On this episode of 'Inside The Mavs', Kevin Gray, Mavericks Pre/Post Game Host breaks down the Dallas Mavericks crushing the Boston Celtics in GM 4 of the NBA Finals. Kevin discusses how Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively and the Mavs bench took out Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to force a GM 5 back in Boston & much more!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
How does the outlook change now inthe series that you have a win under
your belt and you have a fewmore days of life headed the Boston.
I mean, it doesn't change anything. Like I decided at the beginning of
the series, is first of fourand we're gonna believe till the end.
So we just got to keep going. I have a big belief in this
team that we can do it,So we just gotta keep believing. The
(00:25):
Mavericks stave off elimination by crushing theCeltics at Game four of the NBA Finals.
How it took a total team effortto force a Game five back in
Boston. This is Inside the Maps. Welcome to Inside the mass presented by
(01:11):
Aura. I'm your host, KevinGray, Mavericks pre and post game host
on the Dallas Mavericks Radio Network.Appreciate you joining me here for the latest
episode of Inside the MAVs. Makesure you download and subscribe to the podcast
wherever you get your podcast for free. Give it a five star rating and
write a review for it while you'rethere. And if you're watching this on
my YouTube channel at Kevin Gray Sports, makes you like a comment on the
(01:32):
video and subscribe to Kevin Gray Sportsand you can follow me on Twitter at
Kevin Gray Sports as well. TheDallas Mavericks beat down the Boston Celtics one
twenty two to eighty four, athirty eight point crushing of the Celtics in
Game four of the NBA Finals toforce a Game five back in Boston on
(01:53):
Monday. The thirty eight point victorythe third largest margin of victory in NBA
Finals history. The boss Is Celticsscoring a season low eighty four points as
the Mavericks in the Celtics ten gamepostseason winning streak as the Celtics now try
to win the championship on their homefloor on Monday night, but the Mavericks
(02:16):
stave off elimination at least for onemore night as they get a terrific total
team effort led by Luka Doncic andKyrie Irving, who combined for what would
be fifty points in Game number four, in fact, both of them doing
all of their work in just threequarters because the Celtics pulled the plug on
(02:38):
Game four and waved the white flagwith three minutes left in the third quarter,
as the Mavericks were absolutely destroying theCeltics in every facet of the game.
The Mavericks wind up pulling their starterswith a minute and a half left
in the third quarter. How theMavericks were able to utilize a terrific rookie
(02:58):
who's gotten now multi pull double doublesin the NBA Finals. Of talking about
Derek Lively the second him becoming onlythe second player to have multiple double doubles
in his rookie season, Yeah seeMagic Johnson back in nineteen eighty as the
only other player to do that.And his three pointer in the first quarter.
(03:19):
Yes, a Derek Lively three pointerignited the Dallas Mavericks as they were
able to dominate Boston from start tofinish to be able to get what was
their first win of the NBA Finals. A Mavericks team who have been held
under one hundred points in each ofthe first three games of this finals exploded
(03:39):
for one hundred and twenty two.In fact, Tim Hardaway Junior got in
in the first six minutes of thefourth quarter and knocked down five to three
pointers to have fifteen points in thefourth quarter alone. Kyrie Irving and Luka
Doncic outscored the Celtics by themselves combinedin the first quarter twenty two to twenty
(04:00):
one. All things were working togetherfor the Mavericks. Good if you will
to be able to get this win. How they got this done. They
started by attacking and getting into themiddle of the paint. The Dallas Mavericks
in Game four scored sixty of theirone hundred and twenty two points in the
paint. They were able to getinside with Luka Donc to Kyrie Irving taking
(04:25):
the ball to the basket. Lucahad six of the first eight points of
the game for the Mavericks. JasonTatum and Jaylen Brown could bine for the
first nine points for the Celtics asthe Celtics led nine to eight five minutes
in, but the Mavericks went onwhat was a seventeen to five run to
take what was a twenty five tofourteen league with just over three minutes left
(04:45):
in the first quarter. After aLuka Donci had lay up again getting into
the paint at one point, theMavericks made five straight field goals to be
able to get themselves that lead.They would eventually outscore Boston twenty six to
twelve over the final seven minutes thatfirst quarter, with Luka Dancic going for
thirteen points, Kyrie Irving going fornine. As I mentioned, they combined
(05:05):
for twenty two of the mavers thirtyfour first quarter points, outscoring the Celtics
combined twenty two to twenty one.The defense was the story in this game
for Dallas. We talk about atotal team effort, the most complete game
that the Mavericks had played so farthis postseason, as they were able to
(05:26):
handle their business, holding the Celticsin the first half to just what was
thirty five points, the fewest pointsin the Joe Missoula era for the Boston
Celtics, as the Mavericks led bytwenty six and halftime, scoring thirty four
points in that first quarter, intwenty seven in the second quarter, but
Kyrie Irving getting to the lefty layupmade it ten to nine with six to
(05:49):
fifty left in the first quarter.And then for me, what was the
play of the game. Derek Livelythe second taking a three pointer in the
right corner and draining it off theassist from Luka Doncic to make it thirteen
to eleven midway through the first quarter. That was the play of the game.
(06:11):
It ignited the Dallas Mavericks. Itignited the Mavericks crowd who were looking
for something to cling and hang onto, to continue to give them hope
that the Mavericks would find a wayto avoid the sweep at the American Airline
Center, and that they did.And this talented rookie who has grown throughout
the course of the season, Andif you have followed me on Kevin Gray
(06:32):
Sports on Twitter and you've seen obviouslypractice footage of the Dallas Mavericks, you
have seen Dereck Lively, Daniel Gaffordand others working on those three pointers with
Sean Tweety during Mavericks practice, andDereck Lively the confidence that he had to
take that three with Jason Tatum leavinghim wide open in the right corner.
(06:54):
He took it, and he madeit, and he made it with confidence,
looking fluid with the three pointer,and that gave you an indication that
the Mavericks were willing to do anythingand everything to try and win this game,
including having their talented rookie who hasstruggled through the first few games of
this series be able to take thatshot with confidence and knock it down.
(07:18):
Derek Live the second talking about thatthree, and the confidence being instilled in
him by his teammates, specifically withLuka Dacic, and what he is continuing
to do to grow and how helearned from that moment. Knock you down
that three. Take a listen.Could you have ever imagined that, you
know, even though you shoot threepointers every practice, that you're going to
(07:40):
make your first one Game four ofthe NBA Finals. Sure, she helped
me make it. She gonna helpme make a lot more. She had
to make it the free throw line. She helped me make reads. You
know, I'm just thankful for beinghaving Luca pass me the ball in that
position. I'm happy I knocked itdown. Just got to be able to
make the next one. Chance.I see some more of them throughout the
(08:01):
series. They leave me open inthe corner. I'm gona get him up
for sure. You know, it'sjust having that trust. Like I said,
you know, Luca gonna give methe ball as soon as I shot
it, he knew. He kindof jumped for joy when it winning.
