Watch: Jayson Tatum and Derrick Jones Jr. shove each other, Jaylen Brown and Kyrie Irving exchange words as things get heated in Game 4
An amped-up Derrick Jones Jr. added more fuel to the competition as the Dallas Mavericks got off to a hot start in Game 4 vs the Boston Celtics on Friday. The hosts entered the matchup hoping to stave off elimination and made the right noises in the first quarter, but it wasn't without drama as Jones Jr. got into a shoving contest against Jayson Tatum.
The latter pushed back and Jaylen Brown intervened later, only for Kyrie Irving to get into the act as well.
At the time of writing, the Mavericks held a healthy 52-30 lead over the Celtics with six minutes remaining in the second quarter. Luka Doncic led Dallas with 16 points, while Irving had nine.
There was better defense from the Mavericks overall, including Doncic who was seen putting in honest efforts on that end. For the Celtics, Tatum led with 11 points, while the rest of Boston were yet to get into double figures as they were held back by Dallas' defense.
Derrick Jones Jr. sets the tone with a tough in-and-out dribble in first quarter
The Mavericks had some boost coming in from Derrick Jones Jr. who has had a relatively quiet NBA Finals so far. In the first quarter, he breezed past Tatum, and later Al Horford as the Celtics duo attempted to swat the ball away from Jones.
The efforts were futile as Jones switched hands mid-air and netted it in with his left hand. The effort didn't go unnoticed on social media as they were left spellbound by the bucket that earned him a roar from the crowd.
His efforts come on the back of his comments to stay in Dallas long-term. Ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, he expressed his desire to stay with the Mavericks.
“I’m planning on being here. I don’t want to go nowhere. I told Nico, I told Finn, I told Jason, I told everybody. I love it here. As long as we can get everything…I love it in Dallas.”
As for Game 4, Derrick Jones Jr.'s defensive efforts have played a part in the Mavericks getting ahead of the Celtics in a must-win clash. The hosts trail 3-0 after going down in both games in Boston, and later taking a loss in Game 3 at home. A win today will see the action shift back to the TD Garden in Boston for Game 5.