The Boston Celtics are the new National Basketball Association champions. The Celtics captured a record 18th title in NBA history with a 106:88 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the Finals.
In "TD Garden", the hosts got off to a whirlwind start and finished off their opponents after the first two periods - at the break, Joe Mazzula's team led by 21 points. Until the end, the team's lead was not threatened, and so Boston won the long-awaited 18th trophy - the last time the team lifted the title was in 2008.
Above everyone in the fifth match of the final series was Jayson Tatum. He stayed close to a triple-double with his 31 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists. 21 points were added by Jalen Brown, who was also named the Most Valuable Player of the Finals. Jrue Holiday had a double-double - 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Derrick White added 14 points.
For Dallas, Luka Doncic gave it his all, finishing with 28 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. However, the Slovenian guard also made 7 mistakes. Kyrie Irving, who is a former Boston player, scored 15 points and had 9 assists, but was not up to par in shooting. Josh Green and Derrick Jones Jr. scored 14 and 10 points, respectively, but the Texans were far from their performance in the fourth meeting, which they won by as many as 38 points.
"The whole team put in an effort and I share this award with my brothers and especially with Jayson Tatum. He was with me the whole time," said Brown, who received the Bill Russell Trophy after finishing the streak with averages of 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5 assists per game.
Boston is now one title ahead of the big rival over the years, the LA Lakers – 18 against 17 in favor of the Celtics. Jason Kidd's Dallas remains with one trophy in the window, won in 2011. | BGNES