So just having that reaction for myteammates is amazing. Just makes you want
to just learn, makes you wantto just practice and just do more.
So Derek lively. Look, ifthere's gonna be more of those open opportunities,
(08:22):
he says that he's going to takethose shots that they're available to him.
And look, that's gonna be situationalbased off of him being open to
take some of those shots. Butnow that we know that he has the
confidence to take those shots, inthe audacity to take that shots and make
it in an NBA Finals making hisfirst ever career three pointer in an NBA
(08:43):
Finals game, it just shows youthe Mavericks and what kind of desperation that
they were playing with, but theconfidence at which they were able to do
it. And the Mavericks shooting fortythree percent from three in that first quarter,
fifty eight percent overall, led bythirteen at the end of one.
As a Celtic shot is twenty twopercent from three and thirty eight percent overall
(09:03):
from the field, that defense,and the hustle that the Mavericks played,
because you give credit to a guylike Josh Green who made some plays on
some fifty to fifty balls. Hewas able to get a put back dunk
off of a Kyrie Irving miss threepointer that had the Mavericks up by ten
with a minute twenty two left,then PJ Washington drilling the Mavericks second three
pointer in transition to put him upthirty four to twenty one at the end
(09:26):
of the first quarter with twenty nineseconds left. It took every single member
of this team to be able toget it done, and one person in
particular who will detail throughout the courseof the show as well, and Dante
Exam helping the bench alongside Derek Livelycome alive to be able to really help
(09:46):
the Mavericks get this win. Butbefore we get there, let's hear from
today's sponsor of our video and ourpodcast, and let's hear from Aura.
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see the link in the description backhere on Inside the Mask. Thank you
for hanging out with us through ourspot, and thank you to today's sponsor
of our video and our podcast inAura, as the Mavericks obliterate the Celtics
(11:35):
and gain four of the NBA Finalsto get on the board in this best
of seventh series as they force aGame five in Boston on Monday. Derek
Lively with a massive double double inthis game for the Mavericks. We talked
about the huge three pointer that hehit to really get this Mavericks team going,
and that was part of a seriesof plays where Lively hit a three
(11:58):
in the right corner, then blockthe Xavier Tillman shot, and then got
a lob dunk all on consecutive playsto really show you and get things going
from an energy standpoint for the benchof the Dallas Mavericks. And that to
me was a big lift for theMavericks in terms of their bench scoring,
which scored fifty four points in Gamenumber four. And I want to point
(12:22):
to a quick moment in the firstquarter because it may not get talked about
all that much, but it showedme that the Mavericks were in the fights.
And this came with twenty two secondsleft in the first quarter. Dereck
Jones Junior had a foul on JasonTatum and they got into a little shove
and a little jawing there for acouple of seconds, and that game came
(12:43):
with twenty two seconds left in thefirst quarter. You say, Kevin,
you know, why are you pointingthat out? I pointed out because it
finally showed some fight on the Maverickspart. The Celtics have been way too
comfortable so far in the first threegames of this series, getting what they
wanted in terms of backdoor cuts andeasy buckets, playing the kind of game
(13:05):
that they have wanted to play inthe first three games of this series.
But the Mavericks finally stood up forthemselves and showed the kind of fight,
desperation, energy and effort needed tobe able to be the aggressor against the
Celtics, which they were from theoutset of Game number four. But I
thought that that moment was a goodwin to show you the Mavericks were in
(13:28):
the fight and were going to bringthe fight to Boston all night long.
And that's exactly what they did.Because all the conversation going into Game four,
especially for Luka Dacis, was howpoorly he has played on the defensive
end. The Mavericks stepped up ina big way defensively forcing what was fourteen
turnovers, holding the Celtics to justthirty four percent from three and thirty six
(13:52):
percent overall from the field, whiledominating on the offensive glass or excuse me,
on the glass overall fifty two tothirty one. And yes, they
did dominate on the offensive glass aswell, out rebounding the Celtics thirteen to
four. But I point out thoseplays when it comes to the hustle and
the energy, winning the fifty tofifty balls, doing the kinds of things
(14:16):
that Maverick basketball has been about,especially during the second half of the year,
being led with their defense, andthe guy who was taking the brunt
of it was Lukadocic who answered thecall, not just the twenty nine points
that he scored, but on thedefensive end. It's ironic that he scored
twenty nine points because if you lookat what he was as the primary defender
(14:37):
against Celtics players in Game four,he held them to just two of nine
from the field when he was theprimary defender, giving you a much better
idea of being better on his rotationsgetting out to shooters like Jason Tatum and
others to really put a stamp onthis game on the defensive end. And
that gets this to obviously what happenedin the second quarter, because as we
(15:00):
talked about what the Mavericks needed interms of a total team effort to win
the game. The Mavericks up bythirteen to begin the second quarter, they
were able to increase to fifteen atforty to twenty five four minutes into the
period thanks to Dante ExHAM, whohad five of the Mavericks for six points
of the period. And I pointout ExHAM because we've seen at times when
he's had opportunities to play that he'sprovided a spark for the Mavericks. You
(15:26):
go back to Game three, hehad that dunk on Jason Tatum, was
able to make some things happen,and we didn't see him again for the
rest of Game three, Jason Kidddeciding to turn to Tim Hardaway Junior to
try to find some offense off thebench. We also saw it in Game
two when Exhem got his opportunity aswell, made a couple of things happen.
And we have seen when he's beenable to be locked in and knocking
(15:50):
down shots from the outside, providingthe Mavericks a third ball handler that he
is capable of playing alongside Luca Dongisand Kyrie Irving because of the defense LinkedIn
athleticism that he provides and when he'sconfident as a shooter, knocking down threes
when he has the opportunities to doso. He did that in Game four,
(16:11):
ten big points for the Mavericks offthe bench and sparking that unit to
be able to continue to put thepedal to the medal against Boston. And
it was interesting when I was atshoot around prior to Game four, the
last person that was on the floorfor the Mavericks after shoot around was Dante
Exim getting up shots with assistant coachDarryl Armstrong and putting in the extra work
(16:36):
to be able to have an opportunityto have the impact on the game that
he did. Donte ExHAM, ofcourse, in game number four was a
plus fifteen for the Dallas Mavericks.So it shows you when you're putting in
the work, continuing to stay readyand taking advantage of the opportunity, you
can be able to have the kindof game that Dante Exam did. The
Mavericks eventually pushed their lead to twentyat forty five to twenty five as they
(17:00):
outscored the Celtics eleven to four tostart the first five and a half minutes
of the period that eventually got upto twenty five as the Mavericks defense again
it was terrific as the Celtics wentfour minutes without a baskets during that particular
point. Kyrie Irving hit a layupwith five minutes left to push the lead
up to twenty five, but DonteExem hitting a three pointer made it thirty
(17:23):
nine to twenty two with just overnine minutes left in that second quarter.
