"They were ready to celebrate" - Jason Kidd suggests Celtics' blowout loss was down to premature sweep expectation
Jason Kidd's Dallas Mavericks averted a clean sweep by the Boston Celtics with a dominant victory in Game 4 at home. Coach Kidd reckoned it was partly because their opponents thought that things were already over and done with.
Basketball Hall-of-Famer Kidd, who won an NBA title with the Mavericks as a player in 2011, shared this following their 122-84 victory in Game 4, just as he gave props to his players for showing up and playing with pride after falling in a 0-3 hole in the series.
The 51-year-old coach said, as shared by The Athletic's Jay King on X (formerly Twitter):
"Our group was ready to go. They were ready to celebrate."
Dallas surely was ready to go to battle right from the opening tip. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving set the tone for the Mavericks, combining for 22 points to help their team to a 34-21 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
The home team continued to pour it in, holding a 61-35 advantage at halftime and never looking back from there. Doncic finished with a game-high 29 points, to go along with five rebounds and five assists, in the victory, with Irving adding 21 points and six assists.
Rookie Dereck Lively II came off the bench to finish with a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds and so did Dante Exum with 10 points. For Boston, Jayson Tatum who top-scored with 15 markers. As a team, the Celtics shot just 36.2% for the game.
Game 5 of the NBA Finals is slated for Monday in Beantown.
Jason Kidd takes up cudgels for highly critized Luka Doncic
Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd made sure to take up the cudgels for superstar Luka Doncic, who was on the receiving end of a lot of criticism after they fell to 0-3 in their NBA Finals series against the Boston Celtics.
Pundits and observers took to task Doncic for his defensive shortcomings and constant complaining to game officials for their inability to stay with the Celtics in the series.
During ther pregame press conference ahead of Game 4 on Friday, Jason Kidd moved to defend Doncic from the criticisms, highligting how some were unwarranted. He said:
"I think it's just sometimes unfair, or unwarranted, to be able to say those things.
"No one in this room is perfect. ... Give my man a break. Let him play the game, because we're all here to watch him play. Let's just enjoy. I mean, he's 25 years old. He will be better. Hopefully he's better tonight."
The good thing for Jason Kidd and the Mavericks was that Doncic played better in leading his team to a 122-84 blowout win over the Celtics in Game 4 to stay alive in the series.
He posted all-around numbers of 29 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in 33 minutes.