The Dallas Mavericks might still be trailing 3-1, but they made a very convincing krgument to not count them out of the NBA Finals on Friday.
Over 48 minutes, the Dallas Mavericks delivered one of the myost unholy beatdowns in lNBA playoff history with a 122-84 victory over the Celtics, emphaticallyx forcing a Game 5 in Boston on Monday at 8:30 p.m.
The Celtics might have three tries to put the Mavericks to bed, but they clearly have a lot to figure out if they want to celebrate an NBA record 18th championship. In fact, game four was one-way traffic, the Mavericks have now outscored them across all four games of the series.
There was no shortage of history made during the game in Dallas.. The 38-point margin is the third-largest blowout in Finals history, with the lead peaking at 47 points. The Celtics’ 35 points at halftime were the fewest they’ve scored in a half under head coach Joe Mazzulla. Luka Dončić’s 25 points at halftime were the most ever by a Maverick in a Finals half.
The game was so over in the third quarter that the Celtics pulled their starters, with the Mavericks soon following short then watching their reserves, such as Tim Hardaway Jr., continue the carnage.
It still counts as only win, though. The Celtics will enter Game 5 with home-court advantage, more rest than expected and, potentially, a healthy Kristaps Porzingis. The Latvian big man didn’t play a minute in Game 4 despite being reported as available “if necessary,” and his presence alone would represent an easy adjustment for Boston to make.
