A first-quarter explosion from the returning Kristaps Porzingis has inspired the Boston Celtics to a dominant 107-89 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Porzingis, who had missed 10 playoff games with a calf injury and last played on April 29, showed no signs of rust as he scored 18 points in the opening quarter alone.
The Celtics big man only scored another two points in the game but set the tone early on both ends as Boston opened up a 37-20 first quarter lead — the largest in NBA Finals history.
All five of Boston’s starters finished in double figures, with Jaylen Brown scoring a team-high 22 points while also making a big impact on the defensive end with three blocks and just as many steals.
Get on Board the NBA Finals | Dallas Mavericks v Boston Celtics | Every game of the NBA Finals LIVE on ESPN, available via Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >
Celtics sweep Pacers to reach NBA Finals | 01:17
Luka Doncic, meanwhile, had a game-high 30 points for Dallas to go with 10 rebounds but only had one assist as the Mavericks struggled to get anything from their bench.
Australian Josh Green was scoreless in 16 minutes before garbage time, when both teams cleared their benches as Dante Exum got a run for Dallas.
There wasn’t much separating the two teams early, with the Mavericks leading 13-12 after five minutes as the Celtics called the first timeout of the game.
Boston was able to generate plenty of open looks and also crashed the glass to create opportunities for second-chance points but couldn’t get the shots to fall consistently.
That changed as Porzingis, returning from injury off the bench, made an immediate impact on both ends to spark a stunning 25-7 Celtics run to close out the quarter.
Porzingis finished the quarter with 11 points, three rebounds and three blocks.
“He’s doing it all,” Mike Breen declared in commentary, as Porzingis drained one from deep and then blocked a Kyrie Irving shot on the other end that resulted in a Sam Houser 3-pointer.
Porzingis was also making life hard for Green in the first quarter, scoring over the Australian and then blocking a dunk attempt from him soon after.
It was a remarkable return for Porzingis and he didn’t show any signs of slowing down in the second quarter as the 7-footer hit back-to-back buckets to put Boston ahead 48-27 and force Dallas into a quick timeout.
Porzingis hardly looked like someone who hadn’t played in the NBA in over a month, confidently launching a shot from 30 feet over Doncic to put Boston ahead 63-37.
The Mavericks closed out the second quarter on a 5-0 run but the Celtics still had a 63-42 lead heading into halftime on the back of 18 points from Porzingis.
Boston shot 11 3-pointers in the opening half compared to just three for Dallas, who had Doncic on 17 points but not much else from the rest of its starters.
The Celtics looked comfortable until a fast start to the third quarter from Doncic on the offensive end and better application in defence from Dallas saw the Mavericks out-score Boston 22-8 to open the period.
That cut Boston’s lead to 72-64, with a nervous energy hanging over the previously raucous TD Garden crowd.
But a few turnovers from Dallas and hustle plays from Boston helped re-establish a comfortable buffer for the Eastern Conference champions.
Porzingis, for example, missed an open 3-pointer but then cut to the basket for his first points of the quarter after Jayson Tatum secured the offensive rebound.
Jaylen Brown, meanwhile, then blocked Derrick Jones Jr. on a dunk attempt before Tatum drained a 3-pointer soon after to push the lead out to 80-64.
The blocks kept coming from Brown and the 3-pointers kept coming too, with the Celtics putting out any chance of a Mavericks comeback to lead 86-66 entering the final quarter.
The Mavericks needed a fast start in the fourth to be any hope of a comeback but didn’t get it as active hands from Derrick White led to an easy bucket and had Boston ahead 92-71.
Dallas didn’t get any closer from that point, although the Mavericks can take some confidence from the fact the Celtics dropped home games in their series against Miami and Cleveland.
Re-live all the action in our live blog below! Can’t see it? Click here!
