DALLAS — Parade plans had already been made, and the nationwide media spent days discussing whether or not the Celtics have been primed to change into a dynasty. However 48 minutes of “particulars”, as Joe Mazzulla likes to name them, stood between the Celtics and Banner 18.
Mazzulla routinely stresses the small print, the margins – rebounding, turnovers, shot makes an attempt – as central to what the Celtics try to perform. A lot in order that when he was requested yesterday morning about whether or not the gamers relish the prospect to compete for a championship, he mentioned: ““I don’t know. I do know they relish the margins, doing the issues that go into profitable.”
In Sport 4, the margins may haven’t have been extra lopsided in Dallas’s favor. The Mavericks out-rebounded the Celtics 65-39 – together with 29-13 within the first half. They turned the ball over 13 occasions to the Mavs’ 8. Whereas Dallas tried 91 photographs, the Celtics tried 80.
“They got here out tremendous aggressive,” Jayson Tatum mentioned postgame. “They performed extraordinarily quick and took extra photographs than we did. They have been actually concentrating on attacking the offensive glass. They bought far more rebounds than we did.”
Tatum — who has led the crew in rebounding with 9.8 boards per recreation this postseason — completed with 5, his lowest whole of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
Dereck Vigorous II led the rebounding cost for Dallas, grabbing six offensive rebounds en path to a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double. No participant on the Celtics grabbed greater than 5 rebounds all evening.
“D-Stay was nice,” Jason Kidd mentioned. “His power was nice, his potential to offer us second alternatives.”
Joe Mazzulla spent most of his postgame presser praising the Mavericks reasonably than criticizing the Celtics’ efficiency.
“I assumed Dallas performed nice. Give a variety of credit score to them,” Mazzulla mentioned. “All their guys, whoever went in — well-balanced. Thought they performed with a ton of power and physicality. You’ve bought to offer them that. And they’re an incredible crew, and that’s Dallas, that’s the rationale why they’re right here — after they play like that.”
That sentiment — that the sport’s consequence was extra of a mirrored image of Dallas’s elite play — was echoed by a lot of the Celtics gamers who spoke postgame.
“I feel it was extra about Dallas,” Al Horford mentioned. “I felt like they have been the higher crew tonight, clearly. They performed a lot better.”
“I feel they performed exhausting bodily,” Jaylen Brown mentioned. “After which they dominated the glass,” “I feel that was the important thing that put a variety of strain on us.”
Derrick White had essentially the most crucial quote of the evening.
“As we’ve seen at present, they simply performed more durable, and that’s unacceptable,” White mentioned.
The Celtics ended up getting blown out 122-84, the third-largest defeat in NBA Finals historical past and an consequence that few may have predicted.
The Mavs outscored the Celtics 60-26 in factors within the paint and 16-2 in second-chance alternatives, a departure from earlier video games. And whereas the 14-point benefit on follow-up alternatives was removed from the one downside — Tatum himself identified the Celtics’ offensive stagnation — the uncharacteristic errors on the glass gave the Mavs life when the collection was practically over.
The Celtics spent two days discussing how they didn’t need to overlook Sport 4 en path to a championship, however nonetheless got here out flat when confronted with the chance to deal with the small print.
“Preparation doesn’t assure an computerized success,” Mazzulla mentioned. “I assumed we had an incredible course of, I assumed we had an incredible shootaround, I assumed we had an incredible movie session yesterday. I assumed the fellows got here out with the fitting intentions.”
Joe Mazzulla: “Preparation doesn’t assure an computerized success — I assumed we had an incredible course of, I assumed we had an incredible shootaround, I assumed we had an incredible movie session yesterday. I assumed the fellows got here out with the fitting intentions.” pic.twitter.com/LRIhPPxhv8
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzellNBA) June 15, 2024
They’ll get one other probability at a title on Monday, however they’ll must be the harder-playing crew with the intention to obtain that dream.
“We’re going to see how and why, precisely the place the sport was gained and misplaced,” Brown mentioned. “After which we take these experiences after which we come out and we play like our life depends upon it. As a result of it does.”
