The Boston Celtics finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA, at 64–18.[2] In the first round of the playoffs, they faced the Miami Heat in a rematch of the previous year's Eastern Conference Finals, and won the series 4–1. They then faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, winning again in five games. Finally, they swept the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Finals to reach the NBA Finals for the second time in three years and for the 23rd time in their history. Due to injuries to key players on all three opposing teams during their run through the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Celtics' path to the Finals was considered by media writers as one of the easiest in NBA history.[3]
A series win would give the Celtics their 18th championship, and break their tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in NBA history.[4] Their last win was in the 2008 NBA Finals. This is the Celtics' third Finals appearance where they played a team from Texas, as they previously defeated the Houston Rockets in the 1981 and 1986 Finals.[5][6]
The Dallas Mavericks finished the regular season as the fifth seed in the Western Conference with a 50–32 record.[7] The Mavericks made the playoffs after missing the stage last season where the team finished 38–44. The Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Clippers and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first and second rounds, respectively, winning each series in 6 games.[8][9] They then defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Conference Finals 4–1 to clinch their first NBA Finals appearance in 13 years. In their last appearance in 2011, the team, which featured current head coach Jason Kidd at point guard, won their first and only title.[10]
Boston's Kristaps Porziņģis returned from injury after not playing in a game for 38 days and recorded 20 points and three blocks off the bench. Luka Dončić led Dallas with 30 points as the Celtics held the Mavericks to just nine assists on its 35 field goals as a team.[11] The Celtics led by as many as 29 in the first half. In the third quarter, a 20–6 Mavericks run sparked by key shots from Dončić and Kyrie Irving cut this lead all the way down to eight, but after a timeout Boston responded with their own 14–2 run to pull away.[12]
A moment of silence was held before the game in memory of Bill Walton, the two-time NBA champion – including in 1986 with the Celtics as their sixth man – and broadcaster, who died on May 27 of colorectal cancer at the age of 71. Walton's family was in attendance, and the Celtics players wore black shooting shirts bearing Walton's name with a tie-dye background while their jerseys had a black band with his name on the shoulder. Celtics team staff wore pins with a similar Walton tie-dye.[13]
Jrue Holiday led the Celtics to a 2–0 series lead with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Jaylen Brown added 21 points and 3 steals, while Jayson Tatum recorded a near-triple-double of 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 12 assists. For the Mavericks, Luka Dončić notched a triple-double of 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a losing effort, becoming the first player in Dallas franchise history to record a triple-double in the NBA Finals.
Boston held off a Mavericks comeback by winning the game to move on the brink of their 18th title. The Mavericks had a 22–2 run to cut Boston's lead to 93–92 but the Celtics responded with a 13–7 run of their own to seal the victory.
As was done for Bill Walton prior to Game 1, a moment of silence was held before the game for NBA legend Jerry West, who died earlier that same day at the age of 86.[14][15]
Led by Luka Dončić's 29 points, the Mavericks staved off elimination with a 122–84 blowout victory to cut Boston's series lead to 3–1. Kyrie Irving added 21 points for the Mavericks, while Tim Hardaway Jr. scored all of his 15 points in the fourth quarter. As for the Celtics, Jayson Tatum led his team with 15 points while Sam Hauser added 14, and Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday scored 10 each. The loss snapped a 10-game postseason winning streak, which began when the Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The Finals is televised in the United States by ABC (including local affiliates WCVB-TV in Boston and WFAA in Dallas) for the 22nd consecutive year. This marks the first Finals called by the team of play-by-play announcer Mike Breen, analysts Doris Burke and JJ Redick, and sideline reporter Lisa Salters.[19] This makes Burke the first woman to serve as a television analyst for a major men’s professional championship event.[20] Furthermore, this is the first Finals since 2006 without Jeff Van Gundy or Mark Jackson as commentators, as they were laid off after the previous year's finals.[21][22]
