There was never any doubt in Beantown on Monday night. A Boston Celtics victory seemed inevitable in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden. And that’s what happened, ending a 16-year championship drought.
The Celtics defeated the Mavericks 106-88 to win the NBA Finals in five games.
Boston won its 18th championship in franchise history, one better than the Los Angeles Lakers for most in the NBA. It had been 16 years since he won his last championship over the Lakers in 2008.
The Celtics’ victory breaks the second-longest streak without a championship in franchise history, which was 22 years between 1986 and their now second-most recent title in 2008.
Monday’s loss for the Mavericks caps a disappointing end to their season, where their two biggest stars, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, did not play to their potential for most of the championship series.
Jayson Tatum lifts the Larry O’Brien Trophy after winning his first NBA Championship
Jayson Tatum established himself as one of the best players in the NBA by winning a title.
Tatum cried after winning his first NBA championship over the Mavericks on Monday.
Confetti began to fall at TD Garden to mark the Boston Celtics’ first title since 2008
This is the first championship for Boston’s young core, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, while also rewarding veterans like Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.
‘Congratulations to the new champions, the Boston @Celtics! 18 titles is no easy task, well deserved,” said former President Barack Obama in X.
Brown was named Finals MVP minutes after the victory over Tatum.
Tatum finished with a game-high 31 points, and Brown added 21. Doncic was Dallas’ leading scorer with 28 points.
A Payton Pritchard pass from beyond half court to beat the halftime buzzer seemingly called the Mavericks’ “drive,” putting the Celtics up 21 with two quarters left in the game.
Boston maintained a double-digit lead for most of the game and their lead hovered around 20 points throughout the second half.
Brown and Tatum are 27 and 26 years old respectively, giving Celtics fans hope that they won’t have to wait more than a dozen years to hoist the No. 19 banner.
The city of Boston remains the most dominant sports city of the 21st century.
This Celtics championship is Beantown’s 13th since 2000, and the Bruins are now the only Big Four sports team not to have won multiple championships in the new millennium.
The New England Patriots have won six, all with Tom Brady leading the team on the field, and the once-cursed Boston Red Sox have won four titles since the start of the streak-breaking 2004 season.
“Another one in Boston,” Brady posted on X with a cloverleaf emoji.
Al Horford entered the NBA in 2007 and eventually won his first championship with the Celtics.
During the final seconds of the game, the Celtics bench began to celebrate the title victory.
Kyrie Irving congratulated his Celtics foes once he had the result before leaving the court.
A Celtics fan holds up a photo of Tatum, Doncic and Irving that helps describe the series.
The Celtics won a playoff series in five of the previous six seasons, giving a once-inexperienced roster plenty of bumps and bruises in the playoffs.
The final game of the NBA season was not without turbulence. Celtics guard Derrick White chipped a tooth after a brutal collision with Dallas’ Dereck Lively during the second quarter.
White dived for a loose ball and nearly suffered a serious injury. As White dove headfirst to retrieve the rock, Lively planted her weight on him after losing the race for the ball.
Lively’s forearm ended up on the back of White’s head, slamming his face into the wood.
Game 5 also marked the end of Irving’s championship return to Boston, where he scored 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
Celtics fans have shown their disdain for their former star and now Maverick during the three games held at TD Garden.