Hot Shooting Carries Boston Celtics to Game 1 NBA Finals Win Over Dallas Mavericks: 3 Game-Changing Plays

Boston dominated from the 3-point line and that was the major difference in the opening game of the series

Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) controls the ball against Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) in the third quarter during game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Game 1 was close for all of about five minutes. Dallas led 15-14 early in the first quarter before Boston took off on a 23-5 run to close the quarter.

We'll get to one of the reasons they took off on that run here soon, but to put it simply, Boston was playing as a team while Dallas tried playing 1-on-1 on offense. The Celtics were able to generate the shots they wanted and the Mavericks struggled to get any open looks. The ones the Mavs did get, they missed. Sometimes it's as simple as putting the ball in the basket, something Boston did much better than Dallas did in this game.

Let's hop into some plays.

READ MORE: Kristaps Porzingis' Game 1 Return Sparks Boston Celtics in NBA Finals Victory Over Dallas Mavericks

Kristaps Porzingis knocks down his first bucket since returning from injury 🔥

pic.twitter.com/lRthiHu3Xf

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 7, 2024

Kristaps Porzingis had missed the last 10 games with a calf injury and his answers to the media this week had some wondering if he was even close to 100%.

So all he did was score 11 points, starting with this mid-range post-up, grab 3 rebounds, and block 2 shots in the first quarter. Whatever they did to get him healthy clearly worked.

Dallas likely wanted to test his calf and put him in actions as much as possible, but he continued to deliver for Boston in the opening period. In just 7 minutes, he was a +16 on the scoreboard. He was a constant deterrent at the rim even when he wasn't blocking shots. On offense, he was allowed to catch the ball wherever he wanted on the floor and made Dallas pay with his length by shooting over the top of whoever was trying to contest.

He'd cool off in the second half, but this start by Porzingis really pushed them ahead early.

ANOTHER.

Doncic has 27 and we're back to single digits!

A 20-6 Mavs run on ABC 👀 https://t.co/Hs2FtiKbz5 pic.twitter.com/HB4aGMNiEt

— NBA (@NBA) June 7, 2024

After being down by as many as 29 points in the second quarter and losing by 21 at halftime, I was watching what kind of energy Dallas would come out with in the third quarter.

Luka Doncic roared out of the gates to score 10 points in the first eight minutes of the half as the Mavericks would cut the lead to 8 with this patented left-wing three by Doncic. They had given themselves some life.

Doncic was doing all he could in this game even if his teammates weren't giving him a ton of help, but more on that later.

Jaylen Brown stands TALL at the rim ❌

🏆 Game 1 on ABC 🏆 pic.twitter.com/RCtIXqFxDO

— NBA (@NBA) June 7, 2024

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Jaylen Brown was outstanding in this game on defense. He bullied Doncic for a couple of steals in the first half that led to dunks, and his weakside help at the rim was just superb.

Rotating over to block this Derrick Jones Jr. dunk attempt for his second of three blocks in the game, but this one really turned the momentum back over to Boston. The Celtics had built the lead back to 13, but no lead is safe when the other side has players as capable as Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

Boston would close the quarter on a 14-2 run to push the lead back to 20 heading into the 4th, really killing any chance the Mavs had.

Brown was the player of the game for Boston, finishing with 22 points on just 12 shots, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. If he could've done a better job from the free-throw line, he would've flirted with 30 points. His overall impact was felt throughout the game.

After his hot start, Porzingis would cool down slightly to finish with 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks off the bench for Boston. If he's this impactful the rest of the series, Dallas is going to have to be much better offensively.

Derrick White had a good game, as well, finishing with 15 points and 5 assists, Jrue Holiday added another 12 points and 5 assists, while Jayson Tatum was kind of just... there; 16 points on 6/16 shooting, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers. Dallas has to be happy with how they defended him, but they'll have to step up elsewhere.

Luka Doncic was a one-man wrecking crew for Dallas, finishing with a game-high 30 points while chipping in 10, but only had one assist, his lowest for a playoff game in his career and the lowest in any game since he didn't have any assists against the Suns in January of 2023, a game he played just 3 minutes in. If you throw that game out, he had 1 assist against the Cleveland Cavaliers back in May of 2021, but he played just 23 minutes in that one as the Mavs cruised to a 20-point win. It's rare to see him have an assist total this low.

But the lack of assists was a theme for Dallas overall. As a team, the Mavericks had nine assists on 35 made baskets. Boston had 23 assists on 39 made baskets. That and the 3-point differential (16/42 for Boston, 7/27 for Dallas) tell the entire story of this game. The Celtics had as many blocked shots as the Mavericks did assists; that's not going to win many basketball games if you're Dallas.

Kyrie Irving will have to be better moving forward. His play in Boston was something to monitor and after a couple of really tough baskets to start the game, he finished with just 12 points and 2 assists while shooting 6/19 from the floor. He was outscored by Jaden Hardy and P.J. Washington in this game, which is generally not a good sign from your second-leading scorer, but he's been good about not stacking bad games together, so we'll have to see how he responds in Game 2.

Dereck Lively II struggled early on in his first Finals game but settled down in the third quarter, yet still finished with 5 fouls. He was more physical on Porzingis, one of the reasons he got out of his groove, but the lobs we're used to seeing just weren't open in this game. That's something Dallas will have to figure out on top of their defensive issues from this game.

They'll get two days to figure it out, as Game 2 is Sunday at 7 p.m. CST.

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