The Boston Celtics were blown out in Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals by the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on Friday night. Boston never showed up, falling behind by double digits in the first quarter before getting outscored 27–14 in the second quarter and pulling their starters in the third. It was a horrible performance from start to finish.
The thing is, sweeps in the NBA Finals are kind of rare. There hasn’t been a sweep in the Finals since 2018 and there have only been nine since the very first NBA Finals way back in 1950. Most teams just lose a game earlier in the series. And more importantly, this Celtics team isn’t the first, or even the best team, to ever blow a potential sweep in the NBA Finals. In fact, they’re in pretty good company.
Michael Jordan’s 72-win Chicago Bulls, a team widely regarded as one of, if not the best ever, went into Game 4 of the 1996 NBA Finals against the Seattle Sonics with a 3–0 lead and lost by 21. Jordan and Scottie Pippen combined to score 31 points on 36 attempts. The Bulls scored just 11 points in the second quarter. Then in Game 5, the Bulls scored just 78 as they lost their third game of the postseason before wrapping up the title at home in Game 6.
