Boston Celtics vs Dallas Mavericks
The Celtics’ championship coronation will not happen in Dallas, as the Mavericks won Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals on Friday.
Faced with a 0-3 series deficit, the Mavericks were backed against the wall. However, they showed that they still have more fight in them by routing their visitors to ensure that there would be a Game 5.
With the series now at 3-1, this time it’s the Celtics’ turn to try and close it out in front of their home crowd as the series moves back to TD Garden on Monday.
Will Boston finally clinch Banner No. 18 at home? Or will Dallas make this a competitive series by forcing a Game 6?
Without further ado, read more for the SBOTOP preview of Game 5.
Talking Points
Celtics must get back to being the aggressors
In what has been the theme of all three of their losses so far in the 2024 NBA playoffs, the Celtics reverted to their bad habits, particularly on the defencive end, in Game 4.
The Celtics didn’t shoot well from the field, going 29-of-80 (36.3-per cent) overall and 11-of-41 (34.1-per cent) from three-point land compared to 46-of-91 (50.5-per cent) from the field and 15-of-37 (40.5-per cent) from three-point land for the Mavericks.
Sure, the Mavericks had a relatively hot shooting night at home, but the Celtics have to be criticized for their effort in the paint. Dallas outrebounded Boston 52-31 and outscored them in the paint 60-26.
Boston also turned the ball over 14 times, while Dallas only did so nine times.
When the Dallas lead blew up to 38 points at one point in the third quarter, both teams cleared their benches, and the Celtics’ 10-game winning streak this postseason has finally ended.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown just didn’t have it tonight for the Celtics, as they only combined for 25 points on 7-of-22 shooting, while Jrue Holiday was the other double-digit scorer in the starting unit with 10 points.
Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard were the bright spots off the bench for the Celtics, with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Mavericks’ supporting cast providing spark
Speaking of the bench, the Mavericks’ second unit came to play, as three role players scored in double digits.
Tim Hardaway Jr., who had been anonymous earlier in this series, came out of nowhere and dropped 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three. Dereck Lively II recorded 11 points and 12 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double, while Dante Exum added 10 points.
And of course, there’s Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, who had so many NBA 2024 highlights. Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half and added five rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while Irving had 21 points, four rebounds, and six assists.
From the opening tip, the Mavericks were the more locked-in team, as Luka Doncic had a cool demeanour in him. The Slovenian held his own on the defencive end for the first time in this series, and the team followed his lead.
History
Dallas’ 38-point win in Game 4 was the third-highest margin in an NBA Finals game, behind only Chicago’s 42-point win against Utah in 1998 and Boston’s 39-point rout of Los Angeles in 2008.
The Mavericks are trying to be the first team to make a successful comeback from a 0-3 deficit in an NBA playoff series. Before Dallas, 156 teams tried, but to no avail.
Of those 156 teams, only four have forced a Game 7 while facing such a deficit, and one of them was the 2022-23 Celtics, when Derrick White hit the improbable Game 6 putback against the Heat to save their campaign.
Unfortunately for the Celtics that year, they came up short in Game 7 at home, as Jayson Tatum was hobbled by an ankle injury, and Jimmy Butler and Caleb Martin combined for 54 points for Miami.
What are the odds?
Even if they are coming off a win, the Mavericks remain the underdogs in Game 5, as the NBA 2024 odds believe that they just delayed the inevitable. With that said, Boston are 1.35 favourites, while another Dallas victory is valued at 3.12 in the 1X2 market.
Moreover, the Celtics are also favoured in the Asian Handicap market, with bets like -8.00 at 2.12 and -7.00 at 1.96 on offer for Monday.
Save for Game 4, Game 5 is expected to be another low-scoring game, especially if the hosts lock in defencively, making alternative bets like Under 210.50 at 1.82 and Under 209.00 at 1.99 worth considering.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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