The Boston Celtics comfortably achieved their first win in the finals at home.
On June 7, 2024, the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 in Game 1 of the 2023-24 NBA Finals held at TD Garden in Boston.

As the team with the highest overall winning percentage in the regular season, the Celtics displayed a relaxed game management and overwhelmed the Mavericks from the beginning of the game.
In particular, ‘Unicorn’ Kristaps Porzingis, who returned from injury, led the mood by scoring fierce field goals from the first quarter.

Porzingis performed perfectly on offense and defense that day, scoring 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
Jaylen Brown, who won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, was also dazzling.

Brown took advantage of the sluggish performance of Jayson Tatum, the team’s top scoring option, and scored 22 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks, demonstrating his ability as an all-round offensive and defensive player.
Tatum recorded five turnovers on this day and showed a performance that did not live up to his reputation as an ace, but in the end, he contributed to the team’s victory by contributing 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Celtics’ game plan

The Celtics’ game plan that day was clear.
This is to neutralize the indirect attack option derived from Mavericks’ ace Luka Doncic.

The Celtics had Doncic catch the ball and enter the paint zone, then return the ball to the outside and aim for a 3-point shot.
The marksman defense was thorough and tight to prevent alley-oop plays using Derek Lively or Daniel Gafford.

Doncic continued to attempt one-on-ones on this day and penetrated into the paint zone.
However, as the Celtics blocked all follow-up options that worked well throughout the playoffs, the ball did not flow and the offense did not proceed smoothly.

Still, Doncic was Doncic.
He made 26 field goals, scored 30 points, and grabbed 10 rebounds.

However, except for Doncic, the offensive contributions of the remaining main guns were disappointing.
In particular, Kyrie Irving was quiet with 12 points despite making 19 field goals.

And, on this day, he showed a very poor performance, recording as many as three turnovers.
From the Mavericks’ perspective, there is a need to completely revise the off-ball movements of all players except Doncic.

In the Western Conference playoffs, all opposing defenses rushed to Doncic during offense, creating many outside opportunities with ease.
However, the Celtics entered the first game with the intention of completely blocking the Mavericks’ perimeter attack.

The second game, which will feature a fierce battle of numbers and detailed tactical battles between the two teams, will be held at the same location in Boston on June 10th at 9 am.

Celtics beat Mavericks for second win in finals series

The Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks again to reach their second win in the NBA Finals series.
On June 10, 2024, the home team Celtics defeated the Mavericks 105-98 in Game 2 of the 2023-24 NBA Finals held at TD Garden in Boston.

With this win, the Celtics moved up to 2 wins and undefeated in the series, and entered their trip to Dallas in good spirits.
On this day, the Celtics struggled quite a bit throughout the game against the Mavericks.

In particular, main gun Jayson Tatum’s field goal sense was poor following the first game.
Nevertheless, Tatum played a clear role as a flounder by continuously attempting dribble breaks and making plays that saved his surrounding teammates when the opponent’s double team came in.

Tatum ended up finishing the game with 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 12 assists, recording a record close to a triple-double.
On this day, the Celtics clearly had a structure and atmosphere that allowed them to take a big lead in the mid to late game.

However, there were no outside shots for the team as a whole before entering the clutch time of the fourth quarter.
On this day, the Celtics struggled quite a bit on the perimeter, attempting 39 3-point shots and only making 10 (25.6% success rate).

Starting guard Jrue Holiday’s performance

However, based on his outstanding individual skills in offense and defense, he neutralized the Mavericks’ attack and maintained the lead he gained in the third quarter until the end of the game.
The most decorated player in the game is Jrue Holiday, who played as the starting guard.

Holliday scored 26 points, the most on the team, while controlling his matchup opponent, Kyrie Irving.
In the end, didn’t the various offense constants that the Celtics expected in this game work?

However, after persevering on the basis of a solid defense, we achieved victory through the power of individual skills.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks lost the second game, giving up an ambitious two-game road trip to their opponent.

As their existing offensive tactics were destroyed in the first game, the Mavericks attempted to strengthen ace Luka Doncic’s primary and derivative attacks in this game.
Doncic, who scored 32 points on this day, led a strong one-on-one structure from the beginning of the game and scored a lot of points.

And, compared to the first game where he only had 1 assist, he performed better in this game by providing 11 assists.
However, he recorded as many as eight turnovers that day as the defense became more stringent in the second half of the game.

In addition, as the game continued into the second half, the paint zone attack using PJ Washington and Derrick Jones Jr. came to life and took the reins of the chase.
However, Kyrie Irving, an important axis of the team’s offense, was unable to shake off his slump in the first game and scored only 16 points, which ultimately hindered him.

Game 3 of the championship game between the two teams will now be held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday, June 13 at 9:30 a.m.

by 토토사이트