Jason Kidd: Mavs Were ‘Ready to Go’ for Finals G4, Celtics ‘Were Ready to Celebrate’

Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd thinks the Boston Celtics let their foot off the gas ahead of Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals.

“Our group was ready to go. They were ready to celebrate,” Kidd told reporters after the Mavericks’ 122-84 victory. “Understand, we made a stand. We were desperate. We got to continue to keep playing that way; understand they’re trying to find a way to close the door. The hardest thing in this league is to close the door when you have a group that has nothing to lose. (Friday) you saw that. They let go of the rope, you know, pretty early.”

The Mavericks raced out to a 34-21 first-quarter lead and never looked back. They held Boston to 36.3 percent shooting from the floor, with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combining for just 25 points.

Luka Dončić outscored the Celtics stars by himself, finishing with 29 points, five rebounds and five assists. Kyrie Irving added 21 as Dallas knocked down 50.5 percent of its shots as a team in its best all-around effort of the Finals.

No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in NBA history, so the Mavericks have a massive mountain to climb if they hope to make history. Game 5 will be back in Boston, and the Celtics are already installed as 6.5-point favorites to win their record 18th NBA championship.

“We have nothing to lose going to Boston,” Kidd told reporters.

Certainly, Kidd’s comments will make their way to the Celtics locker room, and it’s fair to wonder how advisable it is for a coach down 3-1 to be poking at the heavy favorite. That said, Kidd has more than a quarter-century of NBA experience as a player and coach guiding him in this moment.