A gentleman's sweep or the start of a historic comeback? That's the obvious question on paper after the Mavericks' dominant 122-84 Game 4 win over the Boston Celtics, who return home on Monday night with another shot at a title and first championship rings for Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis.
As of this writing, it's questionable whether Porzingis will be available for Game 5, but he likely won't play. His absence was felt in Games 3 and 4, and Dallas took advantage, but the Celtics proved they can win without him.
Will Dallas' big win mean anything going into Game 5 in Boston, or was it just a final burst for a team on its way to losing the series? Could the Mavs' Game 4 performance be replicated, or was it just a breather before the Celtics sealed the win?
Here's a look at the odds and storylines for Game 5 in Boston on Monday.
All odds are taken from BetMGM. Find the best ticket deals on StubHub.
Dallas Mavericks vs Boston Celtics
How to watch: 8:30pm ET on ABC
Celtics lead series 3-1
Series Odds: Celtics -3000, Mavericks +1300
The Celtics are the heavy favorites to win this game and take home the championship. Despite dropping from -10000 after leading 3-0, their odds to win the series are still very low. Given how the Celtics have played at home so far in this series, Boston should be very confident going into Game 5. There is a good chance the Celtics will win comfortably at TD Garden.
But their mistakes in Game 4 showed that Dallas must continue to create and exploit gaps to stay in the running. Despite the odds being against them, the Mavericks turned this game into a real series on Friday night. If you combine the fourth quarter of Game 3, when Dallas led 21-2, with the full four quarters of Game 4, the Mavericks outscored Boston 151-105. Have they finally made the adjustments to keep the Celtics at bay? Or will the Celtics make their own adjustments heading into Game 5?
Dallas defended the rim better in Game 4, alternating between Derek Lively II and Josh Green, who was more effective against Boston. The Mavs' role players were more reliable. Lively had a double-double with 11 points, 12 rebounds and a plus-minus of +20. Maxi Kleber barely recorded any stats, but he found a way to use his size as a bigger factor defensively, posting a plus-minus of +25. They shot better from 3-point range than the Celtics for the first time in the series, shooting 40.5% from 3-point range.
Dallas' two stars continued their success from Game 3 with Irving finishing with 21 points, four rebounds and six assists on 10-of-18 shooting, while Luka Doncic continued his stellar play with 29 points, five assists and five rebounds (though Doncic was 0-of-8 on 3-pointers). Prior to Dallas' Game 4 win, Irving had lost 13 straight games to his former team, and he recently acknowledged that Boston's hecklers had affected him.
Winning at TD Garden will be an uphill battle, as will coming back from a 3-1 deficit.
Mavericks expert predictions for Celtics game
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(Kyrie Irving Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
