DALLAS — The Celtics entered Friday with a possibility to turn out to be NBA champions largely due to the metronomic consistency of their method and execution. A ton of the credit score for that belongs to move coach Joe Mazzulla, whose unflinching — and, at instances, eyebrow-raising — dedication to a process-over-results, sweat-the-small-stuff type has helped remodel Boston from a gifted group given to occasional lapses into one which has functioned, for many of the final eight months, like a brutally environment friendly successful machine.
As Mazzulla advised reporters earlier than Recreation 4, although, a wholesome share of the credit score also needs to go to the group his Celtics had the prospect to comb.
“Dallas is a superb opponent, as a result of they take a look at your self-discipline — like, each single possession,” he mentioned throughout his pregame press convention. “And the second that you simply’re not the place you are speculated to be, or you do not execute your angles correctly, they reap the benefits of it.”
Most of the time on Friday evening, the Celtics weren’t the place they had been speculated to be, and didn’t execute their angles correctly. And man, did Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving and the remainder of the Mavericks reap the benefits of it.
The Mavs’ star duo mix for 50 factors to pressure Recreation 5 again in Boston 🤩🤩
Luka: 29 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST, 3 STLKyrie: 21 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST
Recreation 5: Monday, 8:30pm/et, ABC pic.twitter.com/3R7DaFrGrq
— NBA (@NBA) June 15, 2024
Dallas took a two-point lead halfway via the primary quarter on a nook 3-pointer by, of all folks, heart Dereck Vigorous II — his first profession NBA triple, on simply the third try of his rookie season — and by no means relinquished it. A 19-5 run gave the Mavericks a double-digit lead within the first quarter. An 11-0 jolt pushed the benefit to 25 within the second. An 8-0 stint within the third had the Mavs flirting with a 40-point margin earlier than each coaches pulled their starters … after which Tim Hardaway Jr., Dallas’ No. 3 scorer throughout the common season earlier than getting exiled from the rotation for chilly taking pictures and permissive defending, caught the type of heater he hadn’t sparked in months.
The Mavs led by as many as 48 factors earlier than a couple of late Boston buckets allowed the annihilation to settle at a 122-84 ultimate. Dallas lives to struggle one other day — one other three, in truth, with the Finals now shifting again to TD Backyard for Recreation 5 on Monday.
The C’s, for his or her half, get to spend the lengthy flight again to Boston not solely ruminating over a loss for the primary time since Might 9, however desirous about what the hell occurred to supply essentially the most lopsided Finals loss for any Celtics group ever — “an ass kicking,” within the phrases of Celtics guard Derrick White, who scored six factors on 2-for-8 taking pictures in 31 minutes.
“I believe successful is tough,” Celtics guard Jrue Vacation mentioned. “I believe successful any recreation is tough. However successful Recreation 4 of the NBA Finals is fairly rattling onerous.”
It will get considerably tougher when you’ll be able to’t make something. The Celtics missed 10 of their first 15 pictures, clanging away on appears to be like in and out — a few of them good pictures that simply rimmed out, others extra harried tries as they struggled to create house from a Mavericks group that appeared intent on establishing increased pickup factors, a better degree of physicality and far more aggressive rotations.
It bought worse from there: a ghastly second quarter by which the group with essentially the most environment friendly offense in NBA historical past may muster solely 14 factors on 3-for-16 taking pictures with three turnovers; such a complete lack of high quality possessions that Mazzulla wound up yanking his starters down by 36 with 3:18 to go within the third quarter.
“Our group was able to go. They had been able to have fun,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd mentioned after the win. “… The toughest factor on this league is to shut the door when you might have a bunch that has nothing to lose. Tonight you noticed that. They let go of the rope, you recognize, fairly early.”
The Celtics completed 29 for 80 from the ground (36.2%) — the primary time they did not make 40% of their pictures in any playoff recreation, and their second-worst taking pictures efficiency of your entire season.
“I believe that is essentially the most stagnant that we have been this sequence, and the worst job of proudly owning our house on the offensive finish and doing what we wished to do, as a substitute of what they had been forcing us to do,” mentioned Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who completed with 15 factors on 4-for-10 taking pictures with 5 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal in 27 minutes.
Boston nonetheless bought up its wholesale-shopping quantity of 3-pointers, taking pictures 14 for 41 from distance on the evening. However these makes an attempt accounted for 47% of the C’s total shot weight loss program — down from 55% in Recreation 3 — and extra of them appeared hurried, with Boston’s shooters feeling the warmth of Mavericks defenders screaming throughout the courtroom to shut out and contest. And the identical held true for the makes an attempt that the Celtics took on the inside:
Through three quarters of Recreation 4, Luka Doncic had extra factors within the paint (22) than your entire Celtics’ group (18), in line with @ESPNStatsInfo
— Chris Herring (@Herring_NBA) June 15, 2024
They shot simply 9 for 23 (39.1%) within the paint via the primary three quarters, and completed with 26 factors within the paint — two off their season low, which got here within the first recreation of the postseason in opposition to the Warmth — as Dallas seemed to pre-switch perimeter gamers onto Al Horford when he set ball screens or have their bigs sag off of reserve Xavier Tillman Sr., permitting Vigorous, Daniel Gafford and Maxi Kleber to spend extra time packing the lane.
