The Boston Celtics used a dominant 1st half to take a 1-0 series lead in the NBA Finals.
BOSTON — The opening game of the 2024 NBA Finals ended Thursday just before 11 p.m. ET, at least officially. In every other way, this contest was a wrap not long after the jump.
The Boston Celtics, anxious for 18 — as in the next franchise championship — instantly seized control, ambushed the Dallas Mavericks, ripped through a 107-89 decision and told suspense to wait for another day.
The Celtics also made another statement in the process:
Welcome back, Kristaps.
Inactive the last 38 days while rehabbing a calf injury, Kristaps Porzingis bathed in a hero’s welcome when he emerged for pregame warmups and immediately justified the hope and anticipation.
He impacted both ends, hitting jumpers, protecting the rim and kick-started the rout with 11 points and three blocked shots (one a vicious chasedown swat of Josh Green) … in his first seven minutes. It was a swift if not surprising one-man takedown, against his former team no less, by a player who was clearly more restless than rusty.
“I was pleasantly surprised at how good he looked,” Al Horford said.
For more on the Kristaps Porzingis Game, see our story on the Turning Point (hint: When Porzingis checked in).
Meanwhile, here are Five Takeaways from Game 1, a one-sided Celtics affair:
1. Celtics stay dominant
This city is still Boss-ton. The Celtics ruled the league in the regular season, cruised through much of the playoffs and just bum-rushed the Finals.
That’s 77 wins in 97 games since October, a lengthy display of muscle-flexing, and the Boston basketball recipe once again remained the same — persistent shot-making, solid defense and help from a deep rotation.
The one slight difference between this win and the others? They didn’t need an A-game from Jayson Tatum. That, aside from the return of Porzingis, was the most impressive part of the latest result. Tatum was mild — just 16 points (and 11 rebounds) by a player with much to prove in this series — and yet it was never an issue.
Every player who saw significant minutes enjoyed a flourish or two. Stitched together, it was too much for the Mavericks to handle. Boston’s depth was projected to be a problem for Dallas and such was the Game 1 case.
Even more discouraging for Dallas is how the Celtics blocked five dunks or point-blank layup attempts. Those had a demoralizing effect and robbed the Mavericks of opportunities to make this game close.
The Celtics led by 29 in the second quarter thanks to the Kristaps Effect. When Luka Doncic chopped that down to eight in the third, there was some restlessness inside TD Garden. And then the Celtics went on a 14-0 run to put Dallas to sleep.
As if that wasn’t enough for the Mavericks, they must realize Tatum won’t be a spectator throughout this series.
“They were good tonight,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “I think this is the best team in the NBA and they are for a reason. They play their style of basketball at a high rate. We have to be better.”
2. Doncic was one-dimensional
The Celtics made a decision, stuck with it, won with it — play Doncic straight-up and force his teammates to make contested shots.
It’s a strategy that perhaps only the Celtics can embrace because of their personnel. They have players who can pull that off. They’re bringing Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Jaylen Brown, all solid one-on-one defenders, all of whom had the Doncic Assignment at various times in Game 1.
And so, they baited Doncic into shooting, which he did, taking 26 shots. Here’s what he didn’t do: Hurt them with his passing.
Doncic had one assist, tying his season low, uncharacteristic for a player who had at least five assists in every playoff game, for a player who usually makes it easy for his teammates.
“We’ve got to move the ball,” Kidd said. “The ball stuck too much.”
As a result, the Mavericks didn’t see open 3-pointers and therefore shot 7-for-27 from deep and finished with their fewest point total in the postseason.
3. Celtics stay heavy on 3s
Twice already this postseason, the Mavs have trailed a series 1-0. Could a third rebound showing correct the championship course?
The Celtics’ appetite for deep shots can be both impressive and irritating, sometimes in the same game, quarter and even possession.
They missed five straight 3-pointers on a single possession in Game 1, and their love affair with the shot never wavered. Remember, this team took 40 per game through the playoffs. They went two beyond that Thursday.
It’s something the Mavericks must solve, or deal with, going forward. The light is always green for the Celtics, and when those shots fall frequently — they made 16 in Game 1 — it puts pressure on the defense and forces adjustments and gambles on the fly.
“We’ve got to take those threes away,” Doncic said. “That’s what hurt us the most. They have five guys and they can all shoot.”
4. Mavs need more from Irving
The atmosphere, the setting and the situation begged for a strong rebuttal from Kyrie Irving, who usually thrives when presented with these motivational forces.
Instead, Irving’s answer was meek, with 12 points, missing all five of his 3-pointers as he never put the Celtics on alert. This performance was catnip for the crowd, which booed and mocked him and again showed displeasure over how he burned all the bridges in his stormy Boston exit five years ago.
“It’s basketball at the end of the day,” Irving said. “I thought it was going to be a little louder in here.”
With the Celtics up big, the crowd had no real reason to pile on. It helped that this time, Irving didn’t step on the Lucky the Leprechaun logo at mid-court, as he did in his first game back in Boston.
It was strange to see Irving struggle for the first time in this postseason. His 1-2 punch with Doncic powered Dallas through three rounds and pushed the Mavericks into the Finals.
But against the Celtics, Irving is seeing mainly single coverage, much like Doncic. Irving had only two assists. And when he did shake his defender, he often failed to finish. The most resounding example occurred when his layup was sent into the seats on a thunderous block by Brown, who saluted the crowd in celebration.
“They really rely on their great defensive ball pressure and one-on-one defenders,” he said. “They funnel us into certain areas. Even as I say that, every time I got an isolation, there’s almost two, three people waiting for me to get in there.”
It was that miserable of a night for Irving, who is now 0-11 in his last 11 games against Boston.
“We didn’t perform the way we would have wanted to tonight,” he said. “It starts with me just being able to get out there and get us settled. Got to take some accountability for just the communication, and just going out there and getting used to the way that the kind of environment was going to be.
“We’ve got to look ourselves in the mirror and it starts with me as one of the leaders on the team.”
5. Celtics stop Dallas bigs
The single coverage thrown at Doncic and Irving meant the other Mavericks had to create shots. That didn’t go too well, especially for centers Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, who were silenced.
Both played confidently and made an impact over the last month, especially against the Oklahoma City and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Mavericks wouldn’t be here without their rebounding and easy baskets off lobs.
But Lively had his most frustrating night since the Mavericks elevated him in the rotation — five fouls, five rebounds, two points for someone who averaged a double-double in the playoffs. His first and only basket came with 6:48 left in a lopsided game.
This start was understandable as Lively is just a rookie and experiencing his first taste of early June basketball. That said, he’ll need to find other ways to score — if possible, without Doncic’s help. And steer clear of fouls.
“This is something we can learn from,” said Gafford, also playing in his first Finals, “and it can help us in the next game.”
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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