Kyrie Irving making the save with thefifty to fifty ball, finding Luka Doncis
for the hoop and the harm withthe lib and he got the and one.
He would make that free throw tomake it forty three to twenty five
with just over seven minutes left inthe first half. Doncis punishing the Celtics
at the nail and in the midrange, taking what the defense gave him.
(17:47):
Because when you look at the threepointers that the Mavericks made between Luka
Doncics and Kyrie Irving, they madeone between the two of them. In
fact, Luke and Kyrie Wine combinedone of fourteen from the three point line,
but they still were able to putin fifty points because of their ability
to devastate in the mid range atthe nail, knocking down jumpers, being
(18:08):
able to get to the cup,and finishing at the rim. They were
able to do a lot of theirdamage in the paint and also pushing it
in transition. What you saw inGame four was the Mavericks playing at their
absolute best in every facet of thegame, pushing the pace in transition to
get easy buckets, being led bytheir defense, Luka Dodgs and Kyrie Irving
(18:33):
pacing this team from a scoring standpoint, and getting contributions from the others on
this team, namely Derek Lively andalso Dante Exam. This was the complete
Mavericks team that we have been waitingto see in this NBA Finals and their
defense being able to push them.Luka donc Is being able to take Sam
Hawser off the dribble to get thehoop and a harm with a floater over
(18:56):
Al horfor for another and one.He hit that free throw to complete that
three point play. Mavericks up bytwenty three. With just under six minutes
left in the first half, Dodgesagain pushed again in transition, getting a
layup that eventually creased the lead totwenty six, and then Maxi Kliebe knocking
down a three pointer in the rightcorner to make it a sixty one to
thirty five half time lead going intothe second half. The Mavericks hitting fifteen
(19:21):
threes in this game, shooting nearlyforty one percent from downtown. Because Boston,
who was the number one team inthe league this year making nearly seventeen
threes per game, they had continuedto shoot at volume and knock down enough
threes to be able to put thisseries in a three to zero spot for
them going into Game four. Butthe Mavericks were able to keep up with
the three point shot, and yousay Kevin. A lot of those came,
(19:45):
especially in the fourth quarter with TimHarnovick Junior knocking down five threes of
his own, But in the firstthree quarters, the Mavericks doing what they
needed to do to be able tonot only take their threes, but limit
the Boston Celtics in the threes thatthey took in the first three quarters to
give themselves an opportunity, and theyplayed their best defensive half of basketball arguably
(20:07):
that we've seen from them all seasonlong. Dearreck Jones Junior getting a block
on Jalen Brown, providing some goodweek side help. You saw that in
the first half as well. Everythingthat we have come to know about the
Mavericks and the way that they've beenable to play on both ends of the
floor during the second half of theyear, you saw that in Game number
four. And as we go tothe second half, obviously the Mavericks already
(20:30):
up twenty six to begin the secondhalf, doing the thing that we've seen
them do in third quarters when itterms of getting Daniel Gafford involved. He
scored the first six points of thequarter for the Mavericks when he was able
to get things going. You sawGafford be able to get the dunk on
an allue from Luca Dodgs on arunout that made it sixty seven to thirty
eight with ten and a half minutesleft in the third. Again, what
(20:52):
did the Mavericks like to do getout of transition push pace where they were
a top ten pace team all yearlong, but also get the vertical game
going the way that they did inGame four, that again was another hallmark
of what you were seeing in termsof Mavericks basketball playing at their capabilities.
PJ Washington knocking down a three pointerobviously the game out of hand at that
(21:15):
point when they were up seventy tothirty eight with nine and a half minutes
left in the third, but KyrieIrving getting an offensive remound for a second
chance basket that made it seventy eightto forty four. I'm pointing out these
plays because it highlights for you notonly what you had to play with in
terms of the sense of desperation thatthe Mavericks had to play with obviously to
(21:36):
stave off elimination and to keep theirseason going, but when they did putting
the pressure on Boston to force theminto shots that they didn't necessarily want to
take. And the Boston was extremelypoor shooting the ball, as we mentioned,
just thirty six percent from the fieldin Game number four, But the
Mavericks were the ones that were theaggressors on both the offensive and defense andsive
(22:00):
ends to be able to do so. Kyrie Irving talking about that aggressive mentality
that the Mavericks came out with andmaking sure that they had everything in their
armor and their artillery to be ableto come out firing against the Boston Celtics,
and that's exactly what they did.Take a listen I actually on Wednesday
about your mindset and staying positive andextending the series, and you shared a
(22:22):
metaphor to get the Bazuka the fiftycow. Do you think that job was
executed tonight? And then how doesthat help kind of the way y'all won
tonight in a hostile Boston craft forGame five? Yeah, no, it
it was how we started off thegame and our ability to go home get
some rest, you know, nothaving the same forty eight hours to get
(22:44):
our bodies ready and recover, youknow. So it felt like it was
pretty much the regular season in termsof that aspect. And you know what
I was learned to in that metaphoris just go home and get all the
armor and get all the amo thatyou need and get ready for this because
we're going to have to keep firingaway to give ourselves a chance on the
offensive end. But I think forus, we wanted to make it very
(23:04):
much more respectable than it has beenin the past few games in terms of
limiting our mistakes on the defensive end. You know, we've been one of
the best teams in the league ofgetting stops and that's been our identity,
and we played better I think offensively, And this is just my opinion.
I think it can vary across theteam, but I think we played better
offensively when we're getting stops and ableto push the pace and you know,
get easy opportunities in transition, whichwe weren't doing in the past few games
(23:27):
as often. So it felt goodto be on the positive end of seeing
our hard work reward us, especiallyon defensive end. So the Mivers will
need that same type of mindset goinginto Game five to try and stave off
elimination one more time, where,of course, the Mavericks were able to
(23:47):
get their first win facing elimination inthis postseason, but the Mavericks would push
their lead to thirty six at eightyeight to fifty two with three minutes left
in the third quarter after Derek Lively'ssecond straight dunk forced the time out,
where Joe Mizzoula decided that he andhis Celtics had had enough for Game number
four, living to fight another day, as they pulled their starters with three
(24:11):
minutes left. The Mavericks would dothe same a minute and a half later,
as they led by thirty two atthe end of three Maveris shooting forty
eight percent from the field in thethird quarter. There but the Mavericks getting
the vertical game going with Derek Livelygetting the dunk off of Josh Green Assists,
who I thought played really well inGame four. Again with the hustle
plays and the energy making good basketballdecisions and Derek Lively crushing it at the
(24:37):
rim off of a Kyrie Irving assists. This was the kind of game that
we had been wanting to see fromthe Dallas Mavericks, and you saw their
defensive rotations. They were flying aroundthe perimeter, forcing the Celtics into tough,
three contested three pointers, which issomething that you've got to do against
a team as good as Boston shootingthe ball from the three point line,
and the Mavericks executed their game planto a team getting out in transition,
(25:03):
being able to even when the Celticshad maxed, pushing the ball to keep
the Celtics on their heels. TheMavericks did a terrific job of that in
Game number four, but also beingled as we mentioned by their superstars and
Luka Donchson, Kyrie Irving, andlook the conversation going into Game four,
not just the defense and how poorlyLuka Doncis had been playing, but his
(25:26):
reaction to officials and the lack ofcomposure that we had seen from the Mavericks
in the first three games led byLuka Doncic. Luka donc has played a
quiet, focused, laser light gamein Game four and let his game do
the talking on both ends of thefloor. And that is part of the
(25:47):
maturation process. No matter how thisseries ends, that he will continue to
have to learn and to go through. And when your flaws are being magnified
on the stage of the NBA Finals, especially when you have the glaring ones
at times that we see from LukaDoncics, it is very easy to point
those out and to have a lotof conversation, nasty discourse if you will,
(26:10):
around certain things that Luka Doncics doesand does not do on the floor.
