Five thoughts: Mavericks spoil Celtics’ party with massive Game 4 rout in Dallas

Here are five thoughts from the Mavericks’ 122-84 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

The series will shift back to Boston, where the Celtics look to defend their home court and celebrate their 18th championship Monday in Game 5, unless Dallas continues to play spoiler.

Put the broomsticks away

The circumstances seemed dire, but the Mavericks avoided getting swept Friday night and sent their fans home with their first win of the Finals.

The game was decided with 1:29 left in the third quarter when Mavericks coach Jason Kidd took out the rest of his starters to match Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, who waved the white flag by pulling his first unit a couple of minutes prior.

Fans inside American Airlines Center roared all night long, especially after Dallas’ dominant first half that led to a 26-point lead.

Only four teams in NBA history have rallied from 0-3 to force a Game 7. The Celtics did so in last year’s Eastern Conference finals, but fell to the Miami Heat. Portland against Dallas in the 2003 first round is also on the list, as well as Denver against Utah in the 1994 West second round, and New York against Rochester in the 1951 NBA Finals.

The Mavericks are two wins from becoming the fifth.

Doncic responds

A spotlight was placed on Luka Doncic at the conclusion of Wednesday’s Game 3. There were questions about his defense and high frequency of complaining to officials. In his pregame press conference, Kidd addressed what he deemed “personal attacks” on the superstar, leaving Doncic to respond with his play.

Doncic scored 25 of his game-high 29 points in the first half. He missed all six of his 3-pointers, but he made his impact felt inside the paint. There was a significant decrease in the amount of interaction and chatter Doncic had with the referees. Instead, he let his play speak for him. The Mavericks helped Doncic on the defensive end by using a zone and subbing him out on defensive possessions.

Doncic didn’t need to explode for 30 or 40 points, but he’ll need to carry the same poise into TD Garden on Monday.

Much-needed bench production

Dallas struggled to find adequate scoring help outside of Doncic and Irving through the first three games of the series. That was far from the case in Friday’s game. The Mavericks received 54 points from their bench, led by Tim Hardaway Jr.’s 15 points.

Dereck Lively II is a regular contributor, but the rookie center received support from Dante Exum, Maxi Kleber and Josh Green this time around. Green’s highlight of the game occurred in the first half as he soared for a putback dunk to follow a missed 3-pointer by Irving. Kleber, who’s been nonexistent in Games 1 through 3, knocked down a timely triple with nine seconds left in the first half. Exum looked like the regular season version of himself with a couple of significant plays in the first quarter, which included a scoop layup and a triple.

Dallas thrives when they have multiple scorers outside of their superstars. It’s time to see if they can duplicate that in Boston.

Lively meets the moment

Lively might have produced the best game of his short NBA career Friday. It was an impressive display of offense and defense, and perhaps a glimpse of the rookie’s long-term future.

He showed his perimeter range by knocking down the first 3-pointer of his career as Doncic found him in the corner, right in front of the Mavericks bench. He attempted two during the regular season, but missed both. Before Friday night, he hadn’t tried a 3 throughout the entire postseason.

He followed that moment with by contesting a shot that led to a Dallas fast break, which he punctuated with an alley-oop.

Lively’s potential is evident, and his brief moment in the first quarter sparked his team for the remainder of the game.

That's our R💥💥K pic.twitter.com/wqlmafJcXH
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) June 15, 2024

Hardaway’s breakout fourth quarter

For anyone wondering where the old Tim Hardaway Jr. went, he returned in the fourth quarter of Game 4.

Hardaway, who hadn’t scored a point since Game 6 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on May 18, connected on five of his six 3-pointers in the final frame. Every 3-pointer led to louder cheers from the crowd. He finished with 15 points in 12 minutes of play. It might’ve been in garbage time, but the moment could help Hardaway going forward as the Mavericks try to do the unthinkable.