Mavs Hang on in Game 4, Celtics to Win Finals on Homecourt
Mavericks vs Celtics Game 5 Odds Comfortably Favor Latter
The Mavericks vs Celtics Game 5 odds are in and the Celtics are favorites to win the Finals on their home floor Monday.
- Boston are -6.5 point favorites to win Game 5. They are -250 to win straight up and the Mavericks are +210 underdogs. The total is set for 210.
- The Celtics are huge favorites to win the NBA Championship at -2500, and the Mavericks odds are long at +1200. Jaylen Brown remains the favorite to win Finals MVP at -220, and Jayson Tatum is behind him at +250.
The next shortest odds are Luka Doncic at +1200, which would only happen if Dallas made a miraculous comeback from down 3-0 in the series. No NBA team has ever come back from down 3-0 in the Finals.
We don’t expect Dallas to make history in this series, but there is a chance they can prolong their inevitable defeat for one more game. Let’s take these Mavericks vs Celtics Game 5 odds and look at the series so far, past betting trends, and see where we can find some value for our NBA picks and parlays.
Mavericks vs Celtics 
Records: Dallas Mavericks (63-40), Boston Celtics (79-21)
Day/Time:
Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Streaming: ABC
Boston Wins the First Three
The Celtics controlled the series after the first three NBA games. They won Game 1 in an easy blowout 107-89. Boston held Dallas to 41.67% shooting from the field and 25.9% from 3-point land.
Doncic led Dallas with 30 points but received minimal offensive support from the rest of his team. The Celtics had balanced scoring but were led on offense and defense by a huge Kristaps Porzingis performance.
Boston’s efficient shooting, particularly from beyond the arc, proved too much for Dallas to overcome.
Although Game 2 was a bit closer, Boston won fairly-handedly 105-98. Again Doncic had a huge night 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, but failed to get significant help from his teammates on the offensive end. Jrue Holiday was the star for Boston, scoring 26 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
The Celtics dominated Game 3 after a shaky start. Dallas built a lead early, but Boston fought back to tie by the first quarter’s end. The second half belonged to Boston, outscoring Dallas 35-19 in the third with a barrage of 3s.
Kyrie finally showed up offensively, but Doncic fouled out late, dashing Dallas’ hopes. Brown continued to shine with 30 points, and Tatum finally showed up on offense adding 31 points of his own. Boston secured a 106-99 win.
Dallas Gets a Big Win
The Dallas Mavericks had a dominant victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 4, winning by a whopping 38 points. This marks the third-largest margin of victory in NBA Finals history, behind only the 1998 Chicago Bulls‘ 42-point win against the Utah Jazz and the 2008 Boston Celtics’ 39-point triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Doncic led the Mavericks in scoring but finally got scoring contributions from Kyrie Irving and his role NBA players. Luka and Kyrie put in 29 points and 21 points each, but the help of Dereck Lively II (11 points and 12 rebounds), Dante Exum (10 points), and Tim Hardaway Jr. (15 points) were the contributions Dallas had been needing all series.
That being said, the defense of Dallas was really what shone in Game 4. The Mavericks held Boston’s offense to only 84 points and limited them to 36.3% shooting from the field and 34.1% shooting from 3-points.
The Celtics’ stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for 25 total points, and nobody on the Boston roster scored more than 15.
Boston Closes Things Out, Under Hits
- Mavericks vs Celtics Game 5 odds have the Boston Celtics as 6.5-point favorites. The NBA odds have Boston -250 to win straight up and the Mavericks are +205 underdogs.
The total is set for 209.5. Although much of the result of this game will hinge on the status of Kristaps Porzingis, Boston has enough firepower to win without him. Before Game 4’s poor showing, the Celtics had won ten straight games, many without Porzingis in the lineup.
Teams who are down 3-1 in the Finals going on the road for Game 5 are 4-4 against the spread historically. Dallas is 1-6-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last eight matchups with Boston, but is 5-1-1 ATS on the road in their last seven games.
The total has gone under in each game this series, and no total has gone over the 210-point total set for Game 5. We believe this game will continue with the trend of the series and go under.
With their NBA season on the line, we believe Dallas will tap into some of the defensive aggressiveness they showed in Game 4, and the Celtics have been clamping teams down all season long.
For NBA betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
