The Dallas Mavericks prevented the Boston Celtics from shutting out the Bears in the best-of-seven championship series, winning 122-84 to keep their NBA Finals hopes alive.
Luka Doncic led the team with 29 points, Kyrie Irving added 21 and the Mavericks snapped their opponent’s 10-game playoff winning streak and recorded the third-biggest win in Finals history.
But they still have a hurdle to overcome if they are to become the first team to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win an NBA playoff series, with Game Five taking place in Boston on Tuesday (1.30am BST).
“We knew we had to win, we couldn’t afford to lose any more,” the Slovenian said. “As I always say, we will keep believing until the end.”
“I think our energy was a lot higher. Everybody was focused on defense.”
Doncic and Irving gave the team a 34-21 lead after the first quarter, then dominated defensively to take a 61-35 lead at halftime.
When the two left the game with 1 minute, 29 seconds left in the third quarter, the Mavs were leading 92-57.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 15 points off the bench for Dallas, and 20-year-old rookie Derek Lively II added 11 points.
Boston coach Joe Mazzulla also made some changes to his starters in the third period with an eye on Game 5, which is Boston’s next chance to win its 18th NBA championship and break a record tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for most wins.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown only scored 15 and 10 points, respectively, for the Celtics, who suffered their worst Finals loss in their history.
“I thought they played with a lot of energy and physicality,” Mazzulla said. “They’re a great team. When they play like that, you can see why they’re here.”
