Mavericks keep NBA finals alive with beatdown of Celtics in Game 4

• As it happened: Boston Celtics 84-122 Dallas Mavericks
• Celtics lead best-of-seven series 3-1 despite heavy loss
• 38-point margin is third-largest in NBA finals history

The Dallas Mavericks kept their slim championship hopes alive on Friday night as they beat the Boston Celtics to win their first game in this year's NBA finals in emphatic fashion.

Dallas came into Friday's game trailing 0-3 in the best-of-seven series, a deficit no NBA team has ever recovered from in the postseason. Luka Doni had attracted heavy criticism for his defensive deficiencies so far this series, but the Slovenian tightened that side of his game up while maintaining his usual offensive excellence, as he scored 29 points, 25 of them in the first half, in his team's 122-84 beatdown victory.