The 2024 NBA Finals began with a dominant Game 1 victory by the Boston Celtics over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.
The series couldn't have started better for the Celtics, who used a 23-5 run in the final six minutes of the first quarter to build a comfortable lead. Boston's defense continued to give Dallas fits throughout the half, limiting the Western Conference champion to 42 points, its second-lowest point total in the first half of the 2024 playoffs.
The 21-point lead the Celtics enjoyed at halftime began to evaporate in the third quarter as Luka Doncic & Co. were able to cut their deficit to single digits, but Boston's ability to limit Dallas' role players was too much for them. get over. (Doncic had 30 points and 10 rebounds, but his only assist was a postseason career low.)
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 22 points and, most notably, Kristaps Porzingis made an impressive return from a calf injury that had sidelined the 7-foot-3 center since the first round. He finished Game 1 with 20 points and three blocks.
The Mavericks will try to even the series in Game 2 on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, ABC), but while we wait, let's take a look at what stood out for our NBA experts on Thursday night.
What Game 1 trend could define the series?
Tim Bontemps: Boston's ability to protect Dallas. Kyrie Irving was 6 of 19 and 0 of 5 on three-pointers. Doncic finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds, but only had one assist (the fewest he has had in a game this season and in his entire postseason history) and Dallas had nine as a team. Much of that defensive success came from Boston's defensive versatility and their ability to throw multiple defenders against Dallas' stars without duplicating. Doncic has destroyed double teams throughout the playoffs, and by being able to stay home, Boston prevented Mavs role players like PJ Washington from getting going.
Marc Spears: Tatum doesn't have to play well for the Celtics to beat the Mavericks. The Boston star had a mediocre night (16 points on 6-of-16 shooting with a game-high six turnovers), but it didn't matter. The Celtics have plenty of other offensive options (six players ended up scoring in double figures), especially if Porzingis stays healthy. But what will happen in this series when Tatum turns it on?
Kevin Pelton: Boston advantage in 3-point attempts. Although both teams believe in the 3-pointer (the Mavericks (44) finished behind only the Celtics (47) in percentage of their attempts from behind the arc in the regular season, there are levels to their commitment. The 3-pointer is practically an article of faith for coach Joe Mazzulla, and Boston's ability to switch up a variety of pick-and-roll combinations allows Celtics defenders to stay home instead of having to help out in the paint and give up open looks.
The result was Boston outscoring Dallas from beyond the arc in the first half. And while the Mavericks won't continue to shoot as poorly from downtown as they did by falling behind by 29 points, that's concerning. The team that has attempted the most three-pointers has gone 48-27 (.640) in this year's playoffs, including Boston going 11-1 compared to 2-1 when the opponent shoots more.
In particular, the Celtics did a great job of taking away the 3 corner attempts that Doncic normally creates. Dallas was 1 of 3 from the corners, with the only hit coming from Josh Green in garbage time. Tracked by Second Spectrum, which tied the fewest corner 3-point attempts for the Mavericks all season.
What stood out about Porzingis' return?
Pelton: For all the talk of the Celtics benefiting from injuries on their way to the Finals, what stood out was how they also survived a serious loss of their own. Porzingis' size and shooting ability tilted the game in Boston's direction as soon as he signed on. A Celtics team that had struggled to defend the rim with 6-foot-9 Al Horford as its tallest starter suddenly became impenetrable in the paint, and Porzingis' block of a Kyrie Irving shot was a play that Horford already is not able to perform in isolation at 38 years old.
Offensively, Porzingis' shooting was too much for Dallas. And Porzingis passing to Dereck Lively II after the rookie pressured him on the perimeter was a play that would have been impressive if Porzingis was at full strength, much less playing for the first time in more than five weeks.
Good time: The energy he brought to the building. When he took the field during warmups, the roof nearly came off the TD Garden, and it became even louder when he checked in during the first quarter. That meant almost as much as his play on the court, which was spectacular on both ends, between his spacing on the floor offensively and protecting the rim defensively.
Luke Kornet is a solid backup center, but he is a mild upgrade to go from him to a big All-Star caliber in Porzingis, who made exactly the impact he was brought to Boston to make.
Spears: I was stunned. For much of the Celtics' media day on Wednesday, Porzingis was with two trainers at the calf-stretching board. He didn't look like someone who was on the verge of an incredible performance after a long layoff. But Porzingis was special with his scoring, shot blocking and rebounding. He became the first player to finish with at least 20 points and three blocks off the bench in an NBA Finals game since Kevin McHale in 1984 against the Los Angeles Lakers. I can't say he's seen such a dominant return in 25 years of watching the NBA.
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Myers: Dallas 'wasn't prepared' for Porzingis' brilliance
The “NBA Countdown” crew reacts to the Celtics' decisive Game 1 win over the Mavericks, with Bob Myers pointing to Kristaps Porzingis' production as the key.
The biggest change Dallas needs to make in Game 2 is _____
Good time: Get Irving going. If this is a repeat of the Oklahoma City series, when Irving struggled and Dallas survived on a heavy diet of 3-pointers from Washington and Derrick Jones Jr., Boston will be a heavy favorite to win the title.
The Mavericks need the rest of the Finals to look like the Minnesota series, where Irving and Doncic attacked the defense and gave Dallas great production every night. However, this is the challenge that Boston presents, with Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown taking turns protecting the Mavericks on the perimeter.
Spears: Dallas is special when Doncic gets off to a fast start. He played with an anger and ferocity against Minnesota that reminds me of Kobe Bryant. Maybe it was the length of the Celtics' defense, but Doncic didn't start fast or get his teammates moving: he scored 30 but missed eight three-pointers and only had one assist.
Pelton: Find a way to make the ball move. The Mavericks had fewer assists (nine) than Luka averaged itself in the regular season (9.8). Doncic's lone assist was the lowest in his history when he played at least 35 minutes in an NBA game, according to ESPN Stats & Information, regular season or playoffs.
Part of the problem was Dallas' ability to make shots created by passing. The Mavericks made just 1 of 6 Doncic passes that could have resulted in assists, according to ESPN Stats & Information, compared to 57% earlier this postseason. But those six assist opportunities were also the fewest Luka has had in a playoff game.
One possible solution: Doncic looks to drive and shoot when he forces Horford and Sam Hauser to switch him instead of playing for jumpers.
Good time: Six. Nothing that happened in Game 1 has changed my prediction. If the Mavericks can win Game 2, they will suddenly have home field advantage and still have the best player of the series in Doncic. But the Celtics are still the better overall team and they showed it in Game 1.
Spears: Seven. It's just Game 1 and it was in Boston. I'm still hoping for a long seven-game series. The Mavericks will play better in Game 2, but their two stars must step up. When Doncic sat down and Irving was on the court, the Mavs were outscored 19-4.
Pelton: Five. I was tempted to pick Boston in five games before the series, but chose the Celtics in seven because of the uncertainty surrounding Porzingis' effectiveness and how well Dallas played during the West playoffs. The margin was so lopsided in large part because of Boston's shooting advantage, but the Celtics were also getting better opportunities and Porzingis looked better than anyone could have reasonably expected. Despite Dallas' recent playoff history of coming back after losing Game 1, something it did twice in 2022 and in the first two rounds of this year, Boston is now a heavy favorite.
