On the court of the NBA Finals G5, the matchup between the Celtics and the Mavericks attracted the attention of basketball fans around the world. This fierce battle at the home of the Celtics will not only decide the championship this season, but also a battle to show the skills and will of the players on both sides. In the end, the Celtics won this season's championship by a significant margin with better teamwork and player performance, and thus occupied a place among the most championship-winning teams in NBA history.
At the beginning of the game, Celtic put pressure on their opponents with iron-blooded defense. Their defense was airtight and left the Mavericks' offense in a difficult position. In the first five minutes, the Mavericks scored just two points through Jones' open dunk, while the Celtics quickly took a 9-2 lead through excellent play from Holiday and Horford, forcing opponents to call a timeout. After the timeout, although Doncic pulled back some points for the Mavericks by forcing the basket, the Celtics' White and Brown scored back-to-back points to maintain the lead. At the end of the first quarter, the Celtics led 28-18.
In the second quarter, the Mavericks tried to narrow the gap through the scores of Jones and Irving, but the Celtics' Hauser and Brown quickly responded with three-pointers. Pozin's mid-range shot, along with solid scoring from Horford and Holiday allowed the Celtics to extend their lead to 15 points. Although the Mavericks, led by Gafford and Washington, struggled to catch up, Tatum, the core player of the Celtics, scored consecutive points to give the Celtics a 67-46 lead at halftime.
It is worth noting that the Celtics were significantly better than their opponents in terms of three-point shooting percentage and rebounding at halftime, which was an important factor in their big lead. Entering the second half, the Mavericks' Doncic, Gafford and Irving worked hard to score, but the Celtics were stronger overall. The outstanding performances of players such as Tatum, White, Horford and Holiday widened the margin to 26 points at one point. Although Green and Irving tried to close the gap by shooting three-pointers, the steady scoring of Holiday and Tatum allowed the Celtics to maintain a large lead. After three quarters, the Celtics led 86-67.
In the final quarter of the game, the two sides were still fighting fiercely. After a long scoring drought, Pozin's air-cut dunk broke the ice for the Mavericks. Doncic then scored back-to-back points, but White and Tatum responded to give the Celtics a 22-point lead. Although the three-pointers of Irving and Doncic once gave the Mavericks hope, the strong performances of Brown and Tatum allowed the Celtics to further widen the difference.
With only 3 minutes left in the game, the Mavericks chose to pull down their main force and accepted the fate of defeat. In the end, the Celtics won the championship this season with a 106-88 victory over the Mavericks with an overall score of 4-1.
This game not only demonstrated the teamwork and strength of the Celtics, but also allowed them to successfully surpass the Lakers and become the team with the most championships in NBA history. At the same time, the young coach Mazzulla also broke the record held by Pat Riley for the youngest manager to win the championship. In this game, Tatum performed well, scoring 31 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists and 2 steals in 11 of 24!
Looking back at the performances throughout the game and the series, it is clear that the team spirit and all-round quality of the Celtics were the key to their title. The Mavericks failed to win the championship, but their performance deserves respect. In particular, the outstanding performance of key players such as Doncic and Irving shows that the future of the Mavericks has great potential. Among them, Doncic scored 28 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals on 12-of-25 shooting!
In the post-game analysis, we must also point out that Mavericks coach Kidd has certain problems with his coaching strategy in the Finals. In particular, the use of Kleber was clearly inappropriate, which affected the overall performance of the Mavericks to a certain extent. Compared to the strategies that had been successfully used in the playoffs before, Kidd's adjustments in the Finals were clearly not timely and effective. This undoubtedly provides valuable reflections and lessons for the Lone Ranger.