NBA Finals live updates: Boston Celtics lead Dallas Mavericks after first quarter of Game 1 (2024)

Everything going right for Celtics in first half

Jaylen Brown goes up for the huge dunk.

Celtics lead bench scoring 21-2, largely due to Kristaps Porzingis, who has 15 himself. It's 48-27 Boston halfway through the second quarter.

KP leads all scorers with 15 points. His size advantage in 1-on-1 matchup and long range shooting skills are on display.

48-27 with six minutes left in the first half.

Early in the game the Mavericks' defensive strategy was what had worked to get them to this point — keep a big in the paint to protect the rim, rotate him out late to contest 3s if you have to, but surrender some of those shots to limit scoring inside. That had mixed results, especially once the 3s started to fall for Boston and their lead started to grow as they found mismatches they liked.

Dallas’ bigs started inching out earlier, but that has led to a series of buckets at the rim with Pozingis, Tatum and others getting to the rim for dunks. Boston’s five-out spacing was always going to be a challenge for how Dallas wants to defend.

Boston is 8-for-18 shooting (44%) from 3-point range so far. Dallas, meanwhile, is just 2-for-9 shooting from deep through the midway point of the second quarter.

The Celtics went on a 15-2 run in the last 5:11 of the first quarter to take a 37-20 lead over the Mavericks. Entering off the bench after missing the last 10 games, Kristaps Porzingis notched 11 points, 3 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Celtics go on a 3-point shooting assault to end the first quarter, hitting almost 50% over that time.

Celtics up 37-20 after the first.

When he entered off the bench with 7:17 left in the first quarter and the Celtics up one point, he instantly changed the floor spacing and he was hitting shots — he started 3-of-4, hit two free throws, and most importantly threw off the Dallas matchups that had worked pretty well up to that point. Five minutes later, the Celtics were up 28-18 and Jason Kidd was forced to call a timeout.

Out of the timeout, Porzingis continued to dominate, finishing the first quarter with 11 points and 3 blocks.

Jayson Tatum has been a major factor for Boston early with passing and defense but he's finally on the board with a stepback 3 at the 1:33 mark left in the first quarter.

Porzingis into the game for his first action against his old team. The big man from Latvia showing his value early, grabbing a couple early defensive rebounds and scoring 8 off the bench.

The Celtics lead the Mavericks 28-18 with 2 minutes left in the first quarter.

The Mavericks lead 13-12 at the first TV timeout. Kyrie Irving is 2-for-3 with four points to lead Dallas.

Jrue Holiday leads all scorers with 5 early on for Boston. 6:55 remaining in the first quarter.

The veteran big man, who entered the league before the IPhone was released, got Boston on the board early.

We are moments away from Mavericks at Celtics. The national anthem is being sung as we speak.

One note on how international the NBA has become: There are 13 international players on the two rosters in the NBA Finals, the most ever for the league. That includes Dallas star Luka Doncic and Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis, both of which will have a huge impact on this series.

Boston’s Tatum looks relaxed and ready for Game 1.

Kyrie Irving averaged 25.6 points, 5.2 assists and 5 rebounds per game for the Mavericks (50-42) during the regular season, but he has stepped up his production in the playoffs. In the Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he poured in 27 points a night on 49 percent shooting from the field. This includes a 36-point performance on 14-of-27 shooting in Game 5 that sent Dallas to the NBA Finals.

Since entering the league in 2018, Luka Doncic has been utterly dominant offensively. The 25-year-old led the NBA in scoring (33.9 points per game this season) and was second in assists (9.8). Like Irving, Doncic has continued his tear in the postseason. He sliced through Minnesota in the Western Conference Finals with an array of moves and shooting from every spot on the floor, averaging 32.4 points a game in the series.

Former NBA coach and broadcaster Stan Van Gundy publicly called Irving and Doncic the “best offensive backcourt in the history of the NBA.”

He might just be right.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla confirmed that Kristaps Porzingis will play in Game 1 and added he would not be on a minutes limit, although he refused to confirm Porzingis will start.

It should be noted that for Boston’s practice on Wednesday, Porzingis was dressed in the green of starters.

Porzingis has been out since April 29 with a strained calf and it’s a big ask for him to go from 0 to 100 in the NBA Finals, and you can be sure Luka Doncic and the Mavericks will test him early.

After making the All-NBA team in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Luka Doncic is eligible to sign an extension worth more than $346 million in the 2025 offseason, which would bethe largest contract in NBA history. The deal would start in 2026 and end in 2031.

Ahead of Game 1, LeBron James reminisced about playing with Kyrie Irving in Cleveland years ago,saying on JJ Redick’s podcastthat he’s “so f---ing happy and so proud” to watch Irving grow and improve. James added: “I’m so f---ing mad, at the same time, that I am not his running mate anymore.”

He called Irving, with whom he won a championship in 2016, “the most gifted player the NBA has ever seen."

The masses are descending on TD Garden.Game tips in a bit under 1 hour.

Kyrie Irving, who spent two contentious seasons in Boston, says he's ready for whatever the Celtics fans throw at him in Game 1.

“I’m built for these moments, to be able to handle circ*mstances like that, and I’ve been able to grow since then,” he said. “So of course it’s going to be a hectic environment, but I’m looking forward to it and I see it as a healthy relationship that I have with the fans. I almost think about ‘Gladiator,’ just winning the crowd over. It is good to hear the TD Garden silent when you’re playing well. They still respect great basketball.”

