Luka Doncic dazzled, and the Dallas Mavericks dominated Boston 122-84 on Friday to avoid elimination in the NBA Finals, denying the Celtics a chance to end the best-of-seven championship series.
Doncic scored 29 points and Kyrie Irving added 21 for the Mavs, who snapped the Celtics’ 10-game winning streak but still have a mountain to climb as they try to become the first team to go 3-0 loss to win an NBA playoff series.
Now up 3-1, Dallas will try to prevent the Celtics from celebrating an 18th title when they travel to Boston for Game 5 on Monday. “We knew we had to get it, we couldn’t lose anymore,” Doncic said.
“As we always say, we believe to the end.” Doncic was widely chastised after Game 3 when he fouled out with more than four minutes remaining and could only watch the Mavs’ comeback attempt evaporate. He found himself on defense as Dallas limited the Celtics to 36.2 percent shooting.
Boston star Jayson Tatum scored 15 points and Jaylen Brown just 10 points as the Mavs posted the third-biggest win in NBA Finals history.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 15 points off the bench for Dallas and 20-year-old rookie Dereck Lively added 11 points including his first career 3-pointer as the Mavs reached 100 points for the first time series. Dallas handed Boston its first road loss of the playoffs, ending their bid for a 10th 4-0 win in Playoff history.
They were led by Doncic and Irving, Dallas outscored Boston 22-12 in the first quarter to take a 34-21 lead, the Mavs’ best quarter in the series. There was no letup in the second period, with the Mavs dominating every aspect of the game route to a 61-35 lead.
Doncic scored 25 points in the first half, Irving scored 11, and their fan base also rose. Lively electrified the American Airlines Center crowd with her three-pointer followed by an alley-oop dunk on the next layup in the first quarter. “I think our energy was a lot higher,” Doncic said. “Everybody was locked in on defense.
“The Celtics, harassing each time, made 14 of 41 three-point attempts. They were outscored 60-26 and 52-31 – Dallas’ dominance on the boards led to a 16-2 second-chance margin.
Brown went to the bench with 2:11 remaining in the first half after picking up his third foul. Doncic answered critics with intense effort on both ends of the floor. Jrue Holiday stripped him as he drove to the basket, Doncic dove for the loose ball and chipped it to Irving, who dished it back to him for a layup.
On the foul, Doncic made a free throw to give Dallas a 43-25 lead midway through the second quarter.
Irving congratulated Doncic on the bench. Boston coach Joe Mazzulla pulled the starter late in the third. Their attention turned already to five games and the next chance to get rid of the Los Angeles Lakers for the most NBA champions.
