With a victory of 122-84, the Dallas Mavericks prevented the Boston Celtics from winning the best-of-seven championship series, ending their chances of reaching the NBA Finals. The Mavericks ended their opponents’ 10-game play-off winning streak and recorded the third-largest Finals victory, led by Luka Doncic’s 29 points and Kyrie Irving’s 21.
However, they still have a long way to go in their quest to become the first team to win a NBA play-off series after coming back from 3-0 down, with game five scheduled for Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. BST in Boston.
“We knew we have to get it, we can’t lose no more,” said the Slovenian. “As we always say, we’re going to believe until the end.
“I think our energy was way higher. Everybody was locked in defensively.”
After the first quarter, Doncic and Irving contributed to their team’s 34-21 lead, and they continued to dominate defensively to take a 61-35 lead at the break. When they left with one minute and 29 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Mavs were leading 92-57.
Doncic and Irving contributed to their team’s 34-21 lead after the first quarter, and they continued to dominate defensively to take a 61-35 lead at halftime.
The Mavs were leading 92-57 when they left with one minute and 29 seconds left in the third quarter. Dallas’ Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 focuses off the seat, and Dereck Enthusiastic II, a newbie at 20 years old, scored 11. Boston coach Joe Mazzulla also pulled his starters out in the third period as they prepared for game five, which will be their next chance to win an 18th NBA title and break a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for most titles. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored just 15 and 10 points for the Celtics, their lowest Finals score ever.
    JOE MAZZULLA’S POSTGAME COMMENTS
Joe Mazzulla, the Celtics’ head coach, praised Dallas’ absolutely dominant performance after the game.
“You can definitely take some things from it, but at the same time, I thought Dallas played great,” Mazzulla said on whether the C’s had anything to gain from the loss. “Give a lot of credit to them. You know, all their guys, whoever went in, well-balanced.
“Thought they played with a ton of energy and physicality. You’ve got to give them that. And they are a great team, and that’s Dallas. That’s the reason why they are here when they play like that. But you can definitely take some stuff from it.”
He was asked to provide a more specific summary of the work done by his team to conclude the meeting. He stated, “It wasn’t as good as Dallas’s was.”
I thought theirs was significantly superior. The data back this up. The lowest field goal percentage in NBA Finals history was 36.3 percent for Boston. It had the fewest points scored throughout the 2023–24 regular season and playoffs with 84. Now, the Celtics will attempt to win the series on their own court on Monday night. Game 5 at the TD Garden will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET.
