DALLAS — With their season on the line, the Dallas Mavericks came out firing in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.
Powered by 20 three-pointers, the Mavs avoided elimination against the star-studded Golden State Warriors, 119-109.
Luka Doncic, who was named 1st Team All-NBA prior to Tuesday night's game in Dallas, led the Mavs with 30 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and two blocks.
Doncic is at his best when facing elimination. In his four previous career playoff elimination games, Doncic has averaged 39 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
Doncic is now 3-2 when facing elimination and he'll be facing it for the remainder of this series after the Mavs lost Games 1, 2 and 3.
The Mavs live and die by the three-pointer, as they have all playoffs. Their shots did not fall as often in the first three games of the WCF -- but, in Game 4, the Mavs went 20-for-43 (47%) from beyond the arc.
(Three-pointers weren't the only things raining at the American Airlines Center on Tuesday night, either.)
The Mavs' supporting cast did its part, too: Dorian Finney-Smith (23 points, 4-7 3PT), Reggie Bullock (18 points, 6-10 3PT), Jalen Brunson (15 points) and Maxi Kleber (13 points) each gave the Mavs a much-needed boost throughout the lineup.
Down 29 to start the fourth quarter, the Warriors bench unit provided the away team a little spark toward the end of the game, trimming the deficit to eight before the Mavs woke up and hung on to claim their first victory of the series.
Game 5 arrives Thursday night (8 p.m. CT) in San Francisco.
The Mavs still have no more room for error, though. They will have to win three more (in a row) against the triumvirate of future Hall of Famers -- Stephen Curry (20 points), Klay Thompson (12 points) and Draymond Green (10 points).
Even if the Mavs are historically pretty decent in this situation -- the team is now 4-1 when down 3-0 in franchise playoff history -- no team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 series deficit to win the series.
On the other hand, "Believe" has been the go-to phrase from Ted Lasso Luka Doncic throughout these playoffs.
So maybe there's a chance.