At least for one night, heshowed that he can do it on
boltons of the floor and Jason KiddI give him a lot of credit.
While yes, there were things todefinitely criticize coming out of Game three why
he decided to go to Tim Hardawayover Dante XL and XHEM have been providing
(26:32):
him some quality minutes and the opportunitiesthat he had to do. So he
went back to ExHAM stuck with it, and ExHAM rewarded him with the kind
of play that he had. Buteven prior to the game, Jason Kidd
three minutes or so taking up forhis superstar in Luka Doncic, saying at
one point, quote, give myguy a break. He has improved on
(26:55):
the defensive end throughout the course ofthe season, and we have seen that
in this postseason, whether it wasagainst the Clippers where he sat down and
guarded and dealing with the likes ofJames Harden and others. We know that
doncies is capable of putting forward thatkind of effort on the defensive end.
What we and others who have beenloudly talking Brian winhors about what the Mavericks
(27:17):
haven't done and seen from their superstarand Luka Doncic is the consistency on that
defensive end. He brought it inGame four. I mentioned a little bit
earlier, but it's worth saying again, Boston was two of nine from the
field when Luca Dodges was the primarydefender. That kind of effort and intensity
and focus on both ends of thefloor without talking to officials, focusing on
(27:41):
what needed to be done to assurehe and his team were locked in to
provide the kind of effort needed towin Game four. That will have to
continue obviously in Game five to tryto get it back to Dallas for Game
six. But again, no matterhow this series ends between the Mavericks and
the Celtics, this is a learninglesson for Luka Doncic. Play your game,
(28:03):
focus on the task in hand,not worrying about what you can't control,
but control what you can, whichis your abilities on both ends of
the floor to provide your team thekind of effort, energy, focus in
all the buzzwords that you want touse to be able to help your team
win a game. That's exactly whatLuka Doncis did in Game four for the
(28:26):
Mavericks. It was all over fromthere going into the fourth quarter. As
a Mavericks were up by thirty twoto begin the fourth they outscored the Celtics
fourteen to seven in the first fourminutes of the period. Tim Hardaway Junior
lit it up from the three pointline, going five of six from downtown,
scoring fifteen points in a six minutespan, as the Mavericks, of
course, will go on to winby thirty eight points. And I say
(28:48):
that when it comes to Hardaway becauseyou give him and look, he's a
much maligned player on this team,but I'm sure it had to feel good
for him just to see a bunchof threes get knocked in even a mop
up duty and Donte Exam, aswe mentioned, who had a great game
four, kicked off the fourth quarterknocking down a three pointer to have the
(29:08):
Mavericks up by thirty five. Butagain it underscores what you have to have
the focus and mental energy and emotionalcapacity to deal with the ups and downs
of these games. And the Maverickswere the aggressors and punched the Celtics in
the mouth repeatedly in this game.And they held Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown
(29:30):
to a combined twenty five points afterthey had combined for sixty one in Game
three to get them up three gamesto none. The Mavericks defense holding them
to what was a combined seven oftwenty two from the field was exactly what
the Mavericks needed to do to winthis game. And some folks will say,
look, the Celtics didn't necessarily careabout Game four. They wanted to
(29:53):
try and win the game and winthe series. In Game five in Boston,
they they're trying to win this game. The Mavericks simply were the better
team in this game against Boston.In fact, the Mavericks earning their first
win against Boston this entire season.They had gone zero to five to begin
(30:14):
their games against or i should say, their series regular season and NBA Finals
against the Celtics. They get theirfirst win of the season against them.
But you give credit where credit isdue to Derek Lively, the second who
had a monster double double with hiseleven points and twelve rebounds in this game
and really was the guy that setthe tone from an energy standpoint, And
(30:37):
again that three pointer was absolutely incredibleand sent that Maveris crowd at the AAC
into absolute frenzy. So the Mavericksfind a way to stave off elimination.
They do all the little things whichwe had been calling for them to do
to be able to execute on bothends of the floor, and they did
so extremely well against the Celtics.Now we will see what happens in Game
(31:02):
five on Monday nights. Will theCeltics find a way to close things out
and win it on their home floorfor their eighteenth championship in franchise history,
or will the Mavericks find a wayto get it back to Dallas for a
Game six. Because not only haveyou won Game four, but now you've
given the Boston Celtics something to thinkabout. Yes, you remember last year
(31:26):
when they got down three games tonone. They made it a series by
winning three straight, but ultimately losingin Game seven to the Miami Heat after
Jason Tatum turned his ankle and couldn'tfinish Game seven. You go back to
the twenty twenty two NBA Finals wherethe Celtics were up two games to one,
had a lead in the fourth quarter, but they weren't able to hold
(31:47):
it. This is a team wherewe have seen them not be able to
perform at their best. The firstthree games of this series, they looked
like the best team in the league, but at least for one night,
it looked very ordinary. The Mavericksare now making the Celtics think of it
and we'll see how that plays itselfout in game number five on Monday night.
We'll have plenty more covers throughout thecourse of the weekend as the Mavericks
(32:09):
prepare to play that fifth game onMonday in Boston to try to give themselves
a chance to extend the series onceagain to get it back to Dallas,
and we'll see what happens from there. But the Mavericks absolutely obliterate the Celtics
by thirty eight points to be ableto win Game four and get on the
board in this series. As theyremain down three games to one to the
(32:32):
Boston Celtics. That'll do it forthis episode of Inside the MAVs. Make
sure you get download and subscribe tothe podcast wherever you get your podcast or
free give it a five star rating, write a review for it while you're
there. If you watch this onmy YouTube channel at Kevin Gray Sports,
like a comment on the video,hit that subscribe button and subscribe to Kevin
Gray Sports here on YouTube, andyou can follow me on Twitter at Kevin
(32:54):
Gray Sports as well. This hasbeen Inside the MAVs present hid by Us
How does the outlook change now inthe series that you have a win under
your belt and you have a fewmore days of life headed the Boston.
