The Mavs Completely Dominated The Celtics In Game 4 And Kept Their NBA Title Hopes Alive

The 2024 NBA Finals will not end in a sweep. The Boston Celtics entered Friday night’s game in Dallas looking to wrap up the 18th championship in franchise history. But instead, the Mavericks put forth their best effort of the entire playoffs, as the team was completely locked in on both ends of the floor and imposed their will on the Celtics en route to a 122-84 win to make the series 3-1.

The Mavs came out and looked like a team with their backs firmly against the wall. Both of their stars brought their A-game to start Game 4, as Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting in the opening period, while their role players showed a bit more dynamism on the offensive end than we’d seen all series.

While Jayson Tatum gave Boston 11 first quarter points, the Celtics ran into a problem that they hadn’t had all series: The Mavs hit shots. Dallas, whose offense had been abysmal for most of the first three games, went 14-for-24 from the field and grabbed 10 more rebounds in the opening 12 minutes. As a result, after one, the Mavericks found themselves with a 34-21 lead.

The second quarter was much of the same, as Dallas completely dominated on both ends of the floor. Offensively, Doncic was in total control of everything, while the Mavs’ role players who just did not show up to the extent they needed for the first three games of the series started to make small but meaningful contributions.

But it was on the defensive end of the floor where Dallas was at its most impressive. Their rotations happened with an urgency that made it look like their season was on the line, and it just never seemed like Boston was able to get a good look unless they really earned it. For the first time all series, it really looked like the Mavericks’ defense was able to set the tone, and the Celtics struggled mightily to find an answer.

As a result, Dallas went into the locker room with a commanding, 61-35 lead. While Doncic had 25 points, the numbers for Boston’s offense were legitimately shocking, as they went 11-for-37 (29.7 percent) from the field and 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) from behind the three-point line. Outside of Tatum, who had 15 points, no one on the team scored more than eight.

The third quarter was much of the shame, as Dallas kept the pedal to the metal and got its lead up to as many as 38 points. With 3:18 left in the third, Joe Mazzulla decided that he saw enough, and pulled his starters for the remainder of the game. It got so bad that, with more than a minute left in the third quarter, Mike Breen straight up asked Doris Burke and JJ Redick, “So, what do you guys wanna talk about?”

Both teams turned to their benches to play out the fourth quarter, and even then, Dallas was able to find success — their lead got up to as many as 48 points in the fourth, with Tim Hardaway Jr. catching fire and pouring in jumper after jumper. The crowd, slowly but surely, seemed like it convinced themselves that this is the team that is going to make history and become the first squad in NBA history to overcome an 0-3 series lead. By the time the final horn sounded, the building was in a frenzy as the Mavs wrapped up the win and hit the 100-point mark for the first time in the Finals.

While Doncic didn’t have a great shooting night (he missed all eight of his attempts from three), he led the way with 29 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Irving had 21 points and six assists, while Dallas as a team shot 15-for-37 from behind the three-point line. As for Boston, it was a night to forget in just about every regard, as Tatum’s 15 points were the most on the team, while Sam Hauser chipped in 14 off the bench. The shooting numbers were legitimately stunning, with the Celtics going 29-for-80 (36.3 percent) from the field.

The series will now return to Boston, where the Celtics were able to successfully defend their home court in the first two games of the season. Game 5 will take place on Monday night at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC.