The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Boston Celtics 122-84 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, and the teams will return to Boston for Game 5 on Monday night.
Dallas took the lead early in the game and never looked back. The Mavericks had their best game of the series on both sides of the ball and never trailed after the first quarter of action.
The teams opened the game trading shots, and the Celtics took a slight 7-6 lead after just three minutes of action. Both teams committed multiple turnovers on the offensive side of the ball.
Mavericks guard Luka Doncic started the game shooting well. He made four of his first six attempts, helping Dallas extend their lead to 21-14 with 4:11 remaining in the quarter.
Dallas finished the first quarter with a 34-21 lead, ending the quarter with back-to-back three-point jump shots by guard Kyrie Irving and forward P.J. Washington.
Doncic ended the quarter with 13 points and shot 5-8 from the field while pulling down three rebounds, while Irving contributed nine points and shot 4-7 from the field.Â
The Mavericks took their largest lead of the series less than two minutes into the second quarter following a layup by guard Dante Exum, forcing the Celtics to take a timeout as they trailed 36-21 with 10:27 left in the half.
The Mavericks’ scoring onslaught continued as Doncic scored eight straight points, giving Dallas a 48-25 lead with 6:35 remaining in the half.
Dallas ended the first half with a 61-35 lead, holding Boston to its lowest-scoring half in any game since head coach Joe Mazzulla took over in February 2023.
Doncic finished the half with 25 points and four assists, shooting 10-18 from the field and making five of his seven free throw attempts.
The Mavericks also received significant contributions from players off the bench. Rookie center Dereck Lively II contributed six points and nine rebounds and made the first three-point jump shot of his career.
Dallas shot 52.3% from the field in the first half and made 33.3% of their three-point jump shots. They outrebounded the Celtics 29-13, including eight offensive rebounds.
The Mavericks continued their impressive game on both ends to start the second half. They held the Celtics to just five points in the opening minutes while also scoring 12 of their own, giving Dallas a 73-40 lead with 8:53 left in the game.
Irving and Lively got going near the end of the third quarter, scoring eight straight points to extend the lead to 88-52, forcing Boston to call a timeout with 3:18 left in the quarter.
Boston opted to remove the starters from the game coming out of the timeout, and the Mavericks made the same decision just minutes later, with only 1:29 left in the quarter.
The third quarter ended with Dallas having a comfortable 92-60 lead as the teams went into the final 12 minutes of the game, where the Mavericks looked to keep their momentum through the final period.
Both teams ended the game with bench players on the court for the entire fourth quarter, as the Mavericks grew their lead slightly to 112-67 with 6:50 remaining after an incredible five straight three-point jump shots by guard Tim Hardaway Jr.Â
Doncic finished the game with 29 points, five rebounds, and five assists despite playing just 33 minutes in total, with Irving accumulating 21 points after shooting 5-6 from the field in the third quarter.
Off the bench, Lively collected a total of 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Hardaway Jr. finished the game with 15 points in just 12 minutes of action.
One major key to the Mavericks’ victory came as the team attacked the paint, scoring 60 points in that section of the court during the game.
Dallas will now travel to Boston for Game 5 on Monday at 7:30 p.m., where the Mavericks will look to steal a game on the road and continue a potentially historic comeback.
