DALLAS — Luka Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half, Kyrie Irving added 21 points and the Dallas Mavericks extended their season by avoiding elimination with a 122-84 win over the Boston Celtics in NBA Game 4 on Friday night. . finals.
The Mavs’ star was complete by the end of the third quarter. There was a good reason for that. It was all Dallas from the start, and by the time both teams emptied their benches, the Mavs were ahead by 13 points after the first quarter, 26 points at halftime and 38 points in the third.
The 38-point final margin was the third largest ever in an NBA Finals, with Chicago beating Utah 96-54 in 1998 and the Celtics beating the Los Angeles Lakers 131-92 in 2008.
Before Friday, the 17-time champion Celtics’ worst NBA Finals loss was 137-104 to the Lakers in 1984. This was worse. Sometimes it’s much worse. Dallas’ largest lead in the fourth was 48 points. This was the biggest deficit the Celtics faced all season.
The Celtics still lead the series 3-1, with Game 5 set for Monday in Boston.
