DALLAS, TX – The Dallas Mavericks (1-3) avoid a sweep after defeating the Boston Celtics (3-1) 122-84 for the first time this series. They extend the series and will head to Boston for game five on Monday night.
A very obvious difference in this game then previous games in the series is ball movement for Dallas. In previous games Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving were the only threats to Boston, scoring most of the Mavs points. Tonight everyone got in on the action and it was a team effort across the board. Doncic and Irving combined for 50 points while the rest of the team combined for 72 points.
Dereck Lively II made his presence known in the beginning of the game after making back-to-back-to-back plays for Dallas to really get the momentum going. He ended the night with a double-double, 11 points and 12 rebounds. He is the second player in the NBA to record multiple double-doubles during the Finals at the age of 20, the first player to do that was Magic Johnson.
Dallas closed out the first half with a 61-35 lead. They were shooting 57 percent from the floor and had made five three-pointers, which was 33 percent from beyond the arc. The usual Celtics team that we are all used to seeing knock down three’s left and right were not getting much to fall in the first half, or the entire game for that matter. Boston finished out the half shooting 29 percent from the floor and only made five three-pointers, which was low for them.
At the half Doncic and Irving had combined for 36 points while the rest of the team had contributed 25 points. The offense was very balanced for this Dallas team on Friday night which is exactly what they need in order to try to turn this series around.
This game was a goner going into the fourth quarter, Dallas had a 40-point lead and that continued for the rest of the game.
Another key component in this game was the Mavs ability to crash the boards. They outrebounded Boston 65-39 giving them 60 points in the paint while Celtics only had 26. Boston relied heavily on their three-point shooting and they just weren’t falling.
The Mavs largest lead of the night was 48 points. That lead is the largest lead in a Finals game in 50 years.
The leading scorer tonight for Dallas was Doncic with 29 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Irving added 21 points, four rebounds, and six assists.
We spoke with Luka Doncic following the game and he stated that they are not going to give up and he is going to believe until the end. He said it’s going to take energy, they are tired, It’s been a long season but they need to continue to give energy and stay locked in.
“It’s first to four…We’re going to believe until the end. So we just got to keep going. I have deep belief in this team that we can do it, so we just got to keep believing.”
He also spoke on his teammate Lively and how well he played tonight. He said that he had a great game and said, “I think people forget that he is a rookie. He is a rookie and he is doing this.”
The Mavs will be back in Boston on Monday night for game five. Tip off is set for 7:30 PM.
