June 18 – BOSTON — Jayson Tatum delivered a stellar performance with 31 points and 11 assists, propelling the Boston Celtics to their league-record 18th championship with a decisive 106-88 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night.
Tatum’s impressive stat line also included eight rebounds, while Jaylen Brown contributed significantly with 21 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. The Celtics celebrated their first title since 2008, concluding an impressive 16-3 playoff run.
Before this triumph, the Celtics were tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most championships in NBA history, each team boasting 17 titles. Boston’s latest victory sets a new league record, surpassing their long-time rivals.
Jrue Holiday added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Derrick White scored 14 points, helping Boston close out the best-of-seven series on their second attempt.
Despite a strong effort from Luka Doncic, who led the Mavericks with 28 points and 12 rebounds, his seven turnovers proved costly. Kyrie Irving contributed 15 points and nine assists, while Josh Green scored 14 points for Dallas.
The Celtics took control late in the second quarter after a Mavericks timeout at the 3:11 mark, when they were trailing by 11 points. Boston erupted, scoring 17 of the next 24 points, with Brown contributing six points during the surge. Payton Pritchard punctuated the run with a remarkable 49-foot shot at the halftime buzzer, giving the Celtics a commanding 67-46 lead.
In the third quarter, Holiday’s layup extended Boston’s advantage to 78-52 with 9:10 remaining. Dallas attempted a comeback, highlighted by Green’s putback and a three-pointer during a 10-2 run, cutting the deficit to 80-62.
However, the Mavericks could only reduce the gap to 17 points as the Celtics entered the fourth quarter leading 86-67 and maintained at least an 18-point lead for the remainder of the game.
Earlier, a three-point play by Tatum pushed Boston’s lead to 46-31 midway through the second quarter, but Dallas responded with an 8-2 run focused on points in the paint, narrowing the gap to nine. Al Horford halted the Mavericks’ momentum with a tough layup, leading into the critical Celtics run.
Boston gained momentum at the end of the first quarter with a nine-point streak, closing the period with a 28-18 lead. Despite shooting 42.7% from the floor compared to Dallas’ 44.9%, Boston’s advantage came from their efficiency at the foul line and fewer turnovers, committing 13 compared to Dallas’ nine.
