Jayson Tatum soaked in the moment at TD Garden, surrounded by cheering fans, as he walked towards Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. Their journey had reached its conclusion. The Boston Celtics reclaimed their position as NBA champions, winning their 18th title by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 on Monday night.
This victory broke their tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most championships in league history.
Tatum starred with 31 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds in the decisive game. The win came exactly 16 years after their last championship in 2008, marking the 13th title this century for Boston’s Big 4 professional sports teams.
“It means everything,” Tatum remarked after accepting the trophy from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “It’s been a long journey, and I’m incredibly thankful.”
Jaylen Brown contributed 21 points, eight rebounds, and six assists and was named the NBA Finals MVP. He expressed gratitude to Tatum, his longtime teammate, with whom he played 107 playoff games before clinching the title — a record for any duo.
Jrue Holiday added 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Kristaps Porzingis returned from injury to score five points in 17 minutes, providing a crucial lift for the team.
The Celtics finished the postseason with an impressive 16-3 record and an overall season record of 80-21, the second-best winning percentage in team history behind their 1985-86 championship team.
At just 35 years old and in his second season, coach Joe Mazzulla became the youngest coach since Bill Russell in 1969 to lead a team to an NBA championship.
“You have very few opportunities in life to achieve greatness,” Mazzulla reflected on the achievement.
Luka Doncic scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Dallas, but they couldn’t extend the series after avoiding a sweep with a big win in Game 4. The Mavericks had won all three previous Game 5s this postseason, with Doncic scoring over 31 points each time. Despite playing through chest, right knee, and left ankle injuries during the finals, Doncic didn’t use them as excuses for Dallas’ struggles.
“It doesn’t matter how much I was hurt. I was out there,” he said. “I tried my best, but it wasn’t enough.”
Kyrie Irving scored only 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting and has lost 13 of his last 14 games against the Celtics since leaving them in 2019 to join the Brooklyn Nets.
Irving believes the Mavericks have a bright future ahead. “I see an opportunity for us to build a positive future, where we’re regularly competing for championships,” he said.
Teams in the NBA are now winless in 157 postseason series after falling behind 3-0. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd believes Doncic and his team will learn from this NBA Finals experience.
“Just being here is a big step,” he said. “Yes, we lost 4-1, but our team fought hard against the Celtics. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make crucial shots or avoid turnovers, and they took full advantage.”
Boston never trailed and led by as many as 26 points, buoyed by their energetic home crowd.
Dallas was close at 16-15 early in the game before the Celtics closed the first quarter with a 12-3 run, sparked by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combining for eight points.
Boston repeated their strong finish in the second quarter when Dallas narrowed a 15-point deficit to nine points. The Celtics ended the quarter with a 19-7 run, highlighted by a half-court buzzer-beater from Payton Pritchard — his second such shot in the series — giving Boston a commanding 67-46 halftime lead.
In the final two minutes of both the first and second quarters, the Celtics scored 22 points while the Mavericks managed just 4.
After that, the Celtics kept their lead.
Russell’s wife, Jeannine Russell, and his daughter Karen Russell were at TD Garden to honor the newest Celtics champions.
They watched current Celtics stars Tatum and Brown win their first championship rings. It was the trade that sent 2008 champions Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn in 2013 that got Boston the draft picks they used to pick Brown and Tatum third overall in consecutive drafts in 2016 and 2017.
This season, the All-Stars showed what they could do, leading a Celtics team that focused on shooting many 3-pointers and having the best defense in the league in the regular season.
As teammates, they got to the Eastern Conference finals four times before now. This time, they won the final playoff series they needed to.
Although they had trouble making shots earlier in this series, Tatum and Brown played much better in Game 5, with 31 points and 11 assists between them in the first half.
This showed why Boston was the NBA’s toughest team in the playoffs — they spread out teams, passed the ball well, and caused a lot of trouble on defense. And, as Derrick White found out, sometimes you get hurt trying to win. He lost a tooth after Dereck Lively II fell on him.
“I’d lose all my teeth to win a championship,” White said.
The Celtics had a wild time leading up to winning the championship. They lost to the Golden State Warriors in the finals in 2022 and didn’t get back last year after losing at home to the Miami Heat in the conference finals.
After that, Tatum said he would make up for those losses. Standing in a big mess of confetti Monday night, his 6-year-old son Deuce reminded him of all that he had done.
