DALLAS — Yes, the Dallas Mavericks did win Game 4 38 points, and that’s the third-biggest margin of victory in NBA Finals history. Now let’s talk some real history, such as Dallas coming into the game burdened with nonstop reminders that no NBA team has ever come back to win a postseason series after being down 0-3. Heck, it was practically stamped on the Mavericks’ foreheads.

But here’s where it gets really interesting: Recent history suggests it’s possible to at least give it a shot, and, weirdly, it’s the Celtics who have provided that history. It was only last year that the Celtics went down 0-3 to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals and then won three straight games to set up a series-settling Game 7 at TD Garden.

The Celtics got blown out of that Game 7, of course, which is why the no-team-has-won-after-being-down-0-3 thing remains on the books. But that wasn’t on the Mavericks’ minds going into Game 4, even if it was on their foreheads. What mattered, the only thing that mattered, was winning one game. As Mavericks coach Jason Kidd put it before the game, “When you talk about the record or the series (being) 3-0, somewhere in this game there’s going to be a point where either team is going to have to make a stand or they let go of the rope.”

Read the rest of my column here.

DALLAS — The Boston Celtics controlled the first three games of the series with a show of physicality and discipline. As soon as they let up, the details of the matchup flipped. The Mavericks supporting cast, silent earlier in the series, stepped up, with Dereck Lively and Dante Exum starring in their roles. Jason Kidd asked pregame for the Dallas players to maintain their pace throughout the game after he thought they slowed down over the latter part of the first three contests. The Celtics couldn’t even force Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving to step onto the court in the fourth quarter, never mind wear on them enough to make a difference. The two stars combined to score 50 points on 22-for-44 shooting even though they both checked out for good near the end of the third.

With a 3-1 series lead, the Celtics are still in charge of the NBA Finals. But a series can shift quickly. They should have an appropriate fear of what Dallas can do at its best.

“These are the moments that can make you or break you,” Jaylen Brown said. “We have to reassemble. We have to look at it and learn from it, and then we’ve got to embrace it and attack it. It’s going to be hard to do what we’re trying to do. We didn’t expect anything to be easy, but it’s no reason to lose our head. Tip your cap to Dallas. They came out and played well, and we’ve just got to be better on the next one.”

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DALLAS — When Al Horford talks about what the playoffs are like, it’s wise to listen. The 38-year-old veteran, who has played in 185 postseason games in his career, uttered the most meaningful observation following the Dallas Mavericks’ drubbing of his Boston Celtics on Friday.

“You know, I’ve been in a lot of these, and usually by the second game you’re making adjustments,” Horford said. “Third game, you’re making another adjustment, and that’s kind of how it is. 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 how we can be better and prepare for it.”

In other words, the Mavericks have finally made their opponent think. They’ve finally turned the NBA Finals into an actual series. It’s just unlikely for it to actually matter, given the team falling into a 3-0 deficit that provides zero margin for error.

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Kyrie Irving, who knows a thing or two about getting eviscerated in the public space, came to the defense of co-star Luka Dončić, who found a way to fight another day in these Finals after getting criticized for his Game 3 performance.

“I think he made a few people eat their words — in a healthy way,” Irving said. “I’ll say that — in a healthy way. I don’t want to curse up here or anything like that, get into any unnecessary beef, right, between us as players and the media.

“(But) I think this is his first opportunity and first taste of what it’s like to be on this stage, and to not play up to your capabilities or be out there toward the end of the game where every mistake is magnified. I think that’s probably what I’m really referring to, is when every mistake is magnified, there is going to be a response. That’s (the media’s) job to give us your criticism. We go home and deal with it in a healthy way, hopefully.

“I think with Luka, like I’ve been reiterating to the guys, stay off social media as best you can, man. Enjoy the moment we’re in. It’s not about making it this far. It’s figuring out the little nuances to get wins on this stage. That’s what it’s about for us as competitors and that’s where our focus should be. He responded very well. I expected it. I think a lot of people expected it, (people) that have seen Luka and known Luka. I just didn’t know how it was going to happen. He made some things happen tonight that I was very proud of him. He grew.”

Read the rest of my column on Dončić’s Game 4 bounce back here.

Points in the paint tonight in Game 4, excluding the fourth quarter:

Luka Dončić: 22

Kyrie Irving: 18

Boston Celtics: 18

That was the game tonight.

If you get that Monday, we have a series. I doubt it will be that extreme on both ends of the floor again, though.

While Luka Dončić cooked in the first half, he also played noticeably better defensively, finishing with three steals. Dallas seemed to switch more on the pick-and-roll to protect Dončić from being caught in mismatches, but he held his own when challenged.

After his sloppy performance in Game 3 – he was beaten repeatedly on defense and fouled out, thanks to four fouls called on him in the fourth quarter – Dončić was roundly criticized for both his defense and his complaining to the officials. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd had asked critics to “give my man a break” in his remarks before Game 4 and predicted Dončić would be better Friday. Kidd was correct.

“He didn’t say anything to me specifically, but that speaks a lot about him. He always has players’ backs,” Dončić said. “He always support us. That’s a big thing, to have a coach like that.”

Dereck Lively II, asked about his first career 3, pointed to the sky and said “that’s for her,” referring to his late mother.

This was the only NBA Finals game with one day rest.

Monday night’s Game 5 will be interesting for sure. But this Game 4 feels to me like an aberration until further notice. The Mavericks should be kicking themselves for how Games 2 and 3 went.

Al Horford noted that usually in a series, you have to make adjustments each game or two, but Boston didn’t have to make any adjustments through their first three wins.

Now they have to go back to the drawing board and solve Dallas’ turnaround.