shooting only 5-of-15 from 3-point range and 10-of-16 from the foul line, but they were still in complete control.
As Mavericks Create History Boston experienced numerous lowlights:
- The 35 points were the Celtics’ lowest total in either half during Mazzulla’s two seasons as coach.
- The 26-point halftime deficit was Boston’s second-largest of the season. On January 11, the Celtics trailed Milwaukee by 37 points at halftime, one of only eight times in their first 99 games of the season.
- Boston’s halftime deficit was the greatest in an NBA Finals game, and the 35-point margin was the Celtics’ second-worst in the first half. On June 15, 2010, they scored 31 points against the Lakers in Game 6 of the series, which the Lakers won in Game 7.
Even in a season when comebacks appeared more likely than ever, teams with a lead of twenty-three points or more at the half were 76-0 going into Friday night.
Now make it 77-0. That’s Doncic’s jersey number, ironically.
It’s safe to assume that the Celtics were considering how intriguing it could have been to cut into Dallas’ advantage early in the second half. Rather, the Mavs put things away quickly; Dallas’ lead increased to 76-42 after a 15-7 run in the first 4:32 of the third.
All hope Boston had of mounting a stunning comeback and completing a sweep had long since vanished. After 3:18 of the third quarter, with Dallas up 88-52, Mazzulla decided to bench all of the starting players at once.
Conclusion
What a Night as Mavericks Create History, they avoided elimination in dramatic fashion with a historic blowout win over the Boston Celtics. Luka Doncic led the way for Dallas with 29 points, while the Celtics’ worst nightmare unfolded as they fell behind by a whopping 48 points at one point. Despite still trailing in the series, the Mavericks have forced a Game 5 back in Boston.