The Boston Celtics, coached by former West Virginia basketball player Joe Mazzulla, were defeated by the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night by a final score of 122-84.
The Mavericks built a sizeable lead throughout the first half of the game, going up 61-35 at halftime. Guard Luka Doncic scored 25 points in 22 first-half minutes, hitting 10 of his 18 shot attempts.
The Celtics’ struggles continued throughout the second half, as Mazzulla would pull his starters from the game late in the third quarter. No players on the Celtics scored more than 20 points in Game 4, whereas the Mavericks had two players. Luka Doncic finished with 29 points, and guard Kyrie Irving scored 21 points alongside him.
Celtics forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown struggled in Game 4, combining for 25 points in 54 minutes of total playtime. Tatum was the highest scorer for the Celtics with 15 points on 10 shot attempts. Game 4 was the first game in this year’s NBA Finals where the Celtics failed to reach 100 points.
With Dallas’s win, the Celtics and Mavericks will travel to Boston to play Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday, June 17th. The game will air at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC.
