The Dallas Mavericks responded to losing the first three games in the 2024 NBA Finals with a historic performance.
DALLAS — Offense. Defense. It was all working for the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.
To historic ends, even.
After losing the first three games in the 2024 NBA Finals, the Mavs responded in a big way in Game 4, completely blowing the Boston Celtics out and beating them by a score of 122-84.
That 38 point differential stands as the third-largest individual game blowout in NBA Finals history.
The two games ahead of this one? Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls and their 42-point beatdown on the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals, and the Boston Celtics’ 39-point win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the 2008 Finals.
Even more impressive? According to the ABC broadcast of the game, the Mavericks’ largest lead of the night — 48 points — is the largest lead in an NBA Finals game in more than 50 years.
Meanwhile, the corner three that Derrick Lively II made in the first quarter — his first-ever career make from behind the arc — earned the 20-year-old center the distinction of being the youngest player in NBA Finals history to hit a three-pointer.
If the Mavericks are to make history by becoming the first team to over come back from a 3-0 series deficit in NBA Playoff history, they started their journey on an appropriately historic note in Game 4.
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