I mean, it doesn't change anything. Like I decided at the beginning of
the series, is first of fourand we're gonna believe till the end.
So we just got to keep going. I have a big belief in this
team that we can do it,So we just gotta keep believing. The
(00:25):
Mavericks stave off elimination by crushing theCeltics at Game four of the NBA Finals.
How it took a total team effortto force a Game five back in
Boston. This is Inside the Maps. Welcome to Inside the mass presented by
(01:11):
Aura. I'm your host, KevinGray, Mavericks pre and post game host
on the Dallas Mavericks Radio Network.Appreciate you joining me here for the latest
episode of Inside the MAVs. Makesure you download and subscribe to the podcast
wherever you get your podcast for free. Give it a five star rating and
write a review for it while you'rethere. And if you're watching this on
my YouTube channel at Kevin Gray Sports, makes you like a comment on the
(01:32):
video and subscribe to Kevin Gray Sportsand you can follow me on Twitter at
Kevin Gray Sports as well. TheDallas Mavericks beat down the Boston Celtics one
twenty two to eighty four, athirty eight point crushing of the Celtics in
Game four of the NBA Finals toforce a Game five back in Boston on
(01:53):
Monday. The thirty eight point victorythe third largest margin of victory in NBA
Finals history. The boss Is Celticsscoring a season low eighty four points as
the Mavericks in the Celtics ten gamepostseason winning streak as the Celtics now try
to win the championship on their homefloor on Monday night, but the Mavericks
(02:16):
stave off elimination at least for onemore night as they get a terrific total
team effort led by Luka Doncic andKyrie Irving, who combined for what would
be fifty points in Game number four, in fact, both of them doing
all of their work in just threequarters because the Celtics pulled the plug on
(02:38):
Game four and waved the white flagwith three minutes left in the third quarter,
as the Mavericks were absolutely destroying theCeltics in every facet of the game.
The Mavericks wind up pulling their starterswith a minute and a half left
in the third quarter. How theMavericks were able to utilize a terrific rookie
(02:58):
who's gotten now multi pull double doublesin the NBA Finals. Of talking about
Derek Lively the second him becoming onlythe second player to have multiple double doubles
in his rookie season, Yeah seeMagic Johnson back in nineteen eighty as the
only other player to do that.And his three pointer in the first quarter.
(03:19):
Yes, a Derek Lively three pointerignited the Dallas Mavericks as they were
able to dominate Boston from start tofinish to be able to get what was
their first win of the NBA Finals. A Mavericks team who have been held
under one hundred points in each ofthe first three games of this finals exploded
(03:39):
for one hundred and twenty two.In fact, Tim Hardaway Junior got in
in the first six minutes of thefourth quarter and knocked down five to three
pointers to have fifteen points in thefourth quarter alone. Kyrie Irving and Luka
Doncic outscored the Celtics by themselves combinedin the first quarter twenty two to twenty
(04:00):
one. All things were working togetherfor the Mavericks. Good if you will
to be able to get this win. How they got this done. They
started by attacking and getting into themiddle of the paint. The Dallas Mavericks
in Game four scored sixty of theirone hundred and twenty two points in the
paint. They were able to getinside with Luka Donc to Kyrie Irving taking
(04:25):
the ball to the basket. Lucahad six of the first eight points of
the game for the Mavericks. JasonTatum and Jaylen Brown could bine for the
first nine points for the Celtics asthe Celtics led nine to eight five minutes
in, but the Mavericks went onwhat was a seventeen to five run to
take what was a twenty five tofourteen league with just over three minutes left
(04:45):
in the first quarter. After aLuka Donci had lay up again getting into
the paint at one point, theMavericks made five straight field goals to be
able to get themselves that lead.They would eventually outscore Boston twenty six to
twelve over the final seven minutes thatfirst quarter, with Luka Dancic going for
thirteen points, Kyrie Irving going fornine. As I mentioned, they combined
(05:05):
for twenty two of the mavers thirtyfour first quarter points, outscoring the Celtics
combined twenty two to twenty one.The defense was the story in this game
for Dallas. We talk about atotal team effort, the most complete game
that the Mavericks had played so farthis postseason, as they were able to
(05:26):
handle their business, holding the Celticsin the first half to just what was
thirty five points, the fewest pointsin the Joe Missoula era for the Boston
Celtics, as the Mavericks led bytwenty six and halftime, scoring thirty four
points in that first quarter, intwenty seven in the second quarter, but
Kyrie Irving getting to the lefty layupmade it ten to nine with six to
(05:49):
fifty left in the first quarter.And then for me, what was the
play of the game. Derek Livelythe second taking a three pointer in the
right corner and draining it off theassist from Luka Doncic to make it thirteen
to eleven midway through the first quarter. That was the play of the game.
(06:11):
It ignited the Dallas Mavericks. Itignited the Mavericks crowd who were looking
for something to cling and hang onto, to continue to give them hope
that the Mavericks would find a wayto avoid the sweep at the American Airline
Center, and that they did.And this talented rookie who has grown throughout
the course of the season, Andif you have followed me on Kevin Gray
(06:32):
Sports on Twitter and you've seen obviouslypractice footage of the Dallas Mavericks, you
have seen Dereck Lively, Daniel Gaffordand others working on those three pointers with
Sean Tweety during Mavericks practice, andDereck Lively the confidence that he had to
take that three with Jason Tatum leavinghim wide open in the right corner.
(06:54):
He took it, and he madeit, and he made it with confidence,
looking fluid with the three pointer,and that gave you an indication that
the Mavericks were willing to do anythingand everything to try and win this game,
including having their talented rookie who hasstruggled through the first few games of
this series be able to take thatshot with confidence and knock it down.
(07:18):
Derek Live the second talking about thatthree, and the confidence being instilled in
him by his teammates, specifically withLuka Dacic, and what he is continuing
to do to grow and how helearned from that moment. Knock you down
that three. Take a listen.Could you have ever imagined that, you
know, even though you shoot threepointers every practice, that you're going to
(07:40):
make your first one Game four ofthe NBA Finals. Sure, she helped
me make it. She gonna helpme make a lot more. She had
to make it the free throw line. She helped me make reads. You
know, I'm just thankful for beinghaving Luca pass me the ball in that
position. I'm happy I knocked itdown. Just got to be able to
make the next one. Chance.I see some more of them throughout the
(08:01):
series. They leave me open inthe corner. I'm gona get him up
for sure. You know, it'sjust having that trust. Like I said,
you know, Luca gonna give methe ball as soon as I shot
it, he knew. He kindof jumped for joy when it winning.
