NBA Finals 2024: fans react as Boston Celtics quickly established their dominance over the series.
With a commanding 107-89 victory over Dallas in Game One of the NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics quickly established their dominance over the series.
Before Dallas chipped away at Boston’s lead, which reached as high as 29 points (during the first half, mind you), they were only eight points (72–64) behind the hosts almost halfway through the third quarter. However, a 14-2 Boston run at the end of the quarter put an end to the Mavericks’ run and crushed any dreams of a Dallas comeback.
The following ten lessons can be learned from Game One of the NBA Finals:
1. The Dude is Jaylen Brown!
Jaylen Brown continued where he left off after winning MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals. With 22 points, he led the Celtics, scoring six of those points in a crucial third-quarter run that restored Boston’s lead to double digits. He is the early favorite to win MVP of the NBA Finals.
2. Luka Doncic’s historic performance
The Dallas Mavericks star scored 30 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in his NBA Finals debut, making history as the first player to accomplish a double-double in their first Finals game since Tim Duncan in 1999.
3. Kyrie Irving Is Still Having Problems
It’s no secret that while facing his previous team, Kyrie Irving, a former Celtic, has performed at his lowest level. The All-Star guard had yet another difficult game as he only managed 12 points on 6-of-19 shooting.
Tatum Is a Better Rebounder Than Scorer
Jayson Tatum was prevented by the Mavericks from developing a reliable scoring pattern. Instead, he had an impact on the boards, where he pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, which proved to be crucial to Boston’s triumph.
5. A Few “Celebrity” Sightings During Game One
You wouldn’t realize Boston is a huge city from the small amount of celebrities who aren’t athletes that attended Game One.
The only non-athlete celebrities present at the game were Donnie and Mark Wahlberg, along with Donnie’s wife Jenny McCarthy.
6. Porzingis Is Coming Back
After missing the previous ten games due to a calf injury, Kristaps Porzingis made his way back into the Boston Celtics starting lineup. He made an immediate impression, scoring 18 of his 20 points in the first half off the bench.
7. Horford’s Outstanding Defense
Dallas attempted to put 38-year-old Al Horford against Luka Doncic, the Mavericks’ greatest player, in the Finals as the veteran player. With Horford serving as the primary defender, Doncic missed seven of his eight shot attempts, making this a fairly one-sided game in Horford’s advantage. Against the remainder of the Celtics, he shot 11 out of 18 times.
8. The Sequel to the Mavs’ Poor 3-Point Shooting
The Dallas Mavericks were shooting 7-for-27 (25.9 percent) from 3-point range, meaning they were having trouble making 3-pointers. Even though it was awful, it wasn’t all that dissimilar from their previous Boston game where they struggled to make 3-pointers. Boston defeated Dallas by a score of 28 points on March 1st, despite the Mavericks’ 9-for-34 (26.5%) 3-point shooting performance.
9. Celtics that are on fire
The 1986 squad that went on to win an NBA championship that season set the record with their eight straight playoff game victories, which the Celtics have now surpassed with their victory in Game One.
10. Tatum Climbing the Charts