They were predicted all year to dominate the Eastern Conference and return to the NBA Finals. They met all those expectations and breezed through the playoffs (facing teams hobbled by injury). Kristaps Porzingis returns for Boston in Game 1 after sitting throughout the playoffs with injury, but the Celtics haven’t missed a beat due to great contributions from Al Horford.

Despite the pressure of expectations, the Celtics have lived up to them this year, so it might not matter if they keep playing the way they have been.

The Mavericks’ 32-year-old point guard didn’t have the best time in a Celtics uniform, to say the least. In fact, he’s known as one of thebiggest villainsof Boston’s fan base. Irving played two seasons in Boston, from 2017-2019, averaging 24.1 points and 6.1 assists a game, and led the franchise to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2018.

However the following season he struggled mightily in the 2019 playoffs, most notably in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Milwaukee. Irving shot a dreadful 37 for 104 from the field and 7 for 32 from 3-point range as the Celtics were eliminated in five games.

He wasn’t much better off the court.

Irving told fans at a season-ticket holder event ahead of the 2018-19 season that he planned on re-signing with the franchise. The next February, when asked if he was set to return to Boston, he famously said, “I don’t owe anybody s---.” After the season he left to join Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets.

Kristaps Porzingis, who spent three seasons in Dallas, from 2019-2022, isexpected to return from a calf injuryjust in time to face his former team. The 7-foot Celtics center has not appeared in a game since April 29 in Boston’s opening-round series against the Miami Heat.

While Porzingis’ services haven’t truly been needed — the Celtics went 9-1 in his absence — he will add another dynamic piece to pair with Brown and Tatum. Porzingis is a great finisher around the rim and despite his size can hit shots from both midrange and beyond the arc.

He’s also expected to bolster Boston’s defense by blocking or altering shots. Porzingis swatted nearly two attempts a game this season.

“He does a great job of just making things difficult,” Celtics guard Derrick White said at practice this week. “It’s always nice to know that he’s back there, whether he blocks or he doesn’t block. He makes them think about it. That’s been really great having him on our side, just doing the things he did day in and day out. Once he comes back and gets in the flow, I think it’s going to be nice.”

The Dallas Mavericks, the Western Conference's No. 5 seed, head into the NBA Finals a totally different team since February when they traded for Washington's Daniel Gafford and Charlotte's P.J. Washington.

Before the deadline, the Mavericks were six games over .500. They closed the regular season with a 21-9 record, the third-best mark in the NBA. If you include the playoffs, Dallas is 34-14 since making the midseason deals.

The Mavericks are seeking their second franchise championship, and first since 2011.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, who along with Irving brought a championship back to Cleveland in 2016, said the guard is unlike any teammate he’s had in his career.

“To have a guy like Kyrie Irving as the ultimate wild card,” James said on his“Mind The Game” podcast this week. “That’s like having a ‘draw four’ in your hand every time someone deals you cards in Uno.”

Jrue Holiday, a veteran acquired last offseason in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. Boston gave up a lot to get him — Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams and two first-round picks — but he’s been worth it. Holiday, who won an NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, is averaging 12.7 points and 4.6 assists in the playoffs while playing his typical lockdown defense. How Holiday guards Irving could be the difference in whether the Celtics claim the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

The Boston Celtics are tied for first all-time in NBA championships with 17. NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell himself claimed 11 between 1957 and 1969.

The Mavericks have only one title: 2011 when Dirk Nowitzki and (now coach) Jason Kidd led Dallas to a 4-2 series win over the Miami Heat.

When the NBA finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics tip off on Thursday night, Mavericks head coach, Jason Kidd, has a chance to join an elite club of NBA champions who have won as both player and head coach. What’s even more incredible is that Kidd might achieve this with the same team.

In 2011, Jason Kidd was the starting point guard for the Dallas Mavericks during their championship run. Thirteen years later in 2024, Kidd is leading his team from the sidelines as head coach and hopes to bring the Larry O’Brien trophy back to Dallas.

According toNBA.comonly 5 others have won championships as a player and head coach for the same team. That list includes some legendary names — Bill Russell (Celtics), Tom Heinsohn (Celtics), KC Jones (Celtics), Pat Riley (Lakers) and Billy Cunningham (Sixers).

Jason Kidd is now four wins away from adding his name to this list.

The 2023-24 season will be the sixth straight season without a repeat NBA Finals winning team.

• 2022-23: Denver Nuggets (def. Miami Heat)
• 2021-22: Golden State Warriors (def. Boston Celtics)
• 2020-21: Milwaukee Bucks (def. Phoenix Suns)
• 2019-20: Los Angeles Lakers (def. Miami Heat)
• 2018-19: Toronto Raptors (def. Golden State Warriors)

The Celtics' 123.2 offensive ratingis not only the best in the NBA this season, it's the best in NBA history. Even crazier is the next to teams — the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder — also happened this season.

Tatum has been the catalyst all season for Boston, particularly in the postseason. He leads the team in points (26), rebounds (10.4) and assists (5.9) per game. Brown is just a notch behind him statistically with averages of 25 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists a contest. He earned Eastern Conference Finals MVP following Boston’s sweep of the Indiana Pacers after continually making big plays either as a scorer or facilitator.