BOSTON -- Powered by Jayson Tatum's 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists, along with Finals MVP Jaylen Brown's 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, the Boston Celtics dominated the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 in Game 5 to claim the 2024 NBA Finals. This victory marks a record-setting 18th NBA title for the Celtics, achieved on the 16th anniversary of their 17th championship win in the same arena.
With this triumph, the Celtics surpass their perennial rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, for the most championships in NBA history.
"I mean, this is going to be a night that I will remember for the rest of my life, from the game, the celebration, these moments," Tatum said. "Over the last couple of years, we had some tough losses at home in the playoffs. We've lost the NBA championship at home 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 that you could have in front of your home crowd -- I felt like that was important to go out there and do everything in my power to make sure we won this game tonight."
After a disappointing performance on Friday night, when they missed their first chance to close out the series, the Celtics responded with a decisive wire-to-wire victory on Monday. Big performances from Tatum and Brown allowed Boston to secure the game early, reminiscent of their 2008 rout of the Lakers in Game 6 at TD Garden to win their previous championship.
The Celtics built a commanding 21-point lead at halftime, with a second Payton Pritchard half-court heave of the series sending them into the break and igniting the sellout crowd at TD Garden.
The fans were emotional even before the game started, particularly when Kristaps Porzingis, who had missed Games 3 and 4 due to a left leg injury from Game 2, checked in midway through the first quarter. Porzingis contributed five points in 16 minutes, providing valuable relief for Al Horford off the bench.
Kyrie Irving continued to struggle in Boston, admitting Sunday that he finds it challenging to play against his former team at TD Garden. After shooting a combined 13-for-37 in Boston in Games 1 and 2, including 0-for-8 from three-point range, he ended Game 5 with 15 points on 5-for-16 shooting.
Jaylen Brown earned his Finals MVP award with series averages of 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5 assists, while consistently defending Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic.
"I can't even put into words the emotions," Brown said. "I'm blessed and grateful. This was a full team effort. We had a great team. My teammates were fantastic. They allowed me to lead on both ends of the floor, and we delivered on our home court. It's just amazing.
"You know, it could have gone to anybody. It could have gone to Jayson. I can't talk enough about his selflessness and attitude throughout the Finals and the playoffs. We did it together as a team, which 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 victory emphatically reversed Boston's recent playoff disappointments. Before Monday night, the Celtics had played more postseason games over an eight-season span without winning a title than any team in NBA history.
That stretch included six trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, such as last year's seven-game loss to the Heat after forcing a Game 7 following a 3-0 deficit. There was also the 2022 Finals loss to the Warriors after leading 2-1 and holding a lead in the fourth quarter of Game 4, only to see Golden State clinch their fourth title of the Stephen Curry era on Boston's famed parquet.
This title checked off significant milestones for many of Boston's top players. For Tatum and Brown, the 107 games they played together were the most by a duo before winning their first NBA championship.
"It means the world," Tatum said on stage. "It's been a long time. And, damn, I'm grateful."
Tatum had the fifth-most career playoff points at the time of his first championship, trailing only Jerry West, LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, and Kevin Durant.
Al Horford, meanwhile, played in 186 playoff games before winning his first title, the most in NBA history before securing a championship.
"The first thing you must do when you come here is embrace that pressure," Horford said. "I was OK with being in that position and being criticized if we didn't get it done because I understood what it meant to play here.
"Our group has faced a lot of hardships the last few years. Last year's heartbreaker against Miami in Game 7, was the loss to Golden State the year before. It's been building up. But this team has been resilient, and we've continued to work. I'm so proud of Jaylen and Jayson. Those two guys keep taking steps forward despite all the criticism and pressure."
"They did it. And they've done it at a young age. They led our group. I'm just very proud of those guys for putting everything aside and focusing on winning."
Monday marked the culmination of a journey that began 11 years ago at Barclays Center when the Brooklyn Nets made a blockbuster trade with Boston to acquire Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. In return, the Celtics received a haul of draft picks, two of which became Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in 2016 and 2017.
Shortly after the 2013 draft, Boston hired Brad Stevens away from Butler University to be the head coach. Stevens held the position for eight seasons before replacing Danny Ainge as president of basketball operations in 2021.
At that time, Boston was coming off a .500 season and had lost in five games to the Nets in the first round of the playoffs. Since then, Stevens has methodically rebuilt the roster around Brown and Tatum through trades. He brought back Al Horford in 2021 and acquired Derrick White at the subsequent trade deadline, which helped Boston reach the 2022 Finals. After last spring's conference finals loss, Stevens restructured the roster again, trading fan favorite and former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to add Kristaps Porzingis and then acquiring Jrue Holiday after the Milwaukee Bucks traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Holiday, who won a title with Milwaukee in 2021, had multiple big performances this postseason, including Game 2 of the Finals, where he scored 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting while the rest of the team struggled from 3-point range. Although injuries limited Porzingis to just six of Boston's postseason games, he scored 20 points off the bench in Game 1 of the Finals, helping the Celtics start strong against the Mavericks, and provided an emotional boost with his return on Monday night.
Stevens also 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 posted a 121-43 record in the regular season 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 largely controlled the first three games of this series before the Mavericks responded with a 38-point demolition of Boston in Dallas on Friday, marking the third-biggest blowout in NBA Finals history and the Celtics' largest loss since the 2017 conference finals.
However, Boston answered 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 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."
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