BOSTON — The Celtics picked essentially the most inopportune time to play their worst sport of the season.
Boston’s 122-84 Sport 4 loss to Dallas had all types of superlatives, and none of them have been good.
It ended the Celtics’ 10-game playoff win streak. It was the Celtics’ lowest scoring output of the season and marked the primary time the Celtics have allowed the Mavericks to eclipse 100 factors within the sequence on a stellar night time for Dallas stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
It additionally reminded the Celtics that placing a championship bow on what has been one of many franchise’s most profitable seasons would require the identical resilience they’ve proven throughout a postseason by which they haven’t misplaced consecutive video games.
“It’s a studying lesson, for positive. Bought to point out up and present out each night time. They’re not going to roll over,” Celtics reserve Sam Hauser mentioned. “They’re down 3-1 now. They’re determined. … They’re not going to make it straightforward on us.”
As humbling as Sport 4’s loss was, historical past can be on the Celtics’ aspect for Sport 5.
Whereas Friday’s loss was the seventh time that the Celtics have misplaced by 20 or extra factors within the finals, they’re 5-1 within the earlier six.
The sport Monday additionally falls on the sixteenth anniversary of Boston clinching its final championship in 2008.
“It’s an awesome alternative to reply,” mentioned Celtics ahead Jaylen Brown, whose completed Sport 4 with a minus-19 plus-minus – his second-worst of those playoffs and third-worst of his complete playoff profession. “We simply regroup. We preserve our similar mentality, and we come out and prepare to combat in one other battle on our dwelling ground.”
It’s additionally the newest probability for coach Joe Mazzulla to bolster the teachings he has tried to instill in his crew. Hauser recalled Boston’s Sport 3 win when Dallas rallied to chop a 21-point fourth quarter result in only one with lower than 4 minutes to play.
“The Mavs have been on that huge run, the beginning of the fourth there. He got here in and mentioned, ‘That was nice. That makes us hungrier,’” Hauser mentioned. “He didn’t even deal with the win, he centered on that, which was cool. It retains all of us grounded and understanding that we have now extra work to do.”
It was the identical tone Mazzulla tried to set throughout the common season.
Boston opened the season by successful its first 5 video games earlier than dropping in time beyond regulation at Minnesota. Postgame Mazzulla expressed pleasure for his crew experiencing an opponent difficult it to play its greatest basketball. Following one other loss two nights later at Philadelphia, the Celtics reeled off six straight victories.
In February, the Celtics misplaced on their dwelling court docket to a Los Angeles Lakers crew with out each LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Then Boston reeled off a season-high 11-game win streak.
The Celtics at the moment are only one extra bounce-back win away from seeing these cases of adversity bear championship fruit.
In the event that they want any extra comfort — every of the Celtics earlier three title-winning groups in 1984, 1986 and 2008 all misplaced with close-out alternatives on the highway after which returned to win at dwelling.
“Shut-out video games are exhausting. Shut-out video games are powerful,” Brown mentioned. “They at all times have been like that, and also you’ve received to have excessive focus. You’ve received to return out and meet their depth to complete issues out.”
Jayson Tatum is anticipating the TD Backyard crowd to convey the vitality to match the second.
“I believe it’s going to be as loud because it’s ever been in my seven years of being a Celtic,” he mentioned. “Excited to return dwelling. Rejoice Father’s Day on Sunday and compete for a championship on Monday.”
