I did not see that coming. The Mavs winning the game was not shocking to me but winning in such dominating fashion was something I did not see coming at all. The Mavs beat the Celtics by 38 points last night. The beatdown led to a cool stat that showed that Dallas has more total points now throughout the series than the Celtics. The total score is 408 - 402 Mavs but obviously, the 3-1 lead by Boston is what matters. It's crazy to think that the Mavs could end up losing this series 4-1 and have a higher point differential. Anyways, can the Mavs pull off the improbable and come back 3-0 based on what they did last night? It is hard to say after last night because, at the end of the day, it is just one game. Whether you lose by 1 or you lose by 45, it counts just as one loss.
Boston is still in firm control of this series by all means but all the pressure is on them in game 5. For Dallas, they are essentially playing with lowered expectations now. No one, at this point, expects them to win and no one certainly thought they were going to win after they went down 3-0. The Celtics do not want this series to go back to Dallas because it most likely coming back to Boston for game 7. So Boston needs to take care of business in game 5 and understand that the Mavs are going to come out with a similar sense of urgency as they did in game 4. From the Mavs perspective, they understand Boston is going to do their best to bounce back from a humiliating loss. They cannot allow the game to get out of hand early. The key for them is to keep the game within reach and then let Luka and Kyrie close it out in crunch time. It is easier said than done but this is the formula.
Usually in the NBA finals, the previous game does not affect the next game. However, something that the Mavs could benefit from game 4 is the performance of Tim Hardaway Jr. He has essentially been a non-factor in the first 3 games of the series but then all of a sudden came in the 4th quarter of game 4 and lit it up going 5/7 from 3. The game, of course, was out of hand at that point but it is important to have shooters like Hardaway just see the ball go in the basket and maybe this could get him going and be a serviceable role player back in TD Garden where everyone but Luka has struggled.
The series is still under Boston's control firmly. All signs point toward that Boston is going to close this series in 5 based on what history says and how the first 2 games of the series have gone. However, on the off chance that they don't close it out in 5, mark your calendars on June 23 for a game 7. I am intrigued to see how Game 5 plays out.
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