Celtics vs. Mavs results: Final score, highlights & wagering wins from our NBA Finals Game 4 betting blog

The Mavericks bounced back in a major way in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday, staying alive and sending the series back to Boston for a Monday night Game 5. It was a great evening for Dallas, and another solid day for the Sporting News' BetMGM betting blog. 

New to our live betting blog? Here's how it works: For every game of the 2024 NBA Finals, we release a handful of pregame best bets. Then, once each game tips, we come back with live score updates, highlights, and a slew of live-betting recommendations and player prop offerings. 

MORE FINALS BETTING:
Series prediction/top props | Finals MVP best bet/value picks

The live-betting recommendations were few and far between tonight — it's difficult to find value when only one team shows up, especially when both teams start emptying their benches in the third quarter and the sportsbooks pull the player props to avoid garbage-time liabilities. But alas, we still hit on plenty of the bets , we made before the game tipped off, as we were right on with our Game 4 prediction.

We'll go over our hits and misses from Game 4 in a minute, and also recap the game with the live updates we provided throughout the night. But first, here's a recap of what our live betting blog offers:

• We highlight the best bets and top props leading up to the game, so you can lock in value well ahead of the opening tip
• We offer live betting advice, provide game and score updates, and relay intriguing betting lines and over/under props throughout the game
• We close out the night detailing our hits and misses, going over the results of the game as well as the Sporting News best bets both pregame and live

Throughout the season and postseason, this live betting blog helped bettors achieve success with pregame wagers as well as live bets and props. And going into Game 4, our NBA Finals best bets were 28-13! The live-betting window dented our total profits a bit tonight, but our big pregame bets still left us way up and we're definitely playing with house money (and then some) on the series. Let's get to how the game went, and go over our BetMGM hits and misses from Game 4!

Celtics at Mavs: Game 4 score, highlights

This is where the Sporting News' live betting blog will post updates and offer live up-to-the-minute betting advice during Game 4. 

Celtics vs. Mavericks Game 4 score

The Sporting News' Celtics-Mavs best bets roundup

Here's a complete breakdown of every BetMGM bet the Sporting News served up for Game 4, both pregame and during the live-betting window:

• Mavericks (-115) vs. Celtics ✅ 122-84
• Celtics team total: UNDER 106.5 (-120) ✅ 84
• Kyrie Irving OVER 24.5 points (-110) ❌ 21 
• Sam Hauser to record 2+ three-pointers (+100) ✅ 4
• Sam Hauser to record 3+ rebounds (+150) ✅ 4
• Mini-SGP: Dereck Lively + Daniel Gafford both record 1+ block (+155) ❌ DG 1, DL 0
• Luka Doncic 30+ points and Kyrie Irving 25+ points (+200) ❌ LD 29/KI 21
• Garbage-time live SGP: Derrick Jones OVER 6.5 points + Josh Green OVER 4.5 (+300) ❌ DJ 5/JG 3

Total win-loss record for Game 4: 4-4

Total W-L record for NBA Finals: 32-17

Celtics vs. Mavs: Game 4 score, highlights

Celtics vs. Mavs Game 4 live updates, in-game betting picks

This is where the Sporting News' live betting blog posts updates and offers live up-to-the-minute betting advice. Be sure to check in early and often for Game 5 so we can carry over the momentum!

8:00 p.m.: With a half an hour until the opening tip and Kristaps Porzingis "available," the spread has tilted back in the Celtics favor at -1.5 with the moneyline at -125. Dallas gets the +1.5 with the +105 ML at close. The over/under has held strong at 211.5. We're sticking to our initial instincts and going with the Mavs plus odds on the moneyline. We probably won't touch the over/under of 211.5, but we still love the Celtics' team total UNDER of either 106.5 or 107.5, depending on what kind of juice you're willing to take on. 

8:10 p.m.: Here's how the BetMGM bet and handle reports ended up shaking out for Game 4 (reminder: bet percentage involves the percentage of total bets involving that team, handle percentage is percentage of total money bet on each team):

8:20 p.m.: We just realized that nearly 60 percent of over/under tickets and 61 percent of the over/under handle came in on the UNDER (211.5). Just imagine the amount of ticked-off bettors we will see this weekend if Dallas wins and the OVER hits!

8:30 p.m.: Game-time mini-SGP! Luka Doncic 30+ points and Kyrie Irving 25+ points at +200. Two stars that rise up in elimination games — book it!

8:55 p.m.: Mavs off to an early 21-14 lead, and Luka is playing in high gear on both ends. His live assist over/under is at 7.5, with -150 set as the price for the OVER. Consider betting that — if he keeps playing this aggressively, the Celtics will respond by blitzing him and his dime total will rise as a result. He has one now through eight minutes.

9:08 p.m.: The Mavs OWNED the first quarter, outscoring Boston 34-21, now they're off to a hot start in the second frame. Dallas now sits as -500 moneyline favorites and -9.5 on the spread. As tempting as it may be to hammer the Mavs after this hot start, consider betting the Celtics +9.5 or buying them up to +12.5 on the alternate spread market. We've seen this team bounce back from poor stretches all season long — they're 79-20 since the start of the 2023-24 regular season. There's value here.

