The Boston Celtics had an opportunity to shut out the 2024 NBA Finals on Friday. However C’s head coach Joe Mazzulla wound up waving the white flag earlier than the third quarter even got here to an finish.
Sure, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks have been that dominant in Sport 4 on Friday as they stormed past Boston 122-84 on the American Airways Heart in Dallas.
Streaming 24/7: Watch NBC 5 local news and weather for free wherever you are
Staring down a potential sweep, Doncic scored 25 of his game-high 29 factors within the first half to energy Dallas to a 61-35 halftime benefit. The Mavs then stretched their benefit to as many as 48 factors within the second half, marking the biggest lead in a Finals recreation in not less than 50 years, based on ESPN.
Mazzulla emptied the bench with three minutes remaining within the third quarter and Mavs coach Jason Kidd adopted swimsuit shortly after, with each groups waiting for Monday’s Game 5.
So, the place does the Mavericks’ 38-point victory rank among the many greatest blowouts in NBA Finals historical past?
Dallas got here near recording the largest Finals blowout ever. The report was set within the 1998 Finals when the Chicago Bulls beat the Utah Jazz by 42 factors in Sport 3, profitable 96-54. Michael Jordan and the Bulls went on to win the sequence in six video games.
The Celtics really personal the second-largest victory in Finals historical past. Boston closed out the 2008 Finals with a 39-point win over the rival Los Angeles Lakers, profitable 131-92.
The Mavericks’ 38-point rout of the Celtics ranks third all time. That spot beforehand was held by the San Antonio Spurs’ 36-point win over the Miami Warmth (113-77) within the 2013 Finals, per ESPN.
The biggest margin of victory in an NBA playoff recreation is 58 factors, which two groups have achieved, according to StatMuse. The Minneapolis Lakers beat the St. Louis Hawks 133-75 in 1956, whereas the Denver Nuggets beat the New Orleans Hornets 121-63 in 2009.
