Open Thread: The soundtrack to Game 4 of the NBA Finals

06/16/2024 07:00 AM

A change in momentum gave someone at ABC a chance to DJ for the evening

Before Game 4, a majority of the pundits predicted that Luka Doncic's performance could make up for his Game 3 woes, but that the Boston Celtics would inevitably win. Before tip off, the Black Eyed Peas "I Got A Feeling" played.

The 2009 hit alludes to a celebration to come:

"I got a feeling That tonight's gonna be a good night...Tonight's the night, let's live it upI ...Jump off that sofa, let's kick it off...Fill up my cup, mazel tov...Let's paint the town, we'll shut it down"

The song, paired with a graphic that only featured the Boston Celtics stated clearly that even ABC was confident Game 4 would be the end of the NBA Finals.

The Dallas Mavericks had other plans.

And throughout the competition, whoever choses songs adjusted to what was happening as the Mavs' dominance unfolded.

At the four-minute mark of the 1st quarter, The Temptations "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" took Dallas to a commercial break with a 21-14 lead.

I know you wanna leave me, but I refuse to let you go. If I have to beg and plead for your sympathy. I don't mind, 'cause you mean that much to me. Ain't too proud to beg and you know it.

A foreboding of how the game would unfold for the Celtics.

If that wasn't enough, at there end of the first quarter, they went with Snap!'s 1990 Eurodance hit "I've Got the Power," whose title says it all.

The second quarter led to more struggles for the Boston Celtics, and just one-minute thirty-three seconds into the 2nd frame, Joe Mazzulla called time out. Texas-native Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Crossfire" let the Beantown fans know where they were heading into the commercial break.

Tooth for tooth, eye for an eye. Sell your soul just to buy, buy, buy. Begging a dollar, stealing a dime. Come on, can't you see that I. I'm stranded. Caught in the crossfire.

But nothing seemed a more blatant acknowledgement of what was happening than at the 6:35 mark when Dallas elevated their lead to 20 points. A 45-25 score brought on a time out as well as Aerosmith's "Back in the Saddle." With Steven Tyler's screaming intro, very little else needed to be said about where this particular game was going.

By halftime, the celebration had begun for Dallas. In particular, the use of Diana Ross' "I'm Coming Out" clearly reflecting the 26-point lead, their largest in any postseason:

I'm coming out, I want the world to know, got to let it show. I'm coming out, I want the world to know, I got to let it show. There's a new me coming out and I just had to live. And I wanna give, I'm completely positive. I think this time around, I am gonna do it like you never knew it, oh, I'll make it through. The time has come for me to break out of this shell.I have to shout that I am coming out.

After the break, the Mavericks came out all pistons turning and Mazzulla was forced to call yet another time out at 8:38 as the lead ballooned to 33. We were taken out with "Still D. R. E." by Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg. The hip-hop classic reminded fans that Dr. Dre was the original and that he was still relevant after his initial fame.

Still waters run deep...Guess who's back?...Though I've grown a lot, can't keep it home a lot. 'Cause when I frequent the spots that I'm known to rock...They want to know if he still got it. They say rap's changed. They wanna know how I feel about it (If you ain't up on thangs) Dr. Dre is the name I'm ahead of my game.

A reprise of "Crossfire" during the 3rd quarter when the Celtics took another time out while behind 80-47.

By this time, the Celtics made one last push to see if they could get it going, but they were unable to make a dent. In fact, Mazzulla pulled all his top players out at the next time out (3:18, down by 36 points) and it was all downhill the rest of the way.

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