DALLAS — The Celtics made history in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night, but it wasn’t the variety they were hoping for. The Mavericks led by as many as 48 points in the 122-84 victory, as Boston suffered their worst loss of the postseason.
The Celtics flirted with making NBA history by nearly suffering the worst loss in NBA Finals history but a couple late layups by Payton Pritchard kept them from that gate. Instead, their 38-point defeat was the third worst loss in a Finals game in NBA history, trailing just a 42-point Jazz loss to the Bulls in 1998 and a 39-point Lakers loss to the Celtics in a series clinching Game 6 in 2008.
“I thought Dallas played great. Give a lot of credit to them,” Joe Mazzulla said. “You know, all their guys, whoever went in, well-balanced. Thought they played with a ton of energy and physicality. You’ve got to give them that. And they are a great team, and that’s Dallas. That’s the reason why they are here when they play like that. But you can definitely take some stuff from it.”
BetMGM BET UP TO $1,500! BONUS BET REFUND AFTER A LOSS
STATES: AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, MI, NJ, OH, PA, TN, VA. Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21 years of age or older to wager. MA Only. New Customer Offer. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Rewards issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets. Bonus bets expire 7 days from issuance. In Partnership with MGM Springfield. Play it smart from the start with GameSense. GameSenseMA.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org. US Promotional Offers not available in New York.
Boston also entered the history books with their worst franchise loss in Finals history. The Celtics have only lost by 20 points six or more times in franchise history in the NBA Finals according to status guru Dick Lipe. However, Boston has a strong record of bouncing back from those performances going 5-1 in the following games. Jaylen Brown is hoping from a similar bounce back from his group in Game 5.
“These are the moments that can make you or break you,” Brown said. “We have to reassemble. We have to look at it and learn from it, and then we’ve got to embrace it and attack it. It’s going to be hard to do what we’re trying to do. We didn’t expect anything to be easy, but it’s no reason to lose our head.
“Tip your cap to Dallas. They came out and played well, and we’ve just got to be better on the next one.”
The Celtics get another chance at a potential title clincher in Game 5 on Monday night at TD Garden at 8:30 p.m.
