MANILA, Philippines -- What did the Dallas Mavericks say to the lord of eliminations?
Not today.
With their backs against the wall, the Dallas Mavericks kept their season alive and avoided a sweep after trampling over the Boston Celtics, 122-84, Saturday morning (Manila time) at the American Airlines Center in Texas.
Luka Doncic spearheaded the Mavericks with 29 points, five assists and five rebounds. Kyrie Irving added 21 markers on an efficient 55.6% shooting.
It was a dominant win for the Mavericks, who turned an early 11-10 deficit to a 34-21 lead going into the second quarter.
This flipped the script completely, as the home team completely broke the game wide open with a 16-4 run in the second canto to grab a 50-25 advantage.
The Mavericks breezed through to the finish line, as the lead grew to as much as 48 points, 115-67, with a 3-pointer by Jaden Hardy with 5:58 left.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 15 points off the bench for Dallas. He made five of his seven 3-pointers.
Dereck Lively II and Dante Exum also provided the spark with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 15 markers. Sam Hauser added 14, as Jaylen Brown struggled with just 10 on 3-of-12 shooting.
"I think our energy was way higher. Everybody was locked in defensive end," Doncic said.
The series shifts back to Boston for Game 5 on Tuesday (Manila time).