BOSTON (AP) 鈥� The Celtics picked the most inopportune time to play their worst game of the season.
叠辞蝉迟辞苍鈥檚 had all kinds of superlatives, and none of them were good.
It ended the Celtics鈥� 10-game playoff win streak. It was the Celtics鈥� lowest scoring output of the season and marked the first time the Celtics have allowed the Mavericks to eclipse 100 points in the series on a stellar night for Dallas stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
It also reminded the Celtics that putting a championship bow on what has been one of the franchise鈥檚 most successful seasons will require the same resilience they鈥檝e shown during a postseason in which they haven鈥檛 lost consecutive games.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a learning lesson, for sure. Got to show up and show out every night. They鈥檙e not going to roll over,鈥� Celtics reserve Sam Hauser said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e down 3-1 now. They鈥檙e desperate. ... They鈥檙e not going to make it easy on us.鈥�
As was, history will be on the Celtics鈥� side for Game 5.
While Friday鈥檚 loss was the seventh time that the Celtics have lost by 20 or more points in the finals, they are 5-1 in the previous six.
The game Monday also falls on the 16th anniversary of Boston clinching its last championship in 2008.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great opportunity to respond,鈥� said Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, whose finished Game 4 with a minus-19 plus-minus 鈥� his second-worst of these playoffs and third-worst of his entire playoff career. 鈥淲e just regroup. We keep our same mentality, and we come out and get ready to fight in another battle on our home floor.鈥�
It鈥檚 also the latest chance for coach Joe Mazzulla to reinforce the lessons he has tried to instill in his team. Hauser recalled 叠辞蝉迟辞苍鈥檚 Game 3 win when Dallas rallied to cut a 21-point fourth quarter lead to just one with less than four minutes to play.
鈥淭he Mavs were on that big run, the start of the fourth there. He came in and said, 鈥楾hat was great. That makes us hungrier,鈥欌�� Hauser said. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 even focus on the win, he focused on that, which was cool. It keeps all of us grounded and knowing that we have more work to do.鈥�
It was the same tone Mazzulla tried to set during the regular season.
Boston opened the season by winning its first five games before losing in overtime at Minnesota. Postgame Mazzulla expressed excitement for his team experiencing an opponent challenging it to play its best basketball. Following another loss two nights later at Philadelphia, the Celtics reeled off six straight victories.
In February, the Celtics lost on their home court to a Los Angeles Lakers team without both LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Then Boston reeled off a season-high 11-game win streak.
The Celtics are now just one more bounce-back win away from seeing those instances of adversity bear championship fruit.
If they need any more consolation 鈥� each of the Celtics previous three title-winning teams in 1984, 1986 and 2008 all lost with close-out opportunities on the road and then returned to win at home.
鈥淐lose-out games are hard. Close-out games are tough,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淭hey always have been like that, and you鈥檝e got to have extreme focus. You鈥檝e got to come out and meet their intensity to finish things out.鈥�
Jayson Tatum is expecting the TD Garden crowd to bring the energy to match the moment.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 going to be as loud as it鈥檚 ever been in my seven years of being a Celtic,鈥� he said. 鈥淓xcited to go back home. Celebrate Father鈥檚 Day on Sunday and compete for a championship on Monday.鈥�
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Kyle Hightower, The Associated Press
