May 24, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts after a play against the Golden State Warriors during the third quarter in game four of the 2022 Western Conference finals at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
The Mavericks got out to a huge lead but then held off a furious late Warriors comeback in Game 4 to avoid a sweep in the Western Conference Finals.
If basketball history has taught us anything, it’s that the Dallas Mavericks are almost surely not advancing to the NBA Finals out of the Western Conference from their series against the Golden State Warriors. Entering Game 4 trailing 3-0 in the series on Tuesday night, that deficit looks too big to overcome. However, fans wanted to see the Mavs show up and put up a fight to help form a mentality around Luka Doncic to build on moving forward.
They did just that — and then some.
Dallas jumped out to a sizable early lead against the Warriors and went into the locker room after halftime ahead by double digits. In the second half (after a long delay for a leak in the ceiling dripping on the court), that only got worse as the Mavericks were soon up by 20+ points and kept pulling away.
Golden State, ever-lingering in any contest, didn’t give up and the bench for the Warriors began to chip away at the lead. That put the stars back on the floor late in the fourth quarter and that was enough for Dallas to stave off the surge and secure the 119-109 victory and avoid the sweep.
Mavericks avoid sweep vs. Warriors, win Game 4: Best memes, tweets and reactions
On the heels of a blowout-turned-dramatic-ending in Dallas, NBA Twitter had some terrific reactions and memes that will make anyone chuckle a bit.
It’s surely a good sign that the Mavs were not only able to dominate a game in which they were trying to not get swept but also fight back after letting their foot off of the gas. That bodes well for the long-term future in Dallas.
Unfortunately, the near future looks bleak for the Mavericks. The series will head back to the Bay Area for Game 5 on Thursday and the Warriors should be in a good spot to close out the series and advance to the Finals.