Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser had an interesting response when asked about Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
Sam Hauser on winning Game 5:
"It would be awesome to get it done, it would be great. If we do lose, it's not like it's the end of the world – we'd still be up 3-2. But obviously doing it at home would be pretty special." pic.twitter.com/Ie5MH9tXw4
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzellNBA) June 16, 2024
“It would be awesome to get it done,” Hauser said. “It would be great. If we do lose, it’s not like it’s the end of the world. We’d still be up 3-2. But obviously, doing it at home would be pretty special.”
While Hauser is right that Boston would have more chances to win the series, it’s certainly not what it should want on Monday night. If the Celtics lose, they’d be forced to head back to Dallas for Game 6.
The Celtics took a 3-0 series lead in the NBA Finals, but they were blown out by Dallas in Game 4, losing by 38 points.
There is a long-standing trend that favors Boston winning this series, as teams that have been up 3-0 in a seven-game series are a perfect 156-0 all time, including 14-0 in the NBA Finals.
Danger zone for Dallas 😳
The Celtics beat the Mavericks on Wednesday and are now 48 minutes away from winning their record 18th championship. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series (0-156 all-time, 0-14 in the NBA Finals). pic.twitter.com/3sHpvFuEhy
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 13, 2024
Celtics fans certainly would love it if their team simply closed out the series on Monday to avoid any chance of blowing a 3-0 lead. The Celtics nearly erased a 3-0 series deficit against the Miami Heat last season in the Eastern Conference Finals, forcing a Game 7 before losing the series.
Hauser has been an important role piece for the Celtics all season, averaging 9.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game while shooting 42.4 percent from 3-point range.
He shot the ball well in Game 4 against Dallas, scoring 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3 in the blowout loss. Overall, he’s averaging 8.3 points per game during the NBA Finals.
Boston won the first two games of this series at home, and it has not lost a home game in the playoffs since Game 2 of the second round against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Hopefully, Hauser and the Celtics can shoot better than they did as a team in Game 4 (36.3 percent) to avoid pushing the series to a Game 6.
For Dallas, it’ll need Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic to play some of their best basketball to keep the season alive. Doncic had 29 points in Game 4 and Irving added 21 points on 10-of-18 shooting.
Game 5 between the Celtics and Mavericks is scheduled to tip off at 8:30 p.m. EST from TD Garden in Boston.
