Down 3-1, Mavs striving to make history against Celtics
Sun Jun 16 6:07pm ET
Field Level Media
Luka Doncic wasn't going to let the Dallas Mavericks go down quietly.
With Dallas facing a 3-0 deficit in the NBA Finals, Doncic rose to the occasion and led the Mavericks to a 122-84 shellacking of the Boston Celtics on Friday night in Game 4 on his home court.
Doncic went for 29 points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals, a performance that virtually erased a fourth-quarter collapse in Game 3 that subjected the Dallas star to scrutiny from media across the country.
In that game, the Mavericks trailed by 21 following a Derrick White 3-pointer with 11:07 left in the game before mounting a feverish rally that got them within 93-90 with 6:11 to go. But with 4:12 remaining, Doncic stepped in front of Jaylen Brown to try and draw a charge and was called for a blocking foul -- his sixth personal.
Dallas challenged the call, which stood, sending Doncic to the bench for the remainder of the contest. Doncic committed four of his fouls in the final quarter.
Kyrie Irving later sank a jumper to make it a one-point game, but without Doncic, the Mavericks never found a way to move in front, leading to the 3-0 series deficit.
In Dallas coach Jason Kidd's eyes, a lot of the criticism was unwarranted, and Doncic proved why on Friday.
"He was Luka. He's been Luka. There wasn't a different Luka out there," Kidd said following Game 4. "He played at a high level. He was great. He's been great. He's one of the best players in the world. As much as we want to criticize, he's a hell of a player."
And although Kidd didn't say anything to Doncic directly, Doncic was pleased to hear that his coach was sticking up for him.
"That speaks a lot about him. He always has players' backs. He always supports us," Doncic said. That's a big thing, to have a coach like that."
Still, the Mavericks have an uphill battle down 3-1 in the series. NBA teams to lose the first three games of a best-of-seven playoff series are 0-156 -- 0-14 in the finals -- but making history is still on the table for Dallas.
"Our group was ready to go. They were ready to celebrate," Kidd said of why Game 4 played out the way it did. "Understand, we made a stand. We were desperate. We got to continue to keep playing that way. ... The hardest thing in this league is to close the door when you have a group that has nothing to lose. (Friday) you saw that."
If the Mavericks want to take another step toward the greatest comeback in league history, they will now have to take care of business in Boston on Monday. Celtics veteran Al Horford said his team should have no problem moving on from the ugly Game 4 performance.
"You know, after we won Game 1, we put that behind us," Horford said. "You know, Game 2, kind of same thing and so on, and we are at this point now. ... We have to take some things that we can be better at and try to fix them, and then you know, others kind of throw them out and just kind of do that and make sure that we come out and we play Celtics basketball.
"I think ultimately that's what it comes down to for us, and there's a lot of things that we can control and that I expect us to be much better on Monday."
Dallas lost Games 1 and 2 in Boston, with Irving, a former Celtic who burned bridges with the organization by signing with the Brooklyn Nets in July 2019, getting berated by fans any time the ball was in his hands.
However, Irving said he believes the Mavericks will be ready to combat the hectic environment this time around.
"When we go to Boston, there's going to be a bunch of (fans) yelling a whole bunch of crazy stuff still, but I think we've been able to grow and face kind of this adversity head on," Irving said. "We're figuring out each other in a crazy way during the highest stage of basketball. It's a beautiful thing, but it also can be chaotic if you don't know how to stay poised through it.
"I think we're figuring out each other throughout those phases."
--Nick Galle, Field Level Media
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Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant has drawn heavy links with the Houston Rockets this week, but he isn't expected to leave the team after his first full season in Arizona. According to NBA insider Shams Charania, there is a "zero percent" chance Phoenix will move Durant this offseason. The Suns reportedly still have a big belief in the current roster's ability to compete for a championship, and the Big Three of Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal will remain intact under new head coach Mike Budenholzer. Durant will turn 36 in September, but he continues to perform at a very high level and should be expected to do so again in 2024-25.
Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland appears ready to remain on the team. Following Cleveland's second-round exit against Boston, multiple reports suggested he will be looking for a change of scenery if Donovan Mitchell ties himself long-term with the franchise. Mitchell is now on the cusp of agreeing to an extension with the Cavaliers. But according to ESPN's Zach Lowe, this won't affect Garland's future on the team. Speaking on the most recent episode of The Lowe Post, Lowe said Garland "is cool with the current situation." Garland ran into health issues this season and took a step back, averaging 18.0 points, 6.5 assists, and 1.3 steals. However, he was an All-Star just two years ago and should be capable of getting back to the level.
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According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Nets traded forward Mikal Bridges to the Knicks on Tuesday night. In exchange, Brooklyn will receive multiple unprotected first-round draft picks and forward Bojan Bogdanovic. The former Villanova Wildcat took a step backward in 2023-24, averaging 19.6 points, 6.5 fewer than he had in 27 games in Brooklyn during the 2022-23 campaign. While the Nets had scoffed at numerous offers from other clubs around the National Basketball Association, Bridges will now reunite with former Villanova teammates Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo. Without question, the move makes New York an even bigger threat in the Eastern Conference, considering Bridges is the most durable player in the league. He was also in the running for a Defensive Player of the Year award at one point in his career. At any rate, the 27-year-old has plenty to offer fantasy managers, even though he'll have more competition for scoring opportunities in New York.
According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca, the Toronto Raptors waived forward Mouhamadou Gueye on Tuesday. In March, the 25-year-old Gueye signed a two-way contract and played in 11 Raptors regular season games. In those contests, he didn't make an impact on the court or in fantasy, averaging 10.9 minutes, 2.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks. He spent most of last season in the NBA G League, playing in 26 games for the Raptors 905.