BOSTON – Sixteen years ago to the date from winning their 17th NBA championship, the Boston Celtics won their 18th.
The Celtics defeated Dallas 106–88 in Game 5 on Monday, putting the finishing touches on the portrait of a champion.
Boston had the best regular-season record (64-18) and rolled through the playoffs with a 16-3 record, never needing more than five games to win a series, and for the sixth consecutive season, the NBA has a different champion.
The Celtics stand atop this season and stand atop the NBA in all-time titles, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for championships.
Boston had the No. 1 offense, the No. 2 defense and best 3-point shooting team during the regular season and that carried over into the playoffs, including the Finals and especially in Game 5.
They scored 67 points in the first half, held Dallas to fewer than 100 points (on 44.9% shooting) for the fourth time in the series and overwhelmed Dallas with 3-point shooting – Boston was 12-for-23 on 3s at one point in the third quarter.
The Celtics led 78-52 with 9:10 left in the third quarter and the remainder of the game was a celebration for Boston fans.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, and Jaylen Brown had 31 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Four Celtics starters scored in double figures – Jrue Holiday had 15 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, and Derrick White had 14 points and eight rebounds.
“It was a joy watching the guys just grow as a team throughout the year but also like really work at it,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla who at 35 years old became the youngest coach to win a championship since Boston’s Bill Russell in 1969. “There’s a group of guys in the locker room that decided they wanted to win day one, and credit to them.”
Luka Doncic had 28 points on 12-for-25 shooting, 12 rebounds and five assists but was 2-for-9 on 3-pointers, and Kyrie Irving’s house of horrors at the Garden continued. He was 5-for-16 from the field, 3-for-9 on 3s and had just 15 points. Credit Boston’s versatile defenders for making scoring difficult on Doncic and Irving.
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