Celtics-Mavs takeaways: Dallas extends series with historic Game 4 blowout

Celtics-Mavs takeaways: Dallas extends series with historic Game 4 blowout originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston

Put away your brooms, Boston Celtics fans. Banner 18 is suspended for at least one more game.

The desperate Dallas Mavericks avoided elimination from the 2024 NBA Finals with a dominant Game 4 victory on their home court on Friday night. They jumped out to an early double-digit lead for the second game in a row, only this time they finished the job.

Dallas extended its lead to an impressive 48 points and cruised to a 122-84 victory – the third-largest margin in NBA Finals history – to snap Boston’s 10-game playoff winning streak. After their first road loss of the postseason, the Celtics will try to win the NBA championship in front of the TD Garden crowd on Monday night.

Mavs stars Luka Doncic (29 points) and Kyrie Irving (21 points) led the way in scoring. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 15 points in his worst offensive performance of the 2023-24 season. C coach Joe Mazzulla removed the starter with 3:18 left in the third quarter.

Boston big man Kristaps Porzingis was listed as available to playhe did not appear in the game.

Monday’s Game 5 is scheduled for a tip-off at 8:30 pm ET. Before we look at that matchup, here are three takeaways from Friday’s loss.

Dallas defense wakes up

The Mavericks have been duly scrutinized for their defensive effort during the first three games of the series. In Game 4, however, they looked like a different team.

Dallas held Boston to the lowest-scoring first quarter (21 points) of the postseason and the lowest-scoring second quarter (14 points) of the regular season and playoffs. It was the lowest-scoring first half (35 points) for the Celtics since January 2022 and the lowest-scoring half of the entire 2023-24 campaign.

The Celtics’ 35 first-half points marked the fewest in an NBA Finals game since June 15, 2010, when Boston scored 31 against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6.

Things only got worse for the Celtics in the second half. They finished with a 35.1 shooting percentage, the lowest team shooting percentage in NBA Finals history. Dallas held its lowest total score (84) of the season.

Outdone in the glass

Before the game, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla preached the importance of winning on the margins. This, of course, includes recovery.

Boston was dominated in that department in Game 4. Dallas set the tone early with a 12-6 rebounding advantage in the first quarter, including a 4-0 advantage on the offensive glass. That trend continued the rest of the way, with the Mavs dominating the boards, 52-31 (13-4 offensive rebounds).

The Celtics’ rebounding issues translated into a 16-2 second-chance point advantage for the Mavericks. Dallas more than doubled Boston’s point total in the paint, 60-26 – another season low for the C’s.

Mavs actors move forward

The Mavericks haven’t gotten much offensively from their non-Doncic/Irving players through the first three games. The actors played an important role in extending the series on Friday.

Dereck Lively II, Dante Exum, Max Kleber and Josh Green combined for 19 points in the first half. Lively had six points – including her first career 3-pointer – and 10 rebounds in the first two frames

Dallas emptied the bench with the game under control and scored 54 total points from the second unit. (15 points, 5-7 FG), Lively (11 points, 4-5 FG) and Exum (10 points, 4-7 FG) led the group.

The Mavs will need their players to rise to the occasion again on Monday if they want to force a Game 6 in Dallas.