2024 NBA Playoff Update
Well, there will be no sweep in these NBA Finals. The Mavericks finally managed to play an effective game, and did so from top to bottom, from the beginning of this game to the end. They controlled it from the start, building up a 13 -point lead by the end of the first quarter, then extending that lead by 13 more in the second. They had a dominant, even overwhelming lead of 61-35 that they took in with them into the locker rooms for halftime.
Nor did things get any better for the Celtics in the second half. Both the third and the fourth quarters were closer, but Dallas still managed to win every quarter of this game. They outscored Boston by 6 in the third quarter, and by six again in the fourth quarter, culminating in one of the biggest single game blowouts in NBA Finals history. It proved to be the third most lopsided game in the history of the NBA Finals. In fact, the Celtics were losing by 48 at one point, marking the largest deficit that Boston has faced in this entire season, in which they sure seemed the most dominant franchise in the league. But there was precious little evidence of that last night.
The loss snapped Boston's playoff winning streak, which had reached 10 straight. It also handed them their first (and at least so far, only) road defeat in this postseason. Indeed, this was the first loss for the Celtics since all the way back on May 9th, when the Cavaliers managed to win Game 2 in Boston to tie that series. That was more than one month ago.
As expected, Luka Dončić led his team, scoring 29 points, with 25 of those coming in the first half alone. Yes, this was the kind of game where teams pull their stars well before the game is officially over. The Celtics were never really in this one. Dallas made sure of that.
Kyrie Irving added 21, and Tim Hardaway managed 15. Both of those efforts helped the Mavs to first establish and then maintain control of this game right from the opening tip. The Celtics were never really in this one.
Jayson Tatum led Boston in scoring with just 15 points. Yeah, that was the kind of game this was for the Celtics normally explosive offense. Sam Hauser was next with 14 points. Jaylen Brown and Drue Holiday both had 10 points each. Those are not awful numbers, necessarily. But you expect more, generally, from the leaders of a 64-18 team on the cusp of an NBA championship title. Especially for the biggest names, the stars who have led this franchise for years, Tatum and Brown.
So Dallas finally earned themselves a win in this NBA Finals by lassoing Boston The series, however, is still very much in favor of the Celtics, and the series now shifts back to Bean Town for Game 5. Indeed, despite getting seriously humbled by being on the short side of a historic loss in the NBA Finals, Boston is still very much in the drivers seat in this series. They may have failed to come close to capturing the title last night, but they still will have a chance to close out the series and lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy at home in Boston with a win in Game 5 on Monday night.
Should be interesting. Let's see what happens.
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