Rising Mavericks Star Believes Dallas ‘Figured Out’ Celtics

The Mavericks stomped the Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, and they hope that can be the start of an unprecedented comeback.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving outscored Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to deliver a 122-84 win over Boston at American Airlines Center on Friday. Dallas’ 38-point victory was the third-largest in NBA Finals history and the 13th time in franchise history the C’s lost by 38 or more, according to Basketball Reference.

Dallas’ defense stepped up after Doncic received heavy criticism for fouling out in Game 3. The Mavs fell down 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, but they found the counter against Joe Mazzulla’s offense to continue their season.

“Just coming out here and being the aggressor. We figured out what the game plan is, we figured out what schemes they like to run,” Mavericks center Dereck Lively II told ESPN’s Lisa Salters before the fourth quarter, per Boston.com’s Conor Roche. “Now, it’s going to come down to us, being able to guard. All of us are talking to each other. This is the type of basketball the Mavericks play.”

Lively threw shots at the Celtics offense and Boston fans throughout the series, but he’s been able to back that up in the past two games. He became the first rookie since Magic Johnson to record a double-double in consecutive games, per ESPN. The 20-year-old scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds — seven of those being offensive rebounds — and he made his first career 3-pointer, which he dedicated to his late mother.

No team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit in NBA history, but the Mavericks left Friday with more confidence to be the first team to accomplish the feat. Boston will look to hold off and finish Dallas in Game 5 on Monday at TD Garden.