![\"2024](\"https:\/\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/thumbor\/Fcw79-JzxZ5gK-HdPKlrIKUW1sw=\/0x0:5259x3506\/1310x873\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/uploads\/chorus_image\/image\/73393683\/2156420116.0.jpg\")
The Celtics are three wins from a title after their 18-point win in Game 1 of the Finals<\/p>\n
After a 10-day layoff, the NBA Finals<\/a> have finally arrived, and the Boston Celtics<\/a> wasted no time putting the Dallas Mavericks<\/a> on notice. Racking up a commanding 29-point lead in the first half, the Celtics withstood a run from the Mavericks in the third quarter to coast to a commanding 18-point win and take a 1-0 lead in their return to the Finals, 107-89.<\/p>\n Jaylen Brown was the best player on the court for the Celtics tonight. He led the team in scoring with 22 points despite conservative shot volume (7-of-12 shooting), and he put in serious work defensively, snagging three steals and swatting three shots. Kristaps Porzingis made a triumphant return to the lineup, scoring 20 points in just 21 minutes in his first game action since the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, while Jayson Tatum had a quiet scoring night (16 points) and struggled with turnovers (five), but otherwise recorded a customary 11 rebounds and five assists.<\/p>\n Predictably, Luka Doncic led the Mavericks in scoring with 30 points. The Celtics clamped down on his playmaking opportunities, however, holding him to an unprecedented one assist on the night. Kyrie Irving was completely absent, scoring just 12 points and shooting 6-of-18 from the field, and no other Maverick besides P.J. Washington (14 points) made much of a mark.<\/p>\n The game began evenly enough, with the Mavs thriving in the midrange while the Celtics opened the game relatively cold, missing a number of threes despite relatively loose coverage from Dallas. They remained within just a couple possessions of one another through a free-flowing first five minutes of play.<\/p>\n Then the unicorn entered the fray. <\/p>\n Porzingis made his return to the Boston lineup midway through the first quarter, and put himself on the scoreboard soon after. Going to work on the left elbow, he drew a foul in his first minutes of action \u2014 the first foul of a relatively referee-light first quarter \u2014 and converted on both freebies, before knocking down a midrange jumper from the same spot on the next possession. For a player who clearly wasn\u2019t at full conditioning after injury, it was a ludicrous start \u2014 he was the game\u2019s leading scorer in the opening quarter with 11 points, and tacked on two early blocks for good measure. The Celtics lead was 17 after the first quarter, 37-20.<\/p>\n