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After the shocking defeat in Game Four of the NBA finals, the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks 102-88 to win their 18th NBA championship. The Celtics team turned up at home and put up a dominant performance to close out the series. They schooled the Mavericks with their quality on offense and the depth of their players. The Celtics took the lead from the beginning of the game and never let go till the end. It initially started as a close competition between the teams with the point margin hardly ever exceeding single digits in the first quarter. The Celtics really started to pull away and extend their lead in the second quarter and by the first half of the match, the score stood at 46-64; an almost 20-point lead. From then on, Boston ran away with it. Any attempt by the Mavericks to get back into the game was quickly quenched by the Celtics team who played their hearts out.
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Jayson Tatum was very key to the victory as he dropped what was probably his best performance in the series since game one. Tatum recorded a 31-point double-double. He scored 31 points, and made 11 assists and eight rebounds; very close to a triple-double.
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Jaylen Brown who was later voted finals MVP was no slouch either. He recorded 21 points, six assists, and eight rebounds for the Celtics on Monday night. Defensively, Brown also had the task of defending Doncic; a task he performed excellently. It’s almost impossible for anyone to stop Doncic but Jaylen Brown managed to slow him down enough for his team to emerge victorious.
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Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Derrick White also came up big for the Celtics. Holiday made a double-double as he recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds. Horford and White also contributed a combined 24 points to the total point tally.
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The Mavericks on the other hand were quite underwhelming. Luka Doncic recorded 28 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists but it was not enough. Irving came up short with 15 points, nine assists, and three rebounds. With one of their two big guns performing subpar, it was very difficult for the Mavericks to match the sheer firepower of the Celtics. The Celtics were simply the better team on the night and they deservedly won.