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2024 NBA Finals

37-Day Layoff No Issue for Porzingis

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s veteran center Kristaps Porzingis wasn’t going to let a 37-day layoff slow him down during the biggest game of his NBA career.

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Playing in the NBA Finals for the first time, the Celtics big man returned from a 10-game absence to record 20 points off the bench and Boston snuffed a second-half rally to beat the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 on Thursday night in Game 1.

Porzingis hadn’t played since April 29 due to a right calf strain that he sustained during Game 4 of the Celtics’ first-round series against the Miami Heat. He quickly found his groove again, though, making 8 of 13 field-goal attempts while collecting six rebounds and three blocks in 21 minutes.

“Even if I have time off, I can jump right back in and I feel the same way,” Porzingis said. “I get to my spots … so whether it’s playoffs, regular season or whatever, I know how to do this. That’s it, just having that confidence, going out there whatever, first round or Finals, just going out there with full confidence and giving what I have to the team.”

Celtics Jump On Mavs in Game 1

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – