Celtics Blew a Sweep in the NBA Finals, Just Like Two of the Best Teams Ever

The Boston Celtics were blown out in Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals by the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on Friday night. Boston never showed up, falling behind by double digits in the first quarter before getting outscored 27–14 in the second quarter and pulling their starters in the third. It was a horrible performance from start to finish.

The thing is, sweeps in the NBA Finals are kind of rare. There hasn’t been a sweep in the Finals since 2018 and there have only been nine since the very first NBA Finals way back in 1950. Most teams just lose a game earlier in the series. And more importantly, this Celtics team isn’t the first, or even the best team, to ever blow a potential sweep in the NBA Finals. In fact, they’re in pretty good company.

Michael Jordan’s 72-win Chicago Bulls, a team widely regarded as one of, if not the best ever, went into Game 4 of the 1996 NBA Finals against the Seattle Sonics with a 3–0 lead and lost by 21. Jordan and Scottie Pippen combined to score 31 points on 36 attempts. The Bulls scored just 11 points in the second quarter. Then in Game 5, the Bulls scored just 78 as they lost their third game of the postseason before wrapping up the title at home in Game 6.

Then there’s the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors who had a 3-0 lead in the Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers and lost Game 4 by 21 points. Kevin Durant scored 35 in the loss, while Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined to make 8-of-24 field-goal attempts. Fans briefly had flashbacks to the 73-win Warriors blowing a 3–1 lead in the Finals a year earlier, but Golden State took care of business in Game 5.

If it can happen to the Jordan-and-Pippen Bulls and the Curry-and-Durant Warriors, it can happen to anyone. The important thing is that the Celtics don’t become the first team in NBA history to blow a 3–0 playoff series lead. Another loss should definitively knock the 2023-24 Celtics out of any serious arguments about all-time great teams, but winning the title is a pretty good consolation prize.