So just having that reaction for myteammates is amazing. Just makes you want
to just learn, makes you wantto just practice and just do more.
So Derek lively. Look, ifthere's gonna be more of those open opportunities,
(08:22):
he says that he's going to takethose shots that they're available to him.
And look, that's gonna be situationalbased off of him being open to
take some of those shots. Butnow that we know that he has the
confidence to take those shots, inthe audacity to take that shots and make
it in an NBA Finals making hisfirst ever career three pointer in an NBA
(08:43):
Finals game, it just shows youthe Mavericks and what kind of desperation that
they were playing with, but theconfidence at which they were able to do
it. And the Mavericks shooting fortythree percent from three in that first quarter,
fifty eight percent overall, led bythirteen at the end of one.
As a Celtic shot is twenty twopercent from three and thirty eight percent overall
(09:03):
from the field, that defense,and the hustle that the Mavericks played,
because you give credit to a guylike Josh Green who made some plays on
some fifty to fifty balls. Hewas able to get a put back dunk
off of a Kyrie Irving miss threepointer that had the Mavericks up by ten
with a minute twenty two left,then PJ Washington drilling the Mavericks second three
pointer in transition to put him upthirty four to twenty one at the end
(09:26):
of the first quarter with twenty nineseconds left. It took every single member
of this team to be able toget it done, and one person in
particular who will detail throughout the courseof the show as well, and Dante
Exam helping the bench alongside Derek Livelycome alive to be able to really help
(09:46):
the Mavericks get this win. Butbefore we get there, let's hear from
today's sponsor of our video and ourpodcast, and let's hear from Aura.
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see the link in the description backhere on Inside the Mask. Thank you
for hanging out with us through ourspot, and thank you to today's sponsor
of our video and our podcast inAura, as the Mavericks obliterate the Celtics
(11:35):
and gain four of the NBA Finalsto get on the board in this best
of seventh series as they force aGame five in Boston on Monday. Derek
Lively with a massive double double inthis game for the Mavericks. We talked
about the huge three pointer that hehit to really get this Mavericks team going,
and that was part of a seriesof plays where Lively hit a three
(11:58):
in the right corner, then blockthe Xavier Tillman shot, and then got
a lob dunk all on consecutive playsto really show you and get things going
from an energy standpoint for the benchof the Dallas Mavericks. And that to
me was a big lift for theMavericks in terms of their bench scoring,
which scored fifty four points in Gamenumber four. And I want to point
(12:22):
to a quick moment in the firstquarter because it may not get talked about
all that much, but it showedme that the Mavericks were in the fights.
And this came with twenty two secondsleft in the first quarter. Dereck
Jones Junior had a foul on JasonTatum and they got into a little shove
and a little jawing there for acouple of seconds, and that game came
(12:43):
with twenty two seconds left in thefirst quarter. You say, Kevin,
you know, why are you pointingthat out? I pointed out because it
finally showed some fight on the Maverickspart. The Celtics have been way too
comfortable so far in the first threegames of this series, getting what they
wanted in terms of backdoor cuts andeasy buckets, playing the kind of game
(13:05):
that they have wanted to play inthe first three games of this series.
But the Mavericks finally stood up forthemselves and showed the kind of fight,
desperation, energy and effort needed tobe able to be the aggressor against the
Celtics, which they were from theoutset of Game number four. But I
thought that that moment was a goodwin to show you the Mavericks were in
(13:28):
the fight and were going to bringthe fight to Boston all night long.
And that's exactly what they did.Because all the conversation going into Game four,
especially for Luka Dacis, was howpoorly he has played on the defensive
end. The Mavericks stepped up ina big way defensively forcing what was fourteen
turnovers, holding the Celtics to justthirty four percent from three and thirty six
(13:52):
percent overall from the field, whiledominating on the offensive glass or excuse me,
on the glass overall fifty two tothirty one. And yes, they
did dominate on the offensive glass aswell, out rebounding the Celtics thirteen to
four. But I point out thoseplays when it comes to the hustle and
the energy, winning the fifty tofifty balls, doing the kinds of things
(14:16):
that Maverick basketball has been about,especially during the second half of the year,
being led with their defense, andthe guy who was taking the brunt
of it was Lukadocic who answered thecall, not just the twenty nine points
that he scored, but on thedefensive end. It's ironic that he scored
twenty nine points because if you lookat what he was as the primary defender
(14:37):
against Celtics players in Game four,he held them to just two of nine
from the field when he was theprimary defender, giving you a much better
idea of being better on his rotationsgetting out to shooters like Jason Tatum and
others to really put a stamp onthis game on the defensive end. And
that gets this to obviously what happenedin the second quarter, because as we
(15:00):
talked about what the Mavericks needed interms of a total team effort to win
the game. The Mavericks up bythirteen to begin the second quarter, they
were able to increase to fifteen atforty to twenty five four minutes into the
period thanks to Dante ExHAM, whohad five of the Mavericks for six points
of the period. And I pointout ExHAM because we've seen at times when
he's had opportunities to play that he'sprovided a spark for the Mavericks. You
(15:26):
go back to Game three, hehad that dunk on Jason Tatum, was
able to make some things happen,and we didn't see him again for the
rest of Game three, Jason Kidddeciding to turn to Tim Hardaway Junior to
try to find some offense off thebench. We also saw it in Game
two when Exhem got his opportunity aswell, made a couple of things happen.
And we have seen when he's beenable to be locked in and knocking
(15:50):
down shots from the outside, providingthe Mavericks a third ball handler that he
is capable of playing alongside Luca Dongisand Kyrie Irving because of the defense LinkedIn
athleticism that he provides and when he'sconfident as a shooter, knocking down threes
when he has the opportunities to doso. He did that in Game four,
(16:11):
ten big points for the Mavericks offthe bench and sparking that unit to
be able to continue to put thepedal to the medal against Boston. And
it was interesting when I was atshoot around prior to Game four, the
last person that was on the floorfor the Mavericks after shoot around was Dante
Exim getting up shots with assistant coachDarryl Armstrong and putting in the extra work
(16:36):
to be able to have an opportunityto have the impact on the game that
he did. Donte ExHAM, ofcourse, in game number four was a
plus fifteen for the Dallas Mavericks.So it shows you when you're putting in
the work, continuing to stay readyand taking advantage of the opportunity, you
can be able to have the kindof game that Dante Exam did. The
Mavericks eventually pushed their lead to twentyat forty five to twenty five as they
(17:00):
outscored the Celtics eleven to four tostart the first five and a half minutes
of the period that eventually got upto twenty five as the Mavericks defense again
it was terrific as the Celtics wentfour minutes without a baskets during that particular
point. Kyrie Irving hit a layupwith five minutes left to push the lead
up to twenty five, but DonteExem hitting a three pointer made it thirty
(17:23):
nine to twenty two with just overnine minutes left in that second quarter.
