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Starting 5, June 15: Dallas forces Game 5 in NBA Finals – NBA.com
With their season on the line, the Mavs respond with a dominant Game 4 win to send the Finals back to Boston on Monday.
When you send the series back to Boston.
THE LINEUP 🏀
What’s inside today’s edition?
Start To Finish: Dallas opened the game hot and never cooled off in a 38-point win
Luka Leads The Way: After fouling out of Game 3, Doncic drove Dallas in Game 4
Dallas Defense: How the Mavs held the Celtics to a season-low 84 points
All-Access: Go behind-the-scenes from Game 4 with our on-the-ground correspondents
Game 4 Frames: Some of our favorite photos from Friday in Dallas
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Game 4 and the remaining Finals schedule …
It’s a travel day as the NBA Finals shift back to Boston for Game 5 on Monday night. Stay tapped in on the NBA App for the latest news and exclusive access all weekend.
Trivia Time: Test your knowledge with today’s NBA Play: Expert Mode challenge, and list the five all-time leaders in Finals 3-pointers made.
1. MAVS DOMINATE FROM START TO FINISH
In Game 3, Dallas got off to a hot start, building a 13-point lead midway through the 1st quarter before the Mavs cooled off, and the Celtics regained their poise and got back in the game.
In Game 4, with their season on the line, the Dallas hot start never stopped.
Their 13-point lead after the 1st quarter became 20, then 30, then 40, before ending with the third-highest margin of victory in Finals history (+38) in a 122-84 win over Boston. | Recap
Lively II (11 pts, 12 reb) posted his second straight double-double, joining Magic Johnson (5x in 1980) as the only players to record multiple double-doubles in the NBA Finals before turning 21 years old.
At the half, the Mavs had doubled their 13-point first-quarter lead to 26 and still didn’t let up after the break. Just 48 hours earlier, the Mavs had gone on a 22-2 run in just five minutes to erase a 20+ point lead, so they kept their foot on the gas.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Mavs had racked up 122 points (after being held under 100 in each of the first three games) and had only allowed 84 points — tying Boston’s lowest mark under Mazzulla.
Teams often preach playing for 48 minutes. With their season on the line, the Mavs delivered one of the most dominant 48 minutes in NBA Finals history.
2. LUKA LEADS MAVS TO SEASON-SAVING WIN
All Luka Doncic could do was watch.
With the Mavs’ season on the line 48 hours later, how would the scoring champ respond to lowest-scoring game in a month, and his first Playoff foul-out?
The answer: quickly.
Doncic hit three of Dallas’ first four buckets of the game, finishing the 1st quarter with 13 points as the Mavs built a lead of the same amount — on the way to a game-high 29 pts with 5 reb, 5 ast & 3 stl.
Luka and the Mavs kept rolling in the 2nd quarter, with Doncic adding another dozen points to give him 25 at the half, along with four assists and three rebounds.
Luka added four more points, two steals and one half-court alley-oop dime to Daniel Gafford in the 3rd quarter before exiting the game for good with 1:29 left in the period.
Once again, all Luka could do was watch. This time for the final 13:29 of game time, after he and the Mavs had built a historic lead (+48), accomplishing their mission to keep the season alive.
3. DALLAS DEFENSE STANDS UP
In the regular season, the Celtics boasted an offensive rating of 122.2, the highest in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98).
In Game 4 of the Finals, the Mavericks held the Cs to a season-low 84 points with one of the best defensive efforts by any team this season.
Blitzing Boston from the start, the Mavs entered the break up 61-35, marking the fewest points Boston has scored in a half since Joe Mazzulla took over as head coach.
Leading the way? The scoring champ and the Mavs’ 20-year-old rook.
All-Around Effort: Boston entered the night with a 113.6 offensive rating in the Finals, but Dallas held that mark to 87.5 in Game 4.
4. ALL-ACCESS PASS TO GAME 4
Game 4 Like Never Before: Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski and Content Creator Jenna Bandy served as NBA Correspondents for Game 4 in Dallas, where they experienced the electricity of the Finals.
Dive deeper with Podz, Jenna and our All-Access team, from watching shootaround alongside 2024 NBA Draft prospect Alex Sarr to hearing Luka’s immediate thoughts after the win.
5. OUR FAVORITE FRAMES FROM GAME 4
Luka Doncic sets the tone with a 25-point 1st half and finally gets some help to send the NBA Finals back to Boston.
Dallas' star guard rebounds from a tough Game 3 with an all-around effort to help the Mavericks stave off elimination.
Kyrie Irving ends his struggles against his former team with a key role in an overwhelming Game 4 Finals win.
Luka Doncic's huge 1st half helps the Mavericks roll past the Celtics and force the NBA Finals back to Boston for Game 5.
Luka Doncic sets the tone with a 25-point 1st half and finally gets some help to send the NBA Finals back to Boston.
Dallas' star guard rebounds from a tough Game 3 with an all-around effort to help the Mavericks stave off elimination.
Kyrie Irving ends his struggles against his former team with a key role in an overwhelming Game 4 Finals win.
Luka Doncic's huge 1st half helps the Mavericks roll past the Celtics and force the NBA Finals back to Boston for Game 5.
The Hornets' 2023 NBA Draft class of Brandon Miller (No. 2) & Nick Smith Jr. (No. 27) combine for 47 points against New York.
2024 No. 11 overall pick Matas Buzelis scores 15 points in his Summer League debut for the Bulls.
The 6-foot-10 center-forward was the Atlantic 10 Conference’s co-player of the year last season as a junior.
Egan's teams won 1,067 games during a coaching career spanning more than 40 years, including 15 seasons in the NBA.
Second-year player Jordan Miller puts on a clinic with 36 points on 11-for-18 shooting, including 6-for-10 from 3-point range.
Reed Sheppard dazzles in his Summer League debut, Alex Sarr throws a block party & Jordan Miller puts on a shooting clinic.
