Dallas Mavericks' Kyrie Irving Breaks Streak Against Boston Celtics in NBA Finals

It took over three years for Irving, but he finally broke his streak against his former team

Jun 14, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) dribbles against the Boston Celtics during the second half of game four of the 2024 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

It took 1,109 days. Kyrie Irving has finally beaten the Boston Celtics again.

Irving entered Game 4 having lost his last 13 games against the Boston Celtics dating back to his days with the Brooklyn Nets and he has finally broken that losing streak. In Friday night's dominating Game 4 win, Irving finished with 21 points on an efficient 10/18 shooting as the Mavericks starters were pulled before the end of the 3rd quarter with the game well in hand. His last win against the Celtics came on June 1st in the first round back in 2021.

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Kyrie Irving's history with the Celtics is well documented. After playing there for two seasons, he left a bad taste in the mouths of Boston's fans by seemingly not giving his all in his final playoff series, signing with the Nets in free agency, and then a litany of bad interactions between Irving and Boston's fans. He was booed heavily in Boston in Games 1 and 2 and will likely be booed even heavier in Monday's Game 5.

One win against the Celtics is nothing for Irving to celebrate though. The Mavericks are still staring down a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals knowing any loss would end their season. They've avoided the sweep and will continue to play on for at least one more game, but the job is far from over. With such an embarrassing loss for the Celtics, the Mavs will have to be ready for an energized and motivated Celtics team and crowd.

If the Mavericks are to continue extending the series, Irving will have to play better than he did in Games 1 and 2, when he struggled to get clean looks and didn't score 20+ points in either game. He boldly claimed after Game 2 to Celtics fans that he'd see them again in Game 5, so he better back that up with a good performance on Monday night.

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