The Dallas Mavericks came into Game 4 of the NBA Finals facing what has historically been an insurmountable 3-0 series deficit, and from the jump on Friday night, it was clear that Dallas was playing with a far greater sense of urgency than their Eastern Conference counterpart was.
In a must-win situation, the Dallas Mavericks didn't just win, they routed the Boston Celtics to the tune of 122-84, the Celts largest margin of defeat this season. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for 50 points, and Dallas' supporting cast played their best game of the NBA Finals. For the Mavericks, that's the good news.
But this is a classic Good News, Bad News scenario, and the bad news is, Dallas now needs to find a way to replicate this outcome three more times over the course of the next eight days against a team that is 79-17 throughout the 2023-24 regular season and postseason. Much easier said than done. However, there is one member of the NBA media who is not only predicting that the Dallas Mavericks will do the unthinkable and complete the 3-0 comeback… he's guaranteeing it.
Now at this point, Charles Barkley has become more synonymous with the guarantee than Joe Namath, yet not a single one holds as much weight as Broadway Joe's back in 1969. Sir Charles goes for a quantity over quality approach, and more often than not, Chuck's guarantees are more schtick than anything else.
Case in point, Barkley would say on the NBA TV postgame show that he still feels good about Boston's chances to win the series despite their embarrassing effort in Game 4 against the Mavericks. But with this win, Dallas has at least kept their NBA Title hopes alive.
The Mavericks' incredibly slim championship hopes
There isn't a long lineage of teams who have managed to even force a Game 6, let alone a Game 7 when facing a 3-0 deficit. Fifteen times in NBA Playoffs history has a team won two in a row after falling into a three-game hole, and on only four occasions has a team come back from the brink of elimination to force a Game 7.
1951 – New York Knicks trail 3-0, lose to the Rochester Royals in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Needless to say, I wasn't around for this one.
1994 – Denver Nuggets trail 3-0, lose to the Utah Jazz in Game 7 of the second round. This was after Denver overcame a 2-0 deficit in the first round to upset the top-seeded Seattle SuperSonics in dramatic fashion, becoming the first No. 8 seed to win a series in NBA Playoffs history.
2003 – Portland Trail Blazers trail 3-0, lose to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of the first round. The Mavericks rallied in Game 7 behind 31 points and 11 rebounds from Dirk Nowitzki against a Blazers team that trotted out Rasheed Wallace, Zach Randolph and Arvydas Sabonis in their starting lineup in Game 7. Gotta love early-00s hoops, right?
2023 – Boston Celtics trail 3-0, lose to the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Just a wonky series from start to finish when you consider that Miami was an eight-seed and then ended beating the brakes off of the Celtics in Game 7 despite having not a shred of momentum coming into the game.
That's it. In the long history of the NBA Playoffs, these are the only four teams that have turned a 3-0 deficit into a Game 7. And as much momentum as the Mavericks would like to believe they have after a 38-point win in Game 4, they still have a long way to go before the Celtics are going to feel true pressure in this series.
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