Porzingis ‘ shooting helps propel Celtics to ‘Game 1 victory over Mavs

07/06/2024

Boston Game 1 of the NBA Finals was not exactly the most ideal of circumstances to the Dallas Mavericks. 

With a massive nudge by former Mavs centre Kristaps Porzingis Boston Celtics built a massive 29-point lead in the 2nd quarter, and then were able to secure an easy 107-89 win against Mavs Mavs in a Thursday evening game in TD Garden in this best-of-seven game.

Game 2 will return to the stadium on Sunday, at 7. p.m. prior to the game moves towards Dallas to play the game 3 on Wednesday, and Game 4 on the 14th of June.

It was an impressive opener to the series for the Celtics who hit seven three-pointers during the opening quarter, and held the Mavs to only nine assists throughout the game.

“Give credit to the Celtics their due,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd stated. “They did an excellent job in defending, which made difficult for us.

“We got some great looks but they didn’t translate into goals. We need to get the ball moving. The ball was got stuck and we’ll get more efficient in Game 2.”

A dramatic 44-14 streak from Boston – which spanned the opening and second quarters – was instrumental in helping the Celtics create a huge 58-29 lead at 4:09 in the first half after a three-pointer made by Jayson Tatum. It was like the Mavs who, for the most part, were participating in their first NBA Finals for the first time -were stunned by what was happening in front of their eyes.

“I believe this is the top group in the NBA and they’re good for an reason,” Kidd said. “They play their basketball style at a high level.

“Nerves or having no excuses for being in this situation”, we shouldn’t use the situation as an excuse. Basketball is just a game and we’ve got to get better at the sport of basketball this Sundays.”

The Mavs played better at playing basketball in the third quarter as they drew within 72-64 of Celtics at 4:27 after a three-pointer made by Luka Doncic. Dallas was within a few seconds of getting closer however Dereck Lively II got flagged for traveling. Celtics were able to score an 8-2 win to finish the third quarter. They took an 86-66 lead into fourth quarter following successive three-pointers by Tatum, Al Horford and Jaylen Brown.

“Obviously I believe they’re the best third-quarter shooting squad in the NBA and it’s hard to remove those,” point guard Luka Doncic stated. “Especially when they’re playing five guys and they’re all shooting.

“Obviously we’ll need to do better. We didn’t get enough shots today to defeat them however, we’ve got to perform better at both ends.” 

The Mavs must also improve their ability to contain Kristaps Porzingis. For the first time since he injured his right calf muscle in game 4 in the first round playoff match with the Miami Heat on April 29, Porzingis looked very, extremely fresh, and looked extremely, very efficient against his previous team.

The game, in actual was tilted heavily towards Boston as Porzingis made his debut in the game for the very first time in 7:17 left in the opening quarter. In the midst of the crowd that was sold out, Porzingis scored 11 of his 20 points during the opening quarter, which concluded with the Celtics enjoying a lead of 37-20.

“KP was fantastic (and) was able to knock the ball down,” Kidd said. “He played different shots, stopped shots (and) they gave him an energy boost when he got out of the bench.

“We’ve just have the ability to be a more difficult on the offensive side. We’ve got to force him to change his tactics. He had amazing looks and smashed them to pieces.”

Doncic led the Mavs in scoring in scoring with 30 points, 10 boards but only had one assist. The smallest number of assists he has ever had in the game of this season and the smallest he’s ever had during a playoff game. If asked what were the Celtics doing to make ball distribution difficult, Doncic stated: “They mostly play one-on-one. They also send lots of assistance. That’s the reason.”

Kyrie Irving, however was in the midst of a memorable game. Irving was a member of the Celtics from 2017 to ’19, had just 12 points. He was just 6-of-19 on the field. He was also booed almost every time Irving played the ball.

“Being in this particular environment I’m used to it by now,” Irving said. “Early during my professional career, there was a distinct connection me and Boston and being able to move here and be at ease with a group of veterans. Today, I’m an old-timers, and over the past couple of years, I’ve been able to experience the playoffs here. Even regular season and it’s been the exact similar.

“I believed that it would be a bit louder here, but I’m anticipating the same thing going into Game 2. Crowd trying to force myself out of my zone and the players out of their element. However, the focus must be directed towards the game. I was able to see many great shots. They were able to hit the back of the rim or were a little either way or the other. It’s important to remain steady and be confident through this.”

The Celtics were poised that they shot 47.6 percentage from the floor and convert 16 of 42 three-pointers to 38.1 percent. On the other side however, they Mavs scored 41.7 percentage from their floor, and missed 20 of their shots beyond the three-point line. The 89 points that they scored were the fewest they have scored in an NBA playoff game during the current campaign. 

“We only need to remain connected (and) remain together,” said P.J. Washington. “I thought I think we let our fans overtake us a a bit and let the refs take over us, let them make shots get us. But at the end the day, we need to stay together and be ourselves.”

Jaylen Brown led Jaylen Brown led the Celtis by scoring 22 points. Tatum recorded 16 points. Derrick White tallied 15 points, Jrue Holiday scored 12 points, and Al Horford added 10 points. In addition to Doncic and Irving Mavs, the Mavs scored 14 points and 8 rebounding from Washington as well as 13 from Jaden Hardy.

After losing Game 1 during the opening round of playoffs against Los Angeles Clippers and in the second round, against Oklahoma City Thunder Oklahoma City Thunder, the Mavs will not be able to be frightened after dropping the first game in this series.

“We are a fantastic team,” Washington said. “They are an excellent group at the conclusion of the game.

“We’re okay. We’re only playing one game. We’ll get better and be stronger in game 2.”

X: @DwainPrice