There will not be a sweep in the NBA Finals after the Dallas Mavericks were able to decimate the Boston Celtics at home in Game Four.
Boston shot horrendously from the field and faced a 61-35 halftime deficit that the team couldn’t recover from.
It resulted in one of the most lopsided blowouts in the history of the NBA Finals – with the 38 point defeat officially the third biggest point differential in a single game of the league’s championship series ever.
The worst blowout in finals history was the Chicago Bulls’ 42 point victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals. The second worst came from Boston – who beat the Los Angeles Lakers by 39 points in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals to win the title.
After facing criticism the game before for complaining after fouling out, Mavericks guard Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 29 points before being benched for the rest of the game late in the third quarter.
Kyrie Irving also hit the bench early in the blowout after getting 21 points as he managed his first win over his former team in 13 games.
Boston’s stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown shot a combined 7-22 in a horrific shooting night for the Celtics duo.
Tatum led the team with 15 points while Brown picked up only ten.
The Celtics two lesser-sung heroes – Derrick White and Jrue Holiday – also had off nights, picking up just six and ten points respectively.
Kristaps Porzingis, who was declared fit to play for the Celtics, did not get a single minute of game time from coach Joe Mazzulla.
As a whole, Boston shot 36 percent from the field and only 34 percent from beyond the arc. By comparison, Dallas shot 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range.
Dallas avoided being swept in the NBA Finals for the only time in their history thanks to this win, but they still face a daunting 3-1 series deficit as the series now heads back to TD Garden in Boston.
No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win any series in the history of the NBA Playoffs.
Prior to the game, Doncic was seen alongside former Real Madrid football star Sergio Ramos.
Doncic, who played basketball with Real Madrid before being drafted by Dallas, swapped jerseys with the legendary defender before tipoff.
Ramos was then seen courtside – where he took pictures with Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