Kyrie Irving making the save with thefifty to fifty ball, finding Luka Doncis
for the hoop and the harm withthe lib and he got the and one.
He would make that free throw tomake it forty three to twenty five
with just over seven minutes left inthe first half. Doncis punishing the Celtics
at the nail and in the midrange, taking what the defense gave him.
(17:47):
Because when you look at the threepointers that the Mavericks made between Luka
Doncics and Kyrie Irving, they madeone between the two of them. In
fact, Luke and Kyrie Wine combinedone of fourteen from the three point line,
but they still were able to putin fifty points because of their ability
to devastate in the mid range atthe nail, knocking down jumpers, being
(18:08):
able to get to the cup,and finishing at the rim. They were
able to do a lot of theirdamage in the paint and also pushing it
in transition. What you saw inGame four was the Mavericks playing at their
absolute best in every facet of thegame, pushing the pace in transition to
get easy buckets, being led bytheir defense, Luka Dodgs and Kyrie Irving
(18:33):
pacing this team from a scoring standpoint, and getting contributions from the others on
this team, namely Derek Lively andalso Dante Exam. This was the complete
Mavericks team that we have been waitingto see in this NBA Finals and their
defense being able to push them.Luka donc Is being able to take Sam
Hawser off the dribble to get thehoop and a harm with a floater over
(18:56):
Al horfor for another and one.He hit that free throw to complete that
three point play. Mavericks up bytwenty three. With just under six minutes
left in the first half, Dodgesagain pushed again in transition, getting a
layup that eventually creased the lead totwenty six, and then Maxi Kliebe knocking
down a three pointer in the rightcorner to make it a sixty one to
thirty five half time lead going intothe second half. The Mavericks hitting fifteen
(19:21):
threes in this game, shooting nearlyforty one percent from downtown. Because Boston,
who was the number one team inthe league this year making nearly seventeen
threes per game, they had continuedto shoot at volume and knock down enough
threes to be able to put thisseries in a three to zero spot for
them going into Game four. Butthe Mavericks were able to keep up with
the three point shot, and yousay Kevin. A lot of those came,
(19:45):
especially in the fourth quarter with TimHarnovick Junior knocking down five threes of
his own, But in the firstthree quarters, the Mavericks doing what they
needed to do to be able tonot only take their threes, but limit
the Boston Celtics in the threes thatthey took in the first three quarters to
give themselves an opportunity, and theyplayed their best defensive half of basketball arguably
(20:07):
that we've seen from them all seasonlong. Dearreck Jones Junior getting a block
on Jalen Brown, providing some goodweek side help. You saw that in
the first half as well. Everythingthat we have come to know about the
Mavericks and the way that they've beenable to play on both ends of the
floor during the second half of theyear, you saw that in Game number
four. And as we go tothe second half, obviously the Mavericks already
(20:30):
up twenty six to begin the secondhalf, doing the thing that we've seen
them do in third quarters when itterms of getting Daniel Gafford involved. He
scored the first six points of thequarter for the Mavericks when he was able
to get things going. You sawGafford be able to get the dunk on
an allue from Luca Dodgs on arunout that made it sixty seven to thirty
eight with ten and a half minutesleft in the third. Again, what
(20:52):
did the Mavericks like to do getout of transition push pace where they were
a top ten pace team all yearlong, but also get the vertical game
going the way that they did inGame four, that again was another hallmark
of what you were seeing in termsof Mavericks basketball playing at their capabilities.
PJ Washington knocking down a three pointerobviously the game out of hand at that
(21:15):
point when they were up seventy tothirty eight with nine and a half minutes
left in the third, but KyrieIrving getting an offensive remound for a second
chance basket that made it seventy eightto forty four. I'm pointing out these
plays because it highlights for you notonly what you had to play with in
terms of the sense of desperation thatthe Mavericks had to play with obviously to
(21:36):
stave off elimination and to keep theirseason going, but when they did putting
the pressure on Boston to force theminto shots that they didn't necessarily want to
take. And the Boston was extremelypoor shooting the ball, as we mentioned,
just thirty six percent from the fieldin Game number four, But the
Mavericks were the ones that were theaggressors on both the offensive and defense andsive
(22:00):
ends to be able to do so. Kyrie Irving talking about that aggressive mentality
that the Mavericks came out with andmaking sure that they had everything in their
armor and their artillery to be ableto come out firing against the Boston Celtics,
and that's exactly what they did.Take a listen I actually on Wednesday
about your mindset and staying positive andextending the series, and you shared a
(22:22):
metaphor to get the Bazuka the fiftycow. Do you think that job was
executed tonight? And then how doesthat help kind of the way y'all won
tonight in a hostile Boston craft forGame five? Yeah, no, it
it was how we started off thegame and our ability to go home get
some rest, you know, nothaving the same forty eight hours to get
(22:44):
our bodies ready and recover, youknow. So it felt like it was
pretty much the regular season in termsof that aspect. And you know what
I was learned to in that metaphoris just go home and get all the
armor and get all the amo thatyou need and get ready for this because
we're going to have to keep firingaway to give ourselves a chance on the
offensive end. But I think forus, we wanted to make it very
(23:04):
much more respectable than it has beenin the past few games in terms of
limiting our mistakes on the defensive end. You know, we've been one of
the best teams in the league ofgetting stops and that's been our identity,
and we played better I think offensively, And this is just my opinion.
I think it can vary across theteam, but I think we played better
offensively when we're getting stops and ableto push the pace and you know,
get easy opportunities in transition, whichwe weren't doing in the past few games
(23:27):
as often. So it felt goodto be on the positive end of seeing
our hard work reward us, especiallyon defensive end. So the Mivers will
need that same type of mindset goinginto Game five to try and stave off
elimination one more time, where,of course, the Mavericks were able to
(23:47):
get their first win facing elimination inthis postseason, but the Mavericks would push
their lead to thirty six at eightyeight to fifty two with three minutes left
in the third quarter after Derek Lively'ssecond straight dunk forced the time out,
where Joe Mizzoula decided that he andhis Celtics had had enough for Game number
four, living to fight another day, as they pulled their starters with three
(24:11):
minutes left. The Mavericks would dothe same a minute and a half later,
as they led by thirty two atthe end of three Maveris shooting forty
eight percent from the field in thethird quarter. There but the Mavericks getting
the vertical game going with Derek Livelygetting the dunk off of Josh Green Assists,
who I thought played really well inGame four. Again with the hustle
plays and the energy making good basketballdecisions and Derek Lively crushing it at the
(24:37):
rim off of a Kyrie Irving assists. This was the kind of game that
we had been wanting to see fromthe Dallas Mavericks, and you saw their
defensive rotations. They were flying aroundthe perimeter, forcing the Celtics into tough,
three contested three pointers, which issomething that you've got to do against
a team as good as Boston shootingthe ball from the three point line,
and the Mavericks executed their game planto a team getting out in transition,
(25:03):
being able to even when the Celticshad maxed, pushing the ball to keep
the Celtics on their heels. TheMavericks did a terrific job of that in
Game number four, but also beingled as we mentioned by their superstars and
Luka Donchson, Kyrie Irving, andlook the conversation going into Game four,
not just the defense and how poorlyLuka Doncis had been playing, but his
(25:26):
reaction to officials and the lack ofcomposure that we had seen from the Mavericks
in the first three games led byLuka Doncic. Luka donc has played a
quiet, focused, laser light gamein Game four and let his game do
the talking on both ends of thefloor. And that is part of the
(25:47):
maturation process. No matter how thisseries ends, that he will continue to
have to learn and to go through. And when your flaws are being magnified
on the stage of the NBA Finals, especially when you have the glaring ones
at times that we see from LukaDoncics, it is very easy to point
those out and to have a lotof conversation, nasty discourse if you will,
(26:10):
around certain things that Luka Doncics doesand does not do on the floor.
