Celtics Defeat Mavericks 107-89
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown lead the Celtics in Game 1 victory
Porzingis returns for Dallas, but Celtics too strong
The Boston Celtics blew out the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 to take Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 25 points, while Jaylen Brown added 21 points. Kristaps Porzingis, who missed the last two games of the Western Conference Finals with a calf injury, returned to the lineup for the Mavericks, but he was clearly not at 100 percent. He finished with just 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
The Celtics took control of the game early, jumping out to a 15-point lead in the first quarter. They extended their lead to 20 points in the second quarter, and the Mavericks never really threatened to come back in the game.
The Celtics defense was outstanding, holding the Mavericks to just 37.7 percent shooting from the field. The Mavericks also turned the ball over 14 times, while the Celtics had just 7 turnovers.
The Celtics now have a 1-0 lead in the series. Game 2 will be played on Sunday in Boston.
In the post-game press conference, Celtics coach Brad Stevens praised his team's performance.
"I thought we played a great game tonight," Stevens said. "We were very focused and disciplined on both ends of the floor. We made them work for everything they got, and we took advantage of our opportunities on offense."
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was disappointed with his team's performance, but he said he believes they can bounce back in Game 2.
"We didn't play our best game tonight," Carlisle said. "But we're going to learn from our mistakes and come back stronger in Game 2. We're a resilient team, and we're not going to give up."
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