It's do or die time for the Dallas Mavericks as they try to extend their season by possibly forcing a Game 5 on their home floor. But the Boston Celtics, of course, come in with an agenda to wrap this up in a sweep and secure their 18th championship in franchise history. It all goes down at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC as we witness what may be the end of the 2023-24 NBA season.
Our Action Network staff is all over Friday's game as we zone in on NBA Finals best bets from our experts.
Read below for our Celtics vs. Mavericks Game 4 picks on Friday, June 14.
NBA Best Bets Today | Friday, June 14
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 8:30 p.m. | |
| 8:30 p.m. | |
| 8:30 p.m. | |
| 8:30 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NBA Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Celtics vs. Mavericks
Jayson Tatum Over 6.5 1Q Points
By Joe Dellera
Given the 3-0 Finals lead, we should expect Porzingis to be at a minimum extremely limited but more likely out for Game 4, the game with the shortest rest of the Finals.
When Porzingis missed time so far during this postseason, one of the biggest changes was that Tatum saw a swing in his first quarter minutes and was generally playing the entire first quarter as opposed to eight or nine minutes.
These extra minutes resulted in him scoring at a higher clip and he exceeded his 6.5 first quarter line in nine of 11 games without Porzingis this postseason.
In those games he has averaged 9.5 points. Tatum shook off some rust last game when he dropped 13 first courter points on 4/7 shooting with three free throws. He had more opportunity to start the game with Porzingis’ set plays being taken out of the game plan.
Additionally, all of the comments have been proper regarding Finals MVP, but Tatum is a competitor and besides the aforementioned stats, I can see him taking matters into his own hands and making one more push with a high scoring game.
I like Tatum to start strong here.
Pick: Jayson Tatum Over 6.5 1Q Points
Luka Doncic Over 8.5 1Q Points
By Joe Dellera
Run it back.
Luka Doncic should continue to find success in the 1Q to start these games.
This postseason, Luka has been tremendous to start games after a loss. In the six prior games following a loss, Luka is averaging 12.8 1Q points and has exceeded this mark in 5/7 with the misses both at 8 and he has scored 13 in both Games 2 and 3.
Luka indicated today in an interview with Malika Andrews that he will once again receive that pain killing shot before Game 4. That shot should be most potent to start this game and Luka will feel a bit of relief to start the game.
The start of the game is when he is most fresh and it’s another reason to back him.
Considering Luka faded to end the game and got a bit of extra rest in the 4Q due to fouling out, I expect him to be motivated to avoid the sweep tonight.
I’m backing Luka Doncic to once again start off hot.
Pick: Luka Doncic Over 8.5 1Q Points
Jaylen Brown to Outscore Jayson Tatum (+126)
By Maltman
This has been a good series and good playoffs for Jaylen Brown, who's consistently been able to score against Dallas.
In the first two games, he outscored Tatum both times, while Game 3 saw him fall a point short.
This will be the ninth game since 1980 in which a team is up 3-0 in the NBA Finals. In seven of the other eight games, the eventual Finals MVP was his team's leading scorer in the game.
Brown is the heavy favorite for Finals MVP, and his personality has tended to be more aggressive when he feels he has something to prove.
We've seen this in the All-Star games he's played in, right after he wasn’t named to an All-NBA team and in Game 4 against Indiana.
I expect him to have a solid game, and most importantly, to outscore Tatum.
I'm betting 0.25 units on Brown to outscore Tatum at +124 on FanDuel, and I would bet it down to +110.
Pick: Jaylen Brown to Outscore Jayson Tatum (+126)
Under 211.5
We haven't gotten an over.
We haven't gotten a game totaling over 205 points.
We haven't gotten 110 from Boston or 100 for Dallas. Maybe we're due, or maybe, this is the series and how it'll go.
This could be a spot to hammer Boston; it could blow out Dallas, and those often lead to unders because Dallas can't keep up.
And if Dallas wins, it's more likely that it's a grind-it-out slog and not a shootout.
There's a world where Dallas rains in 3s, but we haven't seen it yet. At all.
Give me the under on the total.
