"It's first to 4"- Luka Doncic vows to believe in Mavericks' chances 'until the end'
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is not ready to throw in the towel just yet. The Mavericks registered a resounding 122-84 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday at the American Airlines Center. With the win, the Mavericks forced Game 5, avoided getting swept, and kept their hopes of a comeback alive.
Led by their poster boy Doncic, the Mavericks destroyed Jayson Tatum & Co. and handed the Celtics the 3rd biggest defeat in NBA Finals history. The visitors lost the game by a huge margin of 38 points.
It was a confidence-bolstering win for the Mavericks, who are hanging by the thread to keep their season alive. Luka Doncic is not ready to accept defeat just yet.
After winning Game 4 in Dallas, Doncic vowed to keep fighting until the end.
"It's first to 4, and we're going to believe until the end. We just gotta keep going. I have big belief in this team that we can do it, so we just gotta keep believing," Doncic told reporters.
Before the ongoing finals, there have been 156 instances of a team being down 0-3 in a playoff series. None of the teams managed to script a comeback and win the series 4-3.
There have been four instances when a team forced a Game 7 after being down 0-3 in a playoff series, including once in the 1951 NBA Finals.
Luka Doncic in 2024 NBA Finals
Luka Doncic had an excellent game against the Celtics on Friday despite poor shooting from beyond the arc. In Game 4, Doncic scored 29 points, 25 of which came in the first half.
The 25-year-old shot 12-of-26 from the field and failed to convert any of his eight attempts from the 3-point range. Doncic had five rebounds, five assists and three steals in the game.
The Mavericks superstar was excellent on the defensive end, an area where he has struggled immensely in the ongoing Finals. His improved showing on defense provided a major boost to Dallas as the team blew the Celtics out of their building.
Overall, Doncic is averaging 29.5 points, eight rebounds and 5.8 assists in the 4 games against the Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals. He has scored 25+ points in all four games.