The Boston Celtics, behind a strong return from Kristaps Porzingis, made a statement early in the NBA Finals. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night at TD Garden, the Boston Celtics easily defeated the Dallas Mavericks 107-89, blowing a 29-point lead in the first half.
The Celtics have now won eight straight games in addition to all of their postseason Game 1 victories. However, Luka Dončić and the Mavericks are currently trailing in their first NBA Finals since the team’s 2011 championship victory with Dirk Nowitzki.
Up until Thursday night, the Mavs had also triumphed in five straight road games. Kristaps Porziņļis drives a massive run for the Celtics.
With a calf injury that he initially suffered during Boston’s first-round series against the Miami Heat, Porziņģis has missed the team’s last ten games.
However, he quickly made up lost time after entering the game for just the second time in his career off the bench.
Early in the first quarter, PorziŇģis scored eight points, including a thunderous dunk as he blew by Josh Green and Dereck Lively II.
This gave the Celtics a double-digit lead and prompted the Mavericks to call an early timeout in the opening frame.
After taking a timeout, he shot a long 3-pointer from a distance and promptly blocked a shot to set up another 3-pointer for the Celtics.
The Celtics went on a 23-5 run and were suddenly ahead 17 points. In the NBA Finals’ history, that was the biggest lead following the first quarter of a game.
Porziņģis and the Celtics kept it rolling in the second quarter and easily built a 21-point advantage into the locker room at the intermission.
They went on a 21-11 run to start the second quarter, briefly led by 29 points, and in the first 24 minutes, they made 11 3-pointers.
Conversely, the Mavericks made just 3-of-13 shots from the 3-point range.
Celtics stop the Mavericks’ surge Despite the enormous early disadvantage, Dallas gradually began to chip away at Boston’s lead in the third quarter.
Subsequently, following several impressive baskets from Kyrie Irving and a crucial 3-pointer by Dončić to finish a 20-6 run, the score was reduced to eight points.
But it was the closest Dallas got. After a timeout, Boston came out firing and completed the half with a 14-2 run.
Once again, the Celtics had a 20-point advantage after that, and that was more than enough to propel them to an eventual 18-point victory. In 21 minutes, Porziņīis ended with 20 points and six rebounds.
Leading scorer Jaylen Brown scored 22 points on 7 of 12 shots from the field, while Jayson Tatum ended with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists despite committing six turnovers.
With multiple 3-pointers from seven different players, the Celtics also set an NBA Finals record.
Despite only shooting 4 out of 12 from beyond the arc, he was the reason behind all but 3 of Dallas’ made 3-pointers.
Irving finished with 12 points, and P.J. Washington contributed 14 points and eight rebounds. The Mavs scored their fewest points in the postseason with 89 points.
Additionally, as a squad, they only had nine assists. In contrast, the Celtics recorded nine blocks and 23 assists. The Mavericks can certainly stay in it with Dončić and Irving, but it’s still early.
Dallas doesn’t have need to win Game 2 on Sunday, but the Mavericks will need to at least stay close before the series moves to Texas.