Everyone was on their feet to witness 20-year-old Dereck Lively II’s slam-dunk at the end of the third quarter on Friday, the nail in the Boston Celtics’ Game 4 coffin.
Longtime Dallas Mavericks fan Carol Hooks of Farmers Branch had one word to describe the moment: “magic.”
“It makes me come alive when he does that,” she added.
Fans throughout American Airlines Center shared her excitement after the Mavericks beat the Celtics 122-84 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, maintaining a lead of 30 points or more the majority of the game. Dallas avoided a series sweep and will go to Boston for Game 5 on Monday, down 3-1 in the series.
Lively, 20, became the youngest player in NBA Finals history to record a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds in Game 3. The 7-1 rookie center earned his second double-double in Game 4 with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
“That dunk was amazing,” said another fan, Ron Craig of Southlake. “I think we have a superstar in the making.”
“Tonight is the most fun I have had since maybe the Rangers winning the World Series,” Craig added.
Even though the Mavericks face long odds to defeat the Celtics in the finals, fans weren’t surprised by their Game 4 performance, and they’re expecting more.
“Nobody has come back from a 0-3 deficit,” said Alan Hooks, Carol’s husband. “We are going to beat the odds. It is time that somebody broke that record, and that somebody is us.”
“I was believing,” Carol Hooks added. “We just needed to get them home, and they just needed our energy. They came home, regrouped, and played great defense.”
Dallas native George Martinez-Silva, 25, said he’s been a Mavericks fan since Dirk Nowitzki signed his T-shirt in elementary school.
“I knew any given night, we could beat them,” he said.
“They’re finally able to play as they normally have been,” Martinez-Silva added.
Fans credited the energy in the arena as a contributing factor to the team’s success.
“After we started that huge run in the first half and kept the Celtics down for a little bit, the energy has never been higher at American Airlines Center,” said Chase Henderson, 28. “It was very loud out there.”
Henderson, who grew up in Cedar Hill, said he’s been a fan since childhood and attends 10 to 15 games each year.
Juan Nichols, 68, of Fort Worth said his fandom goes back to their debut year, 1980, and that he’s been a season ticket holder for 25 years.
“The Mavericks crowd is great,” Nichols said. “There is great energy. The Celtics fans tried, but once we started putting up threes, they quieted down.”
Fans said they believe the Game 4 win signifies big things for Game 5 at TD Garden.
“I think if we are able to keep the same energy, we can beat the Celtics in Boston, and then we will come home to beat them,” Martinez-Silva said.
“It gives us a lot of momentum, more momentum than we have had at any point in this entire series,” Henderson added. “I am at a loss of words right now for how good we are playing.
“I am a lot more optimistic. I am ready for Game 5.”
