Celtics hit Mavericks with record-setting first quarter, hold on to win Game 1 107-89

Riding the wave (A Bill Walton-ism if there ever was one) of a 37-20 opening blitz of the visiting Mavericks, the Boston Celtics kept intense pressure at both ends the rest of the way to defeat Dallas 107-89. In a brighter second quarter where it looked like there were seven or eight Boston defenders harrassing Dallas, Boston doubled the Mavericks’ score at one point late in the half. It was the Celtics’ best three, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis who sternly answered Dallas’ only serious run in the third period. The Celtics nine blocks also outdid their more heralded Mavericks’ counterparts (1).

The Celtics connected on 16 of their 42 three attempts, while keeping Kyrie Irving (12 points) and Dereck Lively, Jr. (2 points and 5 rebounds) from giving the Mavericks any relief throughout. Despite his usual great production, different Celtics sought out mismatches against Luka Doncic on defense to easily offset the superstar’s offense.

Conference finals MVP Brown (22 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks) led the way for the victorious Celtics, while the team and fanbase welcomed back Porzingis (20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks) as their first half sparkplug and Tatum (16 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists) as a willing albeit erratic facilitator.

Doncic (30 points, 10 rebounds, and 1 assist) ended up being mostly a solo act tonight, as Boston successfully cut off passing lanes and lob paths, and Dallas shot a frigid 7-for-27 from behind the arc.. PJ Washington (14 points and 8 rebounds) was the second highest scorer in the loss tonight.

While Boston struggled from distance, they were able to get points in the paint and in transition. The theme early on was sharing the ball, as all Dallas starters scored, while the Celtics assisted on their first handful of buckets. Despite loud booing, an undeterred Irving netted a pair of jumpers and a steal. Porzingis entered the game five minutes in and immediately made a big difference with a block and drew a foul on Doncic. Porzingis had what may have been the finest six minutes of his career. Dallas wilted under the bright Finals glare late in the frame, and Boston’s 23-5 run - led by Porzingis’s 11 points and three blocks - gave them a very comfortable 17-point advantage.

Boston was able to maintain its big lead behind Brown and Porzingis’ bucket-getting, while Dallas failed to pass the 30 point mark until ²⁄₃ of the way through the frame. Porzingis continued to wreak havoc from that free throw line and beamed a big smile after yet another jumpshot. The Celtics’ lead ballooned to as much to 29 before the Mavericks, despite Irving looking the most flustered he’s been during this playoff run, found a little better footing. The damage had long been done by Boston and they skipped into the half up 21.

On top of providing stellar defense, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday supplied all of the Celtics’s scoring for the first 5+ minutes of the third period. Irving, Doncic, and Washington tried valiantly to make it a closer game throughout the stanza. Doncic’s three briefly brought Dallas within eight, but after a brief slumber, the law firm of Brown, Tatum, and Porzingis put an abrupt end to the Mavericks run, and Boston went to the fourth up 20.

Observations

• The dark blue Dallas font against the black background on the ESPN score line is certainly something.
• The Walton warmup shirts were a really nice touch.
• The Wingstop “No Flex” commercial reared its ugly head right around halftime, which is likely when people probably did go grab wings.
• The 37-20 first quarter that Boston put up was the largest advantage ever in a finals game 1.... but still not as cool as the 41-25 first period the Spurs put up against Miami in 2014 game three.
• Dallas big Maxi Kleber isn’t even looking to shoot.
• Sequence of the Night: Porzingis ended the opening period with this offering: pull-up transition three, a block on Irving, igniting a fast break that ended in a Sam Hauser corner three, and finally an emphatic block on a Josh Green dunk attempt.
• If you had Al Horford slamming a baseline dunk as the opening basket of the finals, you need to play the lottery! The next few minutes of scoring was done by different players until PJ Washington’s thunderous dunk - his second basket. Irving answered Horford’s second field goal by connecting on two difficult jumpers. Tatum sucked in the Mavericks’ interior and fired a rocket crosscourt to Derrick White for a wing three. White hit from the same spot to put Boston up five. After both teams struggled to generate offense, Porzingis shined in the free-throw line extended spot that Dirk Nowitzki used to torture opponents at. Boston exited the stanza up 37-20.
• After the teams traded buckets to start the second period, Brown soared down the line for one of the most highlight-worthy dunks in recent Finals memory. Brown’s wing three and ensuing steal and transition dunk pushed the Dallas deficit to 24. Tatum’s second field goal made it comically 58-29. A tomahawk dunk from Tatum and yet another three from Porzingis allowed the Celtics to head into the break up 21.
• Outside of White’s three and free throws, Boston’s execution dried out over the first half of the third period, but Dallas was unable to put a sizable dent in the lead. Just like in the Minnesota series Irving sought out his offense, while Washington and Doncic helped trim the deficit to 13. Boston could not get its top three scorers going, but Irving and Doncic’s long jumpers brought them within eight. After Lively and Irving were called for steps, the Celtics steadily built back up their cushion by getting into the foul bonus and some really impressive shot-blocking from Brown. Tatum and Browns’ straightaway threes put their team up 22, and Dallas left the frame with too big of a hill to scale.
• In a sign of how great Boston’s balance was tonight, the Celtics clinching 90th point courtesy of Holiday (Dallas could only put up 89) happened at the 9:18 mark. White had his patented nifty steal and transition lay-up to put Boston up 21, and Holiday’s stepback three ended any chances for Dallas to make a threat.

Game 2 of the Finals takes place in Boston on Sunday night at 8:00 PM CDT on ABC and ESPN.