Jaylen Brown vows Celtics will play "like our life depends on it" in NBA Finals Game 5 after blowout loss
DALLAS – There weren't many positives for the Celtics to take away from a blowout Game 4 loss in Dallas. But one thing remains unchanged after the contest – Boston is one game away from an NBA championship.
The Celtics return to Boston with a 3-1 series lead, despite a 122-84 setback to the Mavs on Friday.
Celtics vow to learn from blowout loss
Celtics players credited Dallas for its effort in a must-win setting, and vowed to bounce back.
"These are the moments that can make you or break you," Jaylen Brown told reporters after the game. "We learn from it. We take it. We don't dismiss it. We're going to learn from it. We're going to see how and why, exactly where the game was won and lost. And then we take those experiences and then we come out and we play like our life depends on it. Because it does."
Head coach Joe Mazzulla said he believes the Celtics had a strong gameplan going in, but it didn't translate on the floor.
"Preparation doesn't guarantee an automatic success. And so I thought we had a great process. I thought we had a great shootaround. Thought we had a great film session yesterday. I thought the guys came out with the right intentions," Mazzulla said. "I just didn't think it went our way, and I thought Dallas outplayed us. They just played harder. You have to prepare to put yourself in the best possible position, but it doesn't guarantee anything. At the end of the day, we have to just maintain our process and get ready for Game 5."
Celtics center Al Horford said he believes there will be an improved effort from the team on Monday.
"You know, we have to take some things that we can be better at and try to fix them, and then you know, others kind of throw them out and just kind of do that and make sure that we come out and we play Celtics basketball," Horford said. "I think ultimately that's what it comes down to for us, and there's a lot of things that we can control and that I expect us to be much better on Monday."
Dallas playing with "nothing to lose"
Dallas head coach Jason Kidd said the team feels loose heading back to Boston.
"We have nothing to lose going to Boston. That mindset of being aggressive," Kidd said.
Luka Dončić, who led all scorers with 29 points, said one win doesn't change the team's mindset.
"I mean, it doesn't change anything," he said. "Like I said at the beginning of the series, it's first to four. We going to believe until the end. So we just got to keep going. I have big belief in this team that we can do it, so we just got to keep believing."
Jayson Tatum expecting electric atmosphere in Game 5
Game 5 is set to tip off Monday at 8:30 p.m. at TD Garden.
Jayson Tatum was asked what he expects the atmosphere to be like as Boston as the Celtics look to win the 18th championship in franchise history.
"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."