The Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 on Monday night to win a record 18th NBA championship, one more than their former rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers.
“When you have few chances in life, you have to take the bull by the horns and own it, and our guys did,” stated Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla during the trophy presentation event.
What many thought to be a hard-fought series turned out to be a walk in the park for the Boston Celtics, who won on their home court after leading by 21 points at halftime and remaining ahead the whole night. The Boston Celtics’ 4-1 series lead was never truly threatened, even after the Mavericks won Game 4 by 38 points last Friday. The same could be said of the Boston Celtics’ whole postseason run, in which they lost only three games.
“We’ve responded all year, and this was no different,” Celtics player Jayson Tatum said after the game when asked if the Game 4 defeat influenced Monday night’s performance.
“We owed our followers; it had been a long trip. It has been a lengthy road.
Tatum, who was chosen to the All-NBA first team for the third time this season, performed admirably on Monday night, scoring 31 points, 11 assists, and grabbing eight rebounds. The Boston Celtics’ triumph occurred precisely 16 years after they last won the NBA title in 2008.
Jaylen Brown, who scored 21 points on the night, was awarded the final MVP.
“It was a complete team effort, and I’m going to share this with my brothers and my partner in crime, Jayson Tatum, who was with me the entire time,” Brown said before hugging Tatum.
The Mavericks never appeared to be in contention on Monday night. Despite finishing with 28 points and 12 rebounds, Luka Dončić struggled defensively, committing seven mistakes and missing his first six three-point tries as Dallas struggled to establish themselves early in the game. Dallas’ other star, Kyrie Irving, had another awful night against his former club, finishing with only 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting. He has now lost 13 of his previous 14 games against the Celtics, whom he departed in acrimonious fashion in 2019.
The Celtics’ championship win caps a string of close calls. In addition to their loss in the NBA finals two years ago, they had also lost in the conference finals four of the previous eight seasons.
“What’re they going to say now?” When asked about detractors who claimed this squad couldn’t deliver on its promises, Tatum responded. “What’re they going to say now?”
