The Dallas Mavericks are set to keep their NBA Finals dream alive, lead the Boston Celtics 92-60 heading into the final quarter of Game 4 on Saturday after Australian duo Josh Green and Dante Exum made a big impact early.
The Celtics currently hold a 3-0 series lead but will drop the fourth game of the series and have a chance to win the title in front of their fans back in Boston on Tuesday [AEST].
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‘That is just NASTY from Dante Exum!’ | 00:30
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Dallas jumped out to a 4-0 lead before back-to-back turnovers flipped early momentum in Boston’s favour, with Jayson Tatum draining a 3-pointer and two free throws to put the Celtics up 7-4.
Doncic answered back with his second and then third bucket of the game as Dallas had plenty of success attacking the paint, with Kyrie Irving doing the same as the Mavericks went ahead 10-9.
All 10 of Dallas’ points had come in the paint at that point and while it was a promising sign early for the Mavericks, they had similar success early in Game 3 before quickly falling behind.
On this occasion though, the consistent effort to get into the paint from Doncic was helping create open looks for teammates, as was the case when Dereck Lively II made a corner 3-pointer after Tatum helped onto a driving Doncic.
The Mavericks were able to open up double-digit leads on multiple occasions in the first quarter, finishing the period on top 34-21 after back-to-back triples from Kyrie Irving and P.J. Washington.
While it may not show up on the box score, Green impressed in his minutes with his energy and hustle on both ends, fighting for rebounds and flying for a putback dunk on an Irving miss.
“Josh Green has played with great intensity with the minutes he’s gotten,” Doris Burke said in commentary.
Green carried that energy into the second quarter as he came up with an early steal on Tatum before Exum, seeing his first minutes of the game, finished at the rim.
Exum then knocked down a 3-pointer and while it was later ruled he had put a foot out of bounds, the Australian made no mistake soon after as he made a triple to put Dallas ahead 39-25.
Doncic scored eight of Dallas’ next 11 points as the Mavericks went on a 11-0 run to extend their lead to 50-25, with Boston starting the second quarter 1-for-8 from the field.
The Celtics had dominated the series previously on the back of their superior ball movement but on Saturday the Mavericks were setting the tone on the defensive end, working hard to rotate and forcing the Celtics into tough shots.
Boston’s 35 points at halftime was its lowest output under coach Joe Mazzulla all season, with Tatum (15) the team’s leading scorer while Jaylen Brown had eight points.
Doncic, meanwhile, scored 25 points in the first half alone and the Mavericks showed no signs of slowing down in the third quarter, going up 73-40 and finishing ahead 92-60.
“This is stunning,” Mike Breen noted in commentary, describing it as an “all-time playoff performance” from Dallas.
Kristaps Porzingis, who had missed Game 3 with injury, was available to play but Mazzulla said pre-game that the team is only going to use him in “very specific instances if necessary”.
At this stage it looks unlikely he will see the court unless the Celtics stage a miraculous comeback.
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