Put away the brooms, folks. The Boston Celtics’ hopes of sweeping the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals were ended after a rough loss in Game 4. In a complete 180 of the dynamic in this series, it was Dallas getting their way against the Boston lineup. The result was a 40-point blowout that ends the men in green’s hopes for a quick and easy Finals win.
After the game, Celtics star Jayson Tatum pointed out what went wrong for his team in the Game 4 loss. Tatum said that their defense was simply not up to par, per Noa Dalzell. That allowed the Mavericks to get comfortable on the floor both on offense and defense.
“I think it starts on the defensive end for us. We didn’t get many stops. So they were allowed to set their defense up, and just naturally, when you’re scoring at a high rate, you feel good about yourself.”
Jayson Tatum largely blamed the defense for the offensive struggles:
“I think it starts on the defensive end for us. We didn’t get many stops. So they were allowed to set their defense up, and just naturally, when you’re scoring at a high rate, you feel good about yourself.” pic.twitter.com/nrz40uV5EL
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzellNBA) June 15, 2024
As for how the Celtics work after this game, Tatum said that they will be watching film of this game, but they won’t dwell on the results too much.
“We’re obviously going to watch film… but you can’t worry about it too much because we have another game on Monday. We’ve got to be a lot better, and I believe that we will.”
Jayson Tatum asked on how he responds to a loss like this:
“We’re obviously going to watch film… but you can’t worry about it too much because we have another game on Monday.”
“We’ve got to be a lot better, and I believe that we will. pic.twitter.com/uvK7qLkNqV
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzellNBA) June 15, 2024
The Mavericks were running on all cylinders in Game 4, clearly wanting to fight for their Finals lives. They scored a whopping 122 points against a Celtics team that has shut them down all series long. Luka Doncic had 29-5-5 for the Mavs while Kyrie Irving had 21-6-4. The key contributions came from Dereck Lively and Tim Hardaway Jr, who had 11 and 15 respectively.
Meanwhile, Boston couldn’t get their offense going in Game 4, scoring just 84 points while shooting less than 35% from the field. No player scored more than 15 points, with Tatum being the top scorer with 15 points.
Celtics’ road to Finals
© Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
While it’s a tough loss for sure, the Celtics should still be heavily favorites to eventually win the NBA Finals over the Mavericks. This was more or less an outlier game for the entire Boston team. This 84 points is their lowest scoring output in the regular season and the playoffs this season. Meanwhile, the Mavericks’ 122-point explosion is the second-most points they’ve allowed to a team in the postseason.
What’s concerning, though, is Boston’s sheer lack of urgency in Game 4. The Celtics should have known that the Mavericks would fight like hell to not be swept in the Finals. They know what it’s like to be playing from behind in the Finals. Yet, the team started off flat and never managed to even get an inch off the ground. Fans have to hope that Joe Mazzulla will talk some sense into them as they head back to TD Garden in a few days.
No team has come back from a 3-0 deficit. Now that the series is 3-1, though, this looks at least a bit more doable. The last thing the Celtics needed was to give the Mavericks confidence. Dallas looked shattered, broken physically and mentally after Game 3. Now, they come into Boston with some renewed hope. Can Tatum and co. turn this loss into a positive and give the home fans a reason to celebrate?