BOSTON — Jaylen Brown scored 22 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 20 in his first game in more than a month and the Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 on Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Derrick White finished with 15 points for Boston, which led by 29 points in the first half and connected on 16 3-pointers in a powerful start to its quest for an 18th NBA title.
Porzingis, sidelined since April 29 with a strained right calf, came off the bench and provided an immediate spark, adding six rebounds and three blocks in 21 minutes. Six Celtics finished in double figures.
Dallas cut the deficit to eight points in the third quarter, but Boston quickly pulled away again.
Luka Doncic led Dallas with 30 points. PJ Washington added 14 points and eight rebounds. But Dallas couldn’t find offensive consistency beyond that, totaling just nine assists on 35 field goals for the game.
Former Celtic Kyrie Irving struggled throughout and finished with 12 points. He received a loud and extended chorus when he was introduced before the game on Thursday. Every time he touched the ball it continued throughout the game.
After Irving got into a fight with Boston fans, he was fined for using an obscene gesture during a 2022 playoff visit to TD Garden.
The Celtics, looking for their first championship since 2008, are a little rusty from their 10-day layoff after sweeping the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.
They flowed with energy throughout, sharing the ball in the half court and getting the ball to shooters for open 3s. They also attacked the interior of the Dallas defense and got to the rim for multiple dunks.
Meanwhile, Dallas struggled early to get into its sets and couldn’t find a consistent groove offensively, except for Donczyk, who went 12-for-26 from the field.
The Mavericks held a lead midway through the first quarter. The Celtics responded by outscoring them 44-16 and 58-29.
Things changed over the next 12 minutes, as Dallas used a 35-14 run, including 15 points from Donczyk, to cut Boston’s lead to 72-64. But the Celtics finished the third quarter with a 14-2 spurt to take an 86-66 lead into the fourth.
Dallas has just five assists through the first three quarters, the most by an NBA team in 36 minutes in a game over the past three seasons.
Porzingis ended his 10-game hiatus by replacing starter Al Horford with 7:17 left in the first quarter. Aside from a white compression sleeve on his right leg, it was hard to tell Porzingis was coming off an injury.
He quickly got into the mix, knocking down a pair of free throws that were fouled by Doncic. One possession later, Porzingis connected on his first field goal when he knocked in a short jumper over Doncic.
He didn’t finish.
Moments later, he sauntered into the paint for a two-handed dunk over Derek Lively II. On Dallas’ next possession, Porzingis was about to knock down Jaden Hardy’s layup attempt. The Celtics pushed the ball up court and got the ball back to their big man, who calmly buried a 16-footer.
It was part of Boston’s 17-5 surge in the final 5:24 of the quarter, which featured Porzingis going 4-for-5 from the field, scoring 11 points, blocking two shots and grabbing three rebounds. Boston led 37-20 in the second quarter.
Porzingis finished the half with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
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