At least for one night, heshowed that he can do it on
boltons of the floor and Jason KiddI give him a lot of credit.
While yes, there were things todefinitely criticize coming out of Game three why
he decided to go to Tim Hardawayover Dante XL and XHEM have been providing
(26:32):
him some quality minutes and the opportunitiesthat he had to do. So he
went back to ExHAM stuck with it, and ExHAM rewarded him with the kind
of play that he had. Buteven prior to the game, Jason Kidd
three minutes or so taking up forhis superstar in Luka Doncic, saying at
one point, quote, give myguy a break. He has improved on
(26:55):
the defensive end throughout the course ofthe season, and we have seen that
in this postseason, whether it wasagainst the Clippers where he sat down and
guarded and dealing with the likes ofJames Harden and others. We know that
doncies is capable of putting forward thatkind of effort on the defensive end.
What we and others who have beenloudly talking Brian winhors about what the Mavericks
(27:17):
haven't done and seen from their superstarand Luka Doncic is the consistency on that
defensive end. He brought it inGame four. I mentioned a little bit
earlier, but it's worth saying again, Boston was two of nine from the
field when Luca Dodges was the primarydefender. That kind of effort and intensity
and focus on both ends of thefloor without talking to officials, focusing on
(27:41):
what needed to be done to assurehe and his team were locked in to
provide the kind of effort needed towin Game four. That will have to
continue obviously in Game five to tryto get it back to Dallas for Game
six. But again, no matterhow this series ends between the Mavericks and
the Celtics, this is a learninglesson for Luka Doncic. Play your game,
(28:03):
focus on the task in hand,not worrying about what you can't control,
but control what you can, whichis your abilities on both ends of
the floor to provide your team thekind of effort, energy, focus in
all the buzzwords that you want touse to be able to help your team
win a game. That's exactly whatLuka Doncis did in Game four for the
(28:26):
Mavericks. It was all over fromthere going into the fourth quarter. As
a Mavericks were up by thirty twoto begin the fourth they outscored the Celtics
fourteen to seven in the first fourminutes of the period. Tim Hardaway Junior
lit it up from the three pointline, going five of six from downtown,
scoring fifteen points in a six minutespan, as the Mavericks, of
course, will go on to winby thirty eight points. And I say
(28:48):
that when it comes to Hardaway becauseyou give him and look, he's a
much maligned player on this team,but I'm sure it had to feel good
for him just to see a bunchof threes get knocked in even a mop
up duty and Donte Exam, aswe mentioned, who had a great game
four, kicked off the fourth quarterknocking down a three pointer to have the
(29:08):
Mavericks up by thirty five. Butagain it underscores what you have to have
the focus and mental energy and emotionalcapacity to deal with the ups and downs
of these games. And the Maverickswere the aggressors and punched the Celtics in
the mouth repeatedly in this game.And they held Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown
(29:30):
to a combined twenty five points afterthey had combined for sixty one in Game
three to get them up three gamesto none. The Mavericks defense holding them
to what was a combined seven oftwenty two from the field was exactly what
the Mavericks needed to do to winthis game. And some folks will say,
look, the Celtics didn't necessarily careabout Game four. They wanted to
(29:53):
try and win the game and winthe series. In Game five in Boston,
they they're trying to win this game. The Mavericks simply were the better
team in this game against Boston.In fact, the Mavericks earning their first
win against Boston this entire season.They had gone zero to five to begin
(30:14):
their games against or i should say, their series regular season and NBA Finals
against the Celtics. They get theirfirst win of the season against them.
But you give credit where credit isdue to Derek Lively, the second who
had a monster double double with hiseleven points and twelve rebounds in this game
and really was the guy that setthe tone from an energy standpoint, And
(30:37):
again that three pointer was absolutely incredibleand sent that Maveris crowd at the AAC
into absolute frenzy. So the Mavericksfind a way to stave off elimination.
They do all the little things whichwe had been calling for them to do
to be able to execute on bothends of the floor, and they did
so extremely well against the Celtics.Now we will see what happens in Game
(31:02):
five on Monday nights. Will theCeltics find a way to close things out
and win it on their home floorfor their eighteenth championship in franchise history,
or will the Mavericks find a wayto get it back to Dallas for a
Game six. Because not only haveyou won Game four, but now you've
given the Boston Celtics something to thinkabout. Yes, you remember last year
(31:26):
when they got down three games tonone. They made it a series by
winning three straight, but ultimately losingin Game seven to the Miami Heat after
Jason Tatum turned his ankle and couldn'tfinish Game seven. You go back to
the twenty twenty two NBA Finals wherethe Celtics were up two games to one,
had a lead in the fourth quarter, but they weren't able to hold
(31:47):
it. This is a team wherewe have seen them not be able to
perform at their best. The firstthree games of this series, they looked
like the best team in the league, but at least for one night,
it looked very ordinary. The Mavericksare now making the Celtics think of it
and we'll see how that plays itselfout in game number five on Monday night.
We'll have plenty more covers throughout thecourse of the weekend as the Mavericks
(32:09):
prepare to play that fifth game onMonday in Boston to try to give themselves
a chance to extend the series onceagain to get it back to Dallas,
and we'll see what happens from there. But the Mavericks absolutely obliterate the Celtics
by thirty eight points to be ableto win Game four and get on the
board in this series. As theyremain down three games to one to the
(32:32):
Boston Celtics. That'll do it forthis episode of Inside the MAVs. Make
sure you get download and subscribe tothe podcast wherever you get your podcast or
free give it a five star rating, write a review for it while you're
there. If you watch this onmy YouTube channel at Kevin Gray Sports,
like a comment on the video,hit that subscribe button and subscribe to Kevin
Gray Sports here on YouTube, andyou can follow me on Twitter at Kevin
(32:54):
Gray Sports as well. This hasbeen Inside the MAVs present hid by Us
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