The Boston Celtics have finally accomplished the ultimate goal. They have broken their 16-year NBA championship drought and won the 2024 Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. Both teams made it to the Finals with the hopes of winning a title. The Celtics proved that they were the superior team and have become champions.
Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics took a commanding 3-0 lead in the series. Although they lost Game 4 by 38 points, they responded in kind and crushed the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5. Since fans who were unable to watch the game will want to know how it unfolded, let us take a closer look at the events that unfolded in the last game of the NBA playoffs.
The Boston Celtics had their best three-point shooting night in Game 5
Heading into the playoffs, the Celtics had established themselves as the best three-point shooting team in the entire NBA. However, they struggled to shoot efficiently from long distance in the first 4 games of this series. They managed to hit several three-pointers in Game 5 and made 13 of 39 attempts. On the other hand, the Dallas Mavericks struggled greatly to get their three-point shot going and made just 11 of 38.
Another reason that the Celtics won this game was their aggression and rebounding abilities. They had more than twice as many offensive rebounds when compared to the Mavericks. This was largely due to efforts from their guards, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.
Boston also had more steals and assists than the Mavericks. They also took care of the basketball better and had fewer turnovers. The Celtics did everything right and were led by Jayson Tatum in this game who finished the night scoring an impressive 31 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists.
Jayson Tatum is about to become an NBA Champion 🔥 pic.twitter.com/u5nEzdleDK
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 18, 2024
Not only did the Celtics win the NBA Finals, their championship run was nothing short of dominant. They finished every series within 5 games and even swept the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Their impressive playoff run has ended with an 18th NBA championship banner being added to the Boston Celtics’ rafters.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving had 14 points combined at the half
In their most important game of the season, both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving struggled greatly. Luka had just 9 points at the half and finished the game with 28 points. On the other hand, Kyrie had just 5 points in the first half of the game and finished with 15 points In fact, one could argue that the other members of the Mavs such as Josh Green stepped up to the occasion when compared to their main stars.
While the Dallas Mavericks should certainly be disappointed with the outcome of this series, they still overachieved and did better than expected this postseason. However, there are no consolation prizes in the NBA as the Boston Celtics are the one and only champions for the 2023-2024 season.
