Where does the Mavs’ Game 4 victory figure in Boston Celtics’ biggest defeats?

Joe Mazzulla’s team squandered a chance to be crowned champions; instead, they suffered one of their heaviest defeats in franchise history. So just how bad was it? Let’s take a look.

Andy HallUpdate: Jun 15th, 2024 08:43 EDT0

Kevin JairajUSA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con

The Boston Celtics were just one victory away from achieving glory in Dallas but the thrill of being so close to lifting their 18th trophy seemed to have had the opposite effect on Joe Mazzulla’s team. The Cs not only suffered their heaviest defeat since 1995 but also lost by the third biggest margin ever recorded in an NBA final series.

Dereck Lively II was huge off the bench for Dallas in the Game 4 win! 💪 11 PTS 💪 12 REB 💪 80.0 FG%💪 1st-career 3-pointerHe joins Magic Johnson (5x) as the only players 20 or younger to record multiple double-doubles in NBA Finals history 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/s1zVD6MrhK

— NBA (@NBA) June 15, 2024

2024 NBA Final results

Game 1 Dallas Mavericks 89-107 Boston Celtics (+18)

Game 2 Dallas Mavericks 98-105 Boston Celtics (+7)

Game 3 Boston Celtics 106-99 Dallas Mavericks (+7)

Game 4 Boston Celtics 84-122 Dallas Mavericks (+38)

Doncic destroys the Celtics

Led by the talismanic Luka Doncic, the Mavericks took the game 84-122 – winning by a staggering 38-point margin – that is an astonishing difference when you compare it to the other games in this series: the Celtics won Game 1 by +18 points and Games 2 and 3 both by +7 points. Or even Boston’s biggest defeats of the last few years.

The Celtics suffered a 102-135 regular season loss to the Bucks back on 11 January. That 33-point margin signified Boston’s 15th heaviest defeat in franchise history and up until last night, equaled the worst reverse suffered by the team during the last seven years.

Pro Hog & Bucks F/C Bobby Portis @BPortistime had his 6th dbl-dbl of szn = 28 pts (11-18 FGs, incl 5-6 from 3, & 1-2 FTs), 12 rbs, 1 stl, box +15 in 22 min in Milwaukee's 135-102 home win over the Boston Celtics on Thurs … pic.twitter.com/jlij1EBjJK

— Kevin McPherson (@ARHoopScoop) January 12, 2024

Boston Celtics biggest NBA defeats

(+52) 31 January 2003 Minneapolis Lakers 118-66 Boston Celtics(+47) 28 April 1995 Orlando Magic 118-66 Boston Celtics(+45) 31 October 2002 Washington Wizards 114-69 Boston Celtics(+44) 19 May 2017 Cleveland Cavaliers 130-86 Boston Celtics(+44) 4 January 1977 Portland Trail Blazers 128-84 Boston Celtics(+43) 9 March 1979 Detroit Pistons 160-117 Boston Celtics(+42) 17 April 1994 Washington Bullets 142-100 Boston Celtics(+42) 29 October 1966 Philadelphia 76ers 138-96 Boston Celtics(+41) 3 March 1960 Syracuse Nationals 149-108 Boston Celtics(+40) 27 February 1966 Baltimore Bullets 132-92 Boston Celtics(+39) 29 December 1995 Seattle Supersonics 124-85 Boston Celtics(+38) 14 June 2024 Dallas Mavericks 122-84 Boston Celtics(+38) 31 December 1970 San Francisco Warriors 144-106 Boston Celtics

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Jayson Tatum in action against the Detroit Pistons in February 2022Gregory ShamusAFP

What is Boston Celtics biggest ever defeat?

It’s a long way off Boston’s most humiliating defeat on record. On 31 January 2003 at the FleetCenter, the Celtics were thrashed 118-66 by Detroit Pistons in front of their own shell shocked fans. Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups had a field day ripping Boston’s defense to shreds and posting almost half of Detroit’s points tally.