BOSTON -- With Jayson Tatum delivering 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists, and Finals MVP Jaylen Brown adding 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, the Boston Celtics dominated the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 to claim the 2024 NBA Finals. This victory secured their record-setting 18th NBA title, exactly 16 years after winning their 17th championship in the same arena.
By achieving this milestone, the Celtics surpassed their eternal rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, for the most titles in NBA history.
"This is going to be a night I'll remember for the rest of my life," Tatum said. "From the game to the celebration, these moments are unforgettable. Over the last few years, we've had some tough playoff losses at home, including losing the NBA championship in front of our fans. We had a chance to beat Miami in Game 6 a few years ago and lost that one.
"So, to have a big win—the biggest win you can have—in front of our home crowd was really important. I wanted to do everything in my power to ensure we won this game tonight."
After their worst game of the season on Friday night in their first attempt to close out the series, Boston responded with a wire-to-wire victory on Monday. Big performances from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown allowed Boston to put the game away early, reminiscent of their 2008 rout of the Lakers in Game 6 at TD Garden to win their most recent championship before this one.
The Celtics built a 21-point lead by halftime, with a second half-court heave from Payton Pritchard in the series emphatically sending them into the break with a comfortable cushion and sending the sellout crowd at TD Garden into a frenzy.
The crowd had been in a fervent state even before the game began, especially when Kristaps Porziņģis—who had missed Games 3 and 4 due to a left leg injury from Game 2—checked in midway through the first quarter. Porziņģis finished with just five points in 16 minutes but provided valuable minutes off the bench, giving Al Horford a rest.
Kyrie Irving, meanwhile, continued to struggle in Boston, admitting on Sunday that he has difficulty playing against his former team at TD Garden. After shooting a combined 13-for-37 in Games 1 and 2, including 0-for-8 from three-point range, he finished Game 5 with 15 points on 5-for-16 shooting.
Jaylen Brown earned his MVP award with series averages of 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5 assists, while also consistently guarding Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić.
"I can't even put into words the emotions," Brown said. "I'm blessed and grateful. This was a full team effort. My teammates were great and allowed me to lead on both ends of the ball. We just came out and performed on our home floor. It's amazing.
"It could have gone to anybody. It could have gone to Jayson. I can't talk enough about his selflessness and attitude throughout the playoffs. We did it together as a team, and that was the most important thing."
With the win, the Celtics finished the playoffs 16-3, second only to the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors (16-1) since the NBA adopted four best-of-seven rounds in 2003. This marked an emphatic reversal of Boston's recent playoff disappointments. Before their victory on Monday night, the Celtics had played more postseason games over an eight-season span without winning a title than any team in NBA history.
This run included six trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, including last year's loss in seven games to the Heat, when Boston became the fourth team ever to force a Game 7 after trailing 3-0. There was also the loss to the Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals after winning two of the first three games and leading in the fourth quarter of Game 4, only to see Golden State celebrate its fourth title of the Stephen Curry era on Boston's famed parquet
The title checked off significant milestones for many of Boston's top players. For Tatum and Brown, the 107 games they played together are the most by a duo prior to winning their first NBA championship.
"It means the world," Tatum said on stage. "It's been a long time. And, damn, I'm grateful."
At the time of his first championship, Tatum had the fifth-most career playoff points, trailing only the late Jerry West, LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, and Kevin Durant.
Al Horford, meanwhile, played in 186 playoff games before securing his first title—the most in NBA history before winning a championship.
"The first thing you have to do when you come here is you have to embrace that pressure," Horford said. "And I was OK with being in that position. I was OK if we were getting criticized and we weren't getting it done because I understood what it means playing here.
"Our group has faced a lot of hardships over the past few years. Last year, it was a heartbreaker against Miami in Game 7. The year before, it was Golden State. But this team has been resilient, and we've continued to work. I'm so proud of Jaylen, and I'm so proud of Jayson. Those two guys keep taking steps forward. Despite all the criticism and pressure, they did it at a young age. They led our group, and I'm just very proud of them for focusing on winning."
Monday marked the culmination of a journey that began 11 years ago this month when the Brooklyn Nets made a blockbuster trade with Boston to acquire Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett for a bevy of draft picks. Two of those picks became Brown and Tatum in 2016 and 2017.
Soon after the 2013 draft, Boston hired Brad Stevens away from Butler University to be head coach. Stevens served in that role for the next eight seasons before replacing Danny Ainge, the man who hired him, as president of basketball operations in 2021.
At that point, Boston was coming off a .500 season and had lost to the Nets in five games in the first round of the playoffs. Since then, Stevens has methodically rebuilt the roster around Brown and Tatum through trades. He brought back Horford that summer and acquired Derrick White at the following trade deadline, moves that helped Boston reach the 2022 Finals. After last spring's conference finals loss, Stevens restructured the roster again, trading away fan favorite and former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to add Porziņģis, then seizing the opportunity to acquire Jrue Holiday after the Milwaukee Bucks traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Holiday, who won a title with Milwaukee in 2021, delivered several big performances during this postseason, including Game 2 of the Finals when he scored 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting while the rest of the team struggled from three-point range. Injuries limited Porziņģis to just six of Boston's postseason games, but he made a significant impact by scoring 20 points off the bench in Game 1 of the Finals, helping the Celtics start strong against the Mavericks. His return on Monday night also provided an emotional boost for the team.
Stevens made the bold decision to promote Joe Mazzulla from the back of the bench to head coach following Ime Udoka's suspension and eventual firing for violations of team rules shortly before training camp. Mazzulla, 35, has compiled a 121-43 regular-season record over the past two years and became the youngest coach to win an NBA title since Bill Russell did it for the same franchise 55 years ago.
The Celtics had largely controlled the first three games of the series before the Mavericks responded with a demolition of Boston in Dallas on Friday, winning by 38 points—the third-biggest blowout in NBA Finals history and the Celtics' largest loss since the 2017 conference finals.
However, Boston bounced back with one of its most complete performances of the season in Game 5, setting a new standard for winning in NBA history.
"This is unreal. I don't think it has really hit and settled in," White said. "This is a special group of guys, a special coaching staff that I'm just thankful to be a part of. Yeah, it's unreal. I'm just trying to enjoy the moment and not get too lit."