“They did an awesome job flying round, making us [feel] indecision on whether or not to shoot it or drive,” Mazzulla mentioned. “After which, their a number of efforts — I believed their 5 males did an awesome job defending the paint. Every time we went in for a layup, that they had a number of guys contesting.”
That exercise threw sand into the gears of the Celtics’ decision-makers, leading to a number of passed-up layups — Vacation had a few them, in addition to 5 turnovers, in a efficiency far under the elevated normal he’d set earlier within the sequence — and various ill-timed, off-target passes. That led to some live-ball turnovers: the dreaded miscues that Kidd has been on his group to work tougher to keep away from all sequence lengthy, and that abruptly grew to become Boston’s bugaboo.
Seven of the Celtics’ 14 turnovers had been live-ball cough-ups, in line with PBP Stats. The Mavs scored 1.71 factors per possession after a Boston turnover in Recreation 4, in line with Inpredictable, a large quantity.
Mix that with how opportunistic Dallas was at pushing the tempo off of defensive rebounds — one other Kidd speaking level; he hasn’t favored the best way the Mavs “stroll the ball up” on this sequence, particularly within the second and third quarters — and also you’ve bought a recipe for actual issues in transition. The Mavericks completed at 1.73 factors per play on the break in Recreation 4, in line with Cleansing the Glass — greater than double what they allowed within the first two video games of those Finals.
“We have been probably the greatest groups within the league at getting stops. That is been our identification,” mentioned Irving, who scored 21 factors on 10-for-18 taking pictures with six assists and 4 rebounds in 31 minutes. “We play higher, I believe, offensively — that is simply my opinion; it may possibly range throughout the group — I believe we play higher offensively after we’re getting stops, capable of push the tempo, get straightforward alternatives in transition, which we weren’t doing the previous few video games as usually.”
Add these fast-break possibilities to the elevated aggression that Vigorous and Co. confirmed on the offensive glass — 13 offensive rebounds resulting in 16 second-chance factors, a 32% offensive rebounding fee that’s the second-highest Boston has allowed this postseason — and there have been simply far more pathways for the Mavericks to persistently generate the better, higher-value, in-rhythm appears to be like that Boston’s protection so studiously took away in Video games 1, 2 and three.
The Celtics managed the primary three video games of this sequence by successful the maths battle by way of a major edge in 3-point makes an attempt. However by hammering the offensive glass, committing fewer turnovers and relentlessly attacking the paint in transition and off the dribble within the half-court, Dallas was capable of tilt the maths again in its favor by successful the possession battle, producing 11 extra field-goal makes an attempt and 9 extra free-throw makes an attempt — and, for the primary time within the sequence, setting the phrases of engagement slightly than permitting Boston to take the wheel.
“It is a playoff sequence. Groups are going forwards and backwards,” mentioned Celtics heart Al Horford. “Normally, you recognize — I have been in numerous these, and normally by the second recreation, you make changes. Third recreation, you make one other adjustment, and that is type of how it’s. And for us, we have had the primary three video games, we did not actually make any changes. So immediately, they did one thing. We’ve got to see how we will be higher and put together for it.”
The reply possible lies, because it usually does for the Celtics, on the much less glamorous aspect of the ground.
“I believe it begins on the defensive finish for us,” mentioned Tatum, who was Boston’s lone supply of offense within the first quarter, scoring 11 of the group’s 21 factors within the body, however went a whisper-quiet 0-for-3 from the sphere within the subsequent two quarters as Dallas pulled away. “We did not get many stops, in order that they had been allowed to set their protection up, and simply naturally, whenever you’re scoring at a excessive fee, you be ok with your self. Your vitality is increased. Are inclined to in all probability play higher protection. … We have simply bought to do a significantly better job containing them, making it harder, and getting stops.”
As disappointing as Friday’s effort was, the Celtics depart Texas nonetheless in agency management of the sequence: with a 3-1 lead within the best-of-seven sequence, with three extra possibilities to slam the door, and with Recreation 5 again of their fitness center. The Celtics answered their earlier two losses on this postseason with a 20-point win and a 13-point win; they’ll look to make it a development with a 3rd straight spectacular bounce-back.
“The one factor I can inform you about our group is that, time and time once more, we have responded any time we’ve got adversity,” Horford mentioned. “This is a chance that we’ve got right here in entrance of us.”
It’s one they’d do properly to grab early on Monday. Let Dončić, Irving and Co. linger, and so they may simply convey this factor again to Dallas for Recreation 6. Take away all doubt, and also you get to carry up an awesome massive golden trophy.
“These are the moments that may make you or break you,” mentioned Celtics star Jaylen Brown, who completed with 10 factors on 3-for-12 taking pictures. “We’ve got to reassemble. We’ve got to have a look at it and study from it, after which we have got to embrace it and assault it.
“It’ll be onerous to do what we’re making an attempt to do. We did not count on something to be straightforward. Nevertheless it’s no purpose to lose our head.”