Mavericks obliterate Celtics by historic margin in Game 4 to avoid NBA Finals sweep

DALLAS – Deficits like the one the Mavericks face in the NBA Finals are never overcome, nor do they interrupt the pride of the team trying to dig itself out of such a deep hole.

Luka Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half of Game 4 for Dallas, the Mavericks built one of the largest halftime leads ever in a finals game and cruised to a 122-84 win over the Boston Celtics for their first win in this series. The 38-point margin of victory is the third-largest in NBA Finals history.

“We had to play our A game – it was this or we go on vacation,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said.

The Mavericks still trail 3-1, and no team has ever come back to win an NBA playoff series after losing the first three games (0 for 156; 0 for 14 in the finals). Game 5 is at 5:30 p.m. PT Monday at TD Garden.

A sizable contingent of Celtics fans who flooded American Airlines Arena hoping to see their team win an NBA-record 18th title and become the first to sweep both a conference finals and finals, instead witnessed a bizarre, double whammy of a performance in which Boston’s vaunted defense was shredded and potent offense was thwarted. The Celtics’ 84 points were their fewest of the season, regular or postseason.

Another example of the general malaise: With 71/2 minutes left in the third quarter, Boston had 16 rebounds as a team; Dallas rookie and reserve center Dereck Lively II had 12 boards – by himself.

“I thought they just outplayed us,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Dallas is a great team and you’re going to have to earn it. There’s a lot of stuff that we can control. We’ll go back on the film and we’ll watch that, and we’ll really try to be disciplined and control it.”

The Celtics had won 10 in a row and seven straight on the road but found themselves trailing 61-35 at halftime of Game 4. There are only three halftime deficits larger than those 26 points in NBA finals history. Boston trailed by as many as 48 in the fourth quarter. Jaylen Brown, the favorite to eventually be named the series’ MVP, had 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting. Jayson Tatum scored 15 points on 4-of-10 shooting.

Before Game 4, Kidd predicted there would come a moment Friday night when one team – either his or the Celtics – would have to decide whether to fold. In Dallas’ case, a concession would mean the offseason; in Boston’s, a punt to Game 5 with a chance to win it all at home.

That moment came definitively with 3:18 left in the third quarter and the Celtics trailing by 36. Mazzulla pulled all of his starters and they did not return. Both teams’ starters were out of the game before the third quarter ended.

“We don’t have to complicate this, this isn’t surgery – our group was ready to go,” Kidd said. “They (the Celtics) were ready to celebrate. We made a stand. We were desperate. … They let go of the rope.”

From Kidd’s perspective, he can be certain his players did not decide to unlace their sneakers for good because of the 3-0 deficit.

While Doncic cooked in the first half, he also played noticeably better defensively, finishing with three steals. Dallas seemed to switch more on the pick and roll to protect Doncic from being caught in mismatches, but he held his own when challenged.

After his sloppy performance in Game 3 – he was beaten repeatedly on defense and fouled out, thanks to four fouls called on him in the fourth quarter – Doncic was roundly criticized for both his defense and his complaining to the officials. Kidd had asked critics to “give my man a break” in his remarks before Game 4, and predicted Doncic would be better Friday. He was correct.

“He didn’t say anything to me specifically, but that speaks a lot about him. He always has players’ backs,” Doncic said. “He always support us. That’s a big thing, to have a coach like that.”

The Mavericks also received 21 points from Kyrie Irving and 11 points and 12 boards from Lively – who joined Magic Johnson as the only 20-year-olds with multiple double doubles in the finals.

Prior to the garbage time portion of the game, Dallas’ bench held a sizable advantage over Boston’s reserves – and it held even after the backups on both teams started bombing 3s. When it was over, Tim Hardaway Jr. had made five 3s, all in the fourth quarter, and the Mavs’ bench outscored its counterpart, 54-40.

Kidd turned more to Dante Exum (10 points) in Game 4 and still didn’t get much in the way of points production from starters P.J. Washington, Derrick Jones Jr., and Daniel Gafford, but collectively the Mavericks at least had looks at corner 3s and lob dunks that had been their favorite plays earlier in the playoffs. Until Friday, the Celtics had taken those options away.

In a small twist to the series Boston star center Kristaps Porzingis was available to play Game 4 but did not appear. Mazzulla cautioned that the 7-footer is “not quite there” in recovering from the tissue tear and tendon displacement near his left ankle, and said the team would only use Porzingis in “very specific” situation. None of those arose, and Porzingis never peeled off his warmups. Maybe he’ll get a chance Monday.