Celtics’ refusal to accept arrogance is how Game 4 loss will get put in the rearview

DALLAS — If there was ever proof of the Boston Celtics’ consistency, it was after their grandest failure of the year.

The Dallas Mavericks blew the doors off the Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, earning a 122-84 victory—the third-largest win in the history of the Finals.

From the opening tip, Dallas out-hustled, out-rebounded, outran, and flat-out outplayed the Celtics in every way imaginable. And even when Boston managed to get a good shot, the rim got in the way. Clank after clank rang out through American Airlines Center with the Mavs mic’ing up their rims for every game.

Yet the Celtics remained stonefaced.

“We learn from it. We take it. We don’t dismiss it,” Jaylen Brown said post-game. “We’re going to learn from it.”

Led by Joe Mazzulla, Boston has been spitting out the same mantras for the entire season. They all circle back to the same general principle: Winning is the standard, not the expectation.

After the Mavericks’ historic victory, the Celtics made it a point to credit them. Almost comically so. Each and every time a question came up about Boston’s effort, the focus was immediately shifted back to Dallas.

“It’s a great opportunity to respond. Give credit to Dallas,” Jrue Holiday said. “They came out, and they played with force, and they played great. We just regroup. We keep our same mentality, and we come out and get ready to fight in another battle on our home floor.”

“I think it was more about Dallas,” said Al Horford. “You know, I felt like they were the better team tonight, clearly. They played much better, and you’ve got to give them credit.”

“You’ve got to come out and meet their intensity to finish things out. So we didn’t do that tonight. Give credit to Dallas,” Jaylen Brown said. “I thought they played extremely well. Those guys, they crashed, they rebounded and they played with force. Some of those other guys stepped up.”

“We didn’t expect anything to be easy, but it’s no reason to lose our head,” Jayson Tatum said. “Tip your cap to Dallas. They came out and played well, and we’ve just got to be better on the next one.”

“You can definitely take something from it, but at the same time, I thought Dallas played great,” said Joe Mazzulla. “Give a lot of credit to them. You know, all their guys, whoever went in, well-balanced. Thought they played with a ton of energy and physicality. You’ve got to give them that. And they are a great team, and that’s Dallas. That’s the reason why they are here when they play like that.”

Every Celtic who sat at the podium on Friday night took the time to credit the Mavericks. To the point where, when Mazzulla was directly asked about Boston’s effort, and his deflection to the Mavericks was pointed out, he still found a way around to pivot back.

“It wasn’t as good as Dallas’s was,” Mazzulla said. I thought theirs was a lot better.”

At first glance, this may seem like avoiding accountability. Rather than admitting to their poor play, Boston just chalked up the loss to the Mavericks playing well.

But that’s not what happened at all.

Everyone made it a point to emphasize just how poorly they played. Celtics basketball wasn’t on the menu in Game 4.

“We can’t change what happened tonight,” said Tatum. “You know, we always say, you lose by two, or you lose by 30, they all count the same. But we do need to be better. We’re not making any excuses. We need to be better, and we will. We will be better.”

Had that been Boston’s primary message after Game 4, it would have contradicted the very mentality that led them to the NBA Finals in the first place.

All season, Mazzulla has worked tirelessly to strip the idea of expectations away from the Celtics. Going into a game anticipating a win leads to losing. And being on the doorstep of a victory often leads to complacency and, in turn, defeat.

The Mavericks are also in the Finals. They busted their behinds to get to this spot just as much as the Celtics did. Brushing off Game 4 as nothing more than a bad game for themselves would oppose Mazzulla’s expectations-less principles.

“I hope we have to blow leads. I hope all that happens. I really do,” Mazzulla said earlier this season after a Celtics win over the New Orleans Pelicans. “So, that’s what I think. I think it’s just like, at times, we’re just supposed to be winning all the time. And that’s just not the case. So, we have to stay the course. That’s the key.”

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Russell Westbrook’s viral “What?” moment aside, Mazzulla wanted to make it clear: The Celtics didn’t just lose Game 4. The Mavericks won it. Thinking otherwise would allow the arrogance Boston has successfully avoided all season to seep in.

“Always in situations like this, it always goes back to us. But you have to give Dallas credit,” said Mazzulla. “They played well. They played really, really well.”

They know how talented the Mavericks are, but they got a chance to see it in action on Friday night.

“Usually, by the second game, you’re making adjustments. Third game, you’re making another adjustment, and that’s kind of how it is,” Horford said. “And for us, we’ve had the first three games, we didn’t really make any adjustments. So today, they did something. We have to see what we can — how we can be better and prepare for it.

“That’s kind of where we’re at right now. But, you know, it’s the playoffs, and, you know, they are fighting for their lives, and they played better than us.”

Luka Doncic brought his A-game. Kyrie Irving’s shot-making looks to be back in order. Dallas’ role players stepped up,highlighted by Dereck Lively II hitting the first three-pointer of his NBA career.

Whether or not the Celtics actively coasted through the night is now irrelevant. For Boston, the past doesn’t matter, the future doesn’t exist, and the present is the only focus. That’s the world they need to live in and the one Mazzulla has forced them to embrace.

“I think winning is hard. I think winning at any game is hard. But winning Game 4 of the NBA Finals is pretty damn hard,” said Holiday. “So no, I think they came out desperate, and I think they punched us in the mouth, and we couldn’t kind of recover the way we wanted to.”

All that’s left for Boston to do is learn, adapt, and welcome the fact that they still have a job to do. And that the Mavericks are going to do whatever they can to prevent them from doing it.

“We’re going to see how and why, exactly where the game was won and lost,” Brown said of his message to the team. “And then we take those experiences and then we come out and we play like our life depends on it. Because it does.”

Winning a title in Dallas was the Celtics’ goal heading into Game 4, but now, they are eager to get back to TD Garden. Because they know what’s waiting for them there.

“I think it’s going to be as loud as it’s ever been in my seven years of being a Celtic,” Tatum said. “Excited to go back home. Celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday and compete for a championship on Monday. So it should be a lot of fun.”