Celtics capture 18th NBA championship with Game 5 win over Mavericks
The Boston Celtics took care of business at TD Garden on Monday night and secured an NBA championship in Game 5 with a 106-88 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
The victory marks the 18th championship for the Celtics and their first since 2008. Boston now holds the most titles in league history – one more than the Los Angeles Lakers.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the team to the critical victory.
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Tatum played 45 minutes and scored 31 points, adding 11 assists and eight rebounds. He became the first Celtics player to have at least 20 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in an NBA Finals game since Larry Bird did it in 1986.
"We did it!" Tatum screamed while talking to ESPN’s Lisa Salters.
Brown added 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists. He was named the NBA Finals MVP.
Al Horford, a longtime NBA veteran who entered the league back in 2007, finally won his first NBA ring. He had nine points and nine rebounds.
Kristaps Porzingis, who was hurt throughout the finals, played 16 minutes in Game 5. He finished with five points.
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The win marked Joe Mazzulla’s first championship as a head coach. He took over the reins last season after Ime Udoka’s scandal engulfed the franchise. Mazzulla’s leadership helped keep the Celtics aligned and focused on the task at hand – an NBA championship.
Boston was able to keep defense at the forefront of the entire series. They only let Dallas surpass 100 points once in the series and kept the Mavs at bay for most of Game 4. The team was 11-of-37 from 3-point range.
Kyrie Irving had 15 points but was 5-of-16 from the field. Luka Doncic led Dallas with 28 points and added 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals.
The Celtics were the best team in the NBA, finishing with a 64-18 record and entering the playoffs with hopes of finally raising the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the season. Boston lost to the Golden State Warriors in the finals in 2022 and were eliminated by the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
Boston’s revenge tour began with the series win against the Heat in the first round, excising some of the demons from last season. The Celtics then defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games and swept the Indiana Pacers in the conference finals.
The Celtics started with a bang against the Mavericks, holding the team to under 100 points in each of their first three games.
Boston lost Game 4 on the road, 122-84, but recovered to capture the title at home.
The Celtics have only won one title since 1986, which came during the years of the Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish dynasty.
The last came in 2008 with the Big Three of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.
Now, Boston gets to celebrate once more and are firmly back on top of the NBA.
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