The Dallas Mavericks faced a critical decision: prepare for Boston or start their off-season early. They chose Boston. The NBA Finals aren’t finished yet after one of the largest blowouts in championship history.
Luka Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half, Kyrie Irving added 21, and the Mavericks emphatically extended their season on Friday night. They avoided elimination with a commanding 122-84 victory over the Celtics in Game 4.
The 38-point winning margin ranks as the third-largest in NBA Finals history, trailing only Chicago’s 96-54 win over Utah in 1998 and Boston’s 131-92 victory against the Lakers in 2008.
“It’s straightforward. We don’t need to overthink this. It’s not rocket science,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd remarked. “Our team was prepared. They were motivated to succeed, and tonight, we made a statement. We played with urgency.”
Dallas’ top players were rested by the end of the third quarter, having built a significant lead early on. They were up by 13 points after the first quarter, extended it to 26 by halftime, and reached a 38-point advantage in the third before both teams emptied their benches.
Before this game, the Celtics’ worst NBA Finals defeat had been a 137-104 loss to the Lakers in 1984. This loss was even more severe. At one point in the fourth quarter, Dallas led by 48 points — the largest deficit the Celtics have faced all season.
Despite the heavy defeat, the Celtics still hold a 3-1 series lead. Game 5 will take place in Boston on Monday.
“Preparation doesn’t always lead to success,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla commented. “We had a solid process today. Our shootaround was good, and we had a productive film session yesterday. The team came out with the right mindset. Unfortunately, things didn’t go our way, and Dallas simply outplayed us. They played with more intensity.”
The defeat ended Boston’s 10-game winning streak in the postseason, the longest in franchise history, and dashed their hopes of becoming the first NBA team to sweep both the conference finals and the finals 4-0.
Jayson Tatum scored 15 points, Sam Hauser added 14, and Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday each contributed 10 points for the Celtics.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored all of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, while Dereck Lively II posted 11 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas.
Lively set the tone early for the Mavericks by hitting a 3-pointer — his first in the NBA — midway through the first quarter, which gave Dallas the lead for good.
“It doesn’t change anything,” Doncic said. “As I said at the start of the series, it’s the first team to win four games. We still believe we can do it. We’ll keep pushing forward. I have great confidence in this team.”
Dallas led 61-35 at halftime, despite missing several scoring opportunities in the first half. The Mavericks shot just 5 of 15 from 3-point range and 10 of 16 from the free-throw line by halftime, yet maintained complete control of the game.
“Winning is tough. Winning any game is tough. But winning Game 4 of the NBA Finals is really difficult,” Holiday remarked. “They came out determined and caught us off guard. We couldn’t recover the way we wanted to.”
The first half was full of struggles for Boston, with several notable low points, The Celtics’ 35 points marked their lowest-scoring half in coach Mazzulla’s two seasons. Boston faced a 26-point halftime deficit, their second largest of the season.
Earlier in the year, they trailed Milwaukee by 37 points at halftime on January 11, one of just eight times they trailed by double digits at halftime in their first 99 games.
This halftime deficit was Boston’s largest ever in an NBA Finals game, and their 35 points were the second-worst first-half scoring performance. They managed just 31 points against the Lakers on June 15, 2010, in Game 6 of a series the Lakers clinched with a Game 7 victory.
Teams leading by 23 points or more at halftime were undefeated this season until Friday night, now 77-0, coincidentally matching Doncic’s jersey number.
The Celtics had hoped to chip away at the Dallas lead early in the second half to make a comeback feasible. Instead, the Mavericks quickly extended their advantage with a 15-7 run in the first 4:32 of the third quarter, making it 76-42.
Any chance of a dramatic Boston comeback and a sweep vanished. Mazzulla pulled out all his starters simultaneously with 3:18 remaining in the third quarter and Dallas ahead 88-52.
