Off one of the biggest playoff losses in franchise history with a chance to sweep the 2024 NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics return home Monday night with another shot at winning the franchise’s 18th title as they host the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5.

Boston Celtics vs. Dallas Mavericks 2024 NBA Finals Game 4 Info

Luka Doncic and the Mavericks avoided elimination with a dominant display in Game 4.
@Powell2daPeople breaks down the Dallas win in his latest 5 takeaways. The #NBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV continue Monday at 8:30pm/et on ABC.

https://t.co/Pgkb35eOAg pic.twitter.com/Vgh23SfMHa

— NBA (@NBA) June 15, 2024

• When: Monday, June 17th, 2024, 8:30 PM ET
• Where: TD Garden, Boston, MA
• TV: ABC, ESPN
• Radio: KESN-FM 103.3 (Mavericks) // 98.5 The Sports Hub (Celtics)
• Stream: NBA League Pass
• NBA Odds: Mavericks (+6.5) // Celtics (-6.5)

Why bet on the Dallas Mavericks?

At one point in the second half of Friday’s game, the Mavs led the Celtics by a whopping 48 points (115-67). That was the largest lead any team has built in the NBA Finals in at least 50 years.

Luka Doncic had 29 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in Game 4 but had another rough showing from a shooting perspective, needing 26 shots to score 29 points and missing all eight of his three-point attempts. Doncic has surpassed the 25-point mark in 11 consecutive games.

Kyrie Irving had 21 points, six assists and four rebounds to end a personal 13-game losing streak vs. Boston. Game 4 was the first time in this series that Irving has shot 50% or better from the field and made nine of his 12 2-point attempts. Outside of Game 3, when he shot 4-of-6, the 3-point accuracy has not been there for Kyrie. In Games 1, 2, and 4, he was a combined 1-of-14, well below his mark for the postseason (40.5%). Irving is averaging 21.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game in the series.

While Irving has finally gotten a win over the Celtics, he’s still 0-7 in games played in Boston since leaving the club. He hopes to break that alleged “curse” Monday: “You saw all those Celtics fans in (AAC on Friday). They travel in packs. When we go to Boston, there’s going to be a bunch of them yelling a whole bunch of crazy stuff still, but I think we’ve been able to grow and face kind of this adversity head on.”

Dereck Lively II had a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds in the win. After offering minimal offensive production in Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals, Lively’s output picked up in Dallas. The rookie center recorded double-doubles in both games, and he hit his first 3-pointer (regular season or playoffs) in Game 4. While Lively logged 22 minutes before both coaches cleared their respective benches, starting center Daniel Gafford (seven points, four rebounds, and one blocked shot) played 10.

Guard Dante Exum entered Game 4 with just five points in the first three games of this series. However, Exum doubled that total on Friday with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting while providing a huge spark off the bench for the Mavs. Dallas rolled out a much faster pace Friday than at any point in this series, while reaching the 100-point plateau for the first time in the series.

Why bet on the Boston Celtics?

Very clearly, the Celtics had a letdown in Game 4 on Friday in Dallas with a chance to sweep the Mavericks as Boston looked flat from the get-go in a 122-84 loss. It was the third-largest win in NBA Finals history and the third-largest loss in Celtics overall playoff history. It was also the team’s largest loss this season and fewest points scored. Boston’s franchise-record 10-game playoff streak ended, as did its seven-game road winning streak.

Jayson Tatum was held to 15 points, five rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes – the only good thing about Game 4 was that the Celtics starters were all pulled early due to the blowout. He moved into sole possession of 16th place on the NBA’s all-time list for playoff three-pointers made (262) and looks to pass Chauncey Billups next (267). Since Tatum was drafted in 2017, the five-time all-star has scored the most playoff points in the NBA (2,680), with teammate Jaylen Brown in second with 2,259 points. Among all active NBA players, Tatum ranks ninth in playoff scoring (2,680), Brown ranks 12th (2,344) and Al Horford ranks 13th (2,256).

Brown, the current favorite for NBA Finals MVP, had just 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting in 27 minutes in Game 4. Jrue Holiday logged 29 minutes and had just 10 points and was responsible for a team-high five turnovers. Holiday did not commit a single turnover in the series’ first three games.

Center Kristaps Porzingis hasn’t played since Game 2 due to injury. He was cleared to play in Game 4 but Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said only if absolutely necessary and limited if so. Porzingis didn’t play at all in the blowout, but might be ready for Monday. Porzingis was plus-25 in the 44 minutes he played in the first two games and sitting at even across the 52 he did not.

“I haven’t talked to him yet,” Mazzulla told reporters at TD Garden on Sunday. “Going to talk about that before we start [practice]. … So I’m not sure kind of where he’s at. But he’s trying and doing everything he can to try to put himself in position to be out there. I know that for sure.”

Should Boston win Monday, it would be the 16th anniversary of the team’s last title, which it also won on the famed parquet floor.

Celtics vs. Mavericks Betting Trends

• Dallas is 1-6-1 ATS in the last 8 games against Boston.
• Mavericks are 2-4 SU in its last 6 games.
• The total went under in 5 of Dallas’ last 6 games.
• Boston is 1-4 ATS in the last 5 games played on a Monday.
• Celtics are 10-1 SU in its last 11 games.
• The total went under in 5 of Boston’s last 5 games.

Celtics vs. Mavericks 2024 NBA Playoffs Game 5 Prediction

Although the Celtics had their chance to take, I think they will prefer to take the championship in home turf. So, place your bets on the Celtics tonight to win the 2024 NBA Championship.

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