NBA Conference Finals: Mavs avoid sweep

The GIST: Put those brooms away — the No. 4 Dallas Mavericks avoided what would've been an embarrassing series sweep last night, ensuring there’ll be (at least) a Game 5 in each Conference Finals battle. Lucky us.

Western Conference: Led by 30 points from superstar Luka Doncic and cheered on by their hometown crowd, the Mavs defeated the No. 3 Golden State Warriors 119–109 to avoid elimination and bring the series to 3-1.

• But it’ll be tough to fend off Steph Curry and the Warriors for long — no team has rallied from a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoff history and the series is heading to San Francisco for tomorrow’s 9 p.m. ET Game 5. Eat your Lucky Charms, Dallas fans.

Eastern Conference: In another bizarre result from this now tied series of unfortunate events, the No. 2 Boston Celtics routed the No. 1 Miami Heat 102–82 in Monday’s Game 4. How peculiar was it? The Heat had one point through the first eight minutes, the fewest points through the first eight minutes of a playoff game in the last 25 years.

• Now the series shifts back to Miami for tonight’s crucial 8:30 p.m. ET matchup, where injuries could once again be a major factor.

• Five Heat players (including stars Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro) are questionable to play tonight while the Celtics could be without starters Marcus Smart and Rob Williams III. Ugh.