9:26 p.m.: The Celtics are flat-out getting outworked. They're getting cooked in the paint and destroyed on the glass, and they're not making the Mavs work defensively as they continue to just jack up three-pointers as opposed to penetrating, forcing mismatches, and moving the ball to find high-percentage looks. This appears to be the third Boston loss of the postseason. Glad we were on the right side of this pregame prediction. 

9:30 p.m.: If it's going to be a runaway, it might be a good time to bet some "others" on the live over/under market. You can get Derrick Jones OVER 6.5 points at +100 and Josh Green OVER 4.5 at +100. A live SGP with both OVER would get you +300 odds.

9:52 p.m.: 61-35 Dallas at the half. We hate to see we told you so with the Dallas win and cover...but honestly, nobody could have seen a thrashing of this level coming. The Celtics are now getting +14.5. We wouldn't even touch it. Lots of live volatility in lopsided games like this. Choose props carefully. 

10:01 p.m.: The Mavs are -10000 to win! Wowsers. Not a halftime moneyline you see in the Finals very often. 

10:34 p.m.: The broadcasters are trying to figure out what to talk about, both teams have emptied their benches, and the sportsbooks have pulled all of the over/under player props off the live market. It's an old-fashioned beatdown, folks. Wish we had more live bets to recommend, but the worst thing you can do as a bettor is place a wager just to place a wager. If there's no value available, you simply have to abstain entirely and just look ahead to the next game. 

11:00 p.m.: Welp, it's over. It's back to Boston after Dallas dismantled the Celtics in Game 4. The Mavs won each of the four quarters, by margins of seven, 13, six, and six. Yikes. 

Celtics at Mavs: Game 4 best bets

These were the highest-value bets we recommended ahead of Game 4. 

Mavericks (-115) vs. Celtics

It may sound crazy, but it's still difficult to envision the Celtics sweeping this series and winning the 2024 NBA Championship in enemy territory in Dallas. There remains that sneaking suspicion that this one stretches out one more game, with Boston winning in front of its fans and enjoying a champagne-soaked celebration in the TD Garden locker room.

The Celtics lost three of the four quarters in Game 3, often looking like they missed Kristaps Porzingis (foot). That third quarter was dominant — and at one point Boston went on a 73-45 run to go up 21 — but Dallas still caught up in the fourth quarter. If Luka Doncic doesn't get himself fouled out, the Mavs win that game. 

Jason Kidd needs to do two things to help Dallas win Game 4:

• Help Doncic be a little better defensively
• Take advantage of the Celtics bench

Boston has been able to take advantage of Luka's deficient defense, which he was able to hide during large stretches of the Mavs' Western Conference Finals vs. the Wolves. The Celts are also rolling out multiple bench players in meaningful minutes and getting away with it. If Dallas fixes either of those issues even a little bit, it should eke out one home win.

Celtics team total: UNDER 106.5 (-120)

No matter how you feel about this game, this bet seems like a good value. If Dallas comes out and punches Boston in the mouth, the Celtics likely finish UNDER 106.5. If the Celts continue to stifle the Mavs and win in commanding fashion once again, they will likely finish UNDER 106.5. 

Look at the point total Joe Mazzulla's squad has posted each game of its past four games: 105 at the Pacers, 107 in Game 1 of the Finals, 105 in Game 2, and 106 in Game 3. If you want extra insurance, buy the Celtics' UNDER up to 107.5 at -145. But it feels like either result of Game 4 — a Celtics win or loss — will have them posting 106 or fewer points. 

Kyrie Irving OVER 24.5 points (-110)

Dallas needs Kyrie to go nuclear for the Mavs to remain alive in this series. Luka has been getting gassed by the second half, due in large part to Boston singling him out on defense with high screens and isolation takes. And nobody has stepped up outside of the Mavs' backcourt, save for P.J. Washington sprinkling in some scoring in the range of 13-17 points.

In case you didn't know about the legend of Kyrie in elimination games, here are his stats in the seven such postseason games he has played:

The production dipped in those last two games, but it's worth noting that Kyrie was never truly happy or a perfect fit for those Boston and Brooklyn teams. He has matured a lot since landing in Dallas and playing for Jason Kidd, and he did everything he could to help the Mavs dig out of their 21-point fourth-quarter deficit. 

Irving finished with 35 points on Wednesday, and Dallas very nearly pulled off the epic comeback win. Watch for him to be aggressive early and often again in Game 4, easily surpassing this 24.5-point projection.

Sam Hauser to record 2+ three-pointers (+100) and 3+ rebounds (+150)

Hauser has bounced out of his major shooting slump this postseason, and he's finally demonstrating to the national audience that he's deserving of the 13-16 minutes of playing time that Joe Mazzulla regularly gives him.

Fantastic Sam hit two three-pointers in Game 1 and three in Game 3, and he grabbed three-plus boards in each of those contests. Coming off a strong showing on Wednesday night, we're betting on Hauser picking up where he left off and hitting both these modest milestones for a couple of plus-odds payouts. 

Mini-SGP: Dereck Lively & Daniel Gafford both record 1+ block (+155)

Call it the "Bring the D in the D" SGP! If the Mavs want to extend this series, they'll have to protect their rim and make up for some of the defensive deficiencies Luka and Kyrie have felt all series long.

Betting either of these guys to record a block individually is a juiced-up nightmare — but betting them both to finish with at least one rejection creates a small value play. Let's have some fun in potentially the final NBA game in months.