The Boston Celtics entered Game 4 with a chance to end the season on the throne. However, the exact opposite happened, as the team suffered a 38-point blowout loss at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks. The Celtics couldn't find their rhythm throughout the game, and the lack of adjustments could be a reason why — according to Al Horford that is.
Following the game, the big man made an admission about the Celtics' subpar performance.
“For us, we had the first three games, we didn't really make any adjustments,” Horford said, per CelticsBlog's Jack Simone. “Today, they did something. We have to see what we can do (and) how we can be better.”
The Celtics fall on Friday
Right off the bat, there were already signs that it wouldn't be a good night for Boston. In the opening quarter, the Celtics shot 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) from the floor while going 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) from 3-point range. Dallas ended up taking a 13-point cushion after the first 12 minutes.
The landslide would continue in the next three quarters. The Celtics struggled to put the ball in the basket, scoring only 14 points in the second period. To make things worse, they had no answer for Luka Doncic, who already had 25 points by halftime.
It was the same story in the third, as there were no signs of a run from the green and white. And instead of Luka Doncic, it was Kyrie Irving who continued where his running mate left off. By the end of the quarter, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla decided to wave the white flag, taking out his starters for good.
At one point, the Mavericks led by as much as 48. By the conclusion of the game, the final score was 122-84 in favor of the blue jerseys. Boston shot just 36.2 percent from the field while the Mavs hit 50.5 percent of their attempts.
Besides the disparity on offense, the Celtics were outplayed in other ways as well. Dallas' defense had a different edge on Friday, forcing Boston to commit 13 turnovers.
The one-sided rebounding hurt Boston as well. Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford could not be contained on the boards, as Dallas outrebounded their foes, 52-31. Lively, in particular, was able to grab seven offensive rebounds on the Celtics. These led to multiple extra possessions for the Mavericks — several of which resulted in points.
Nevertheless, Al Horford isn't fazed. He knows it's just one game, and he knows there's an opportunity for redemption on Monday.
“Understand that it's one game… (We'll) make sure that we come out and play Celtics basketball (in Game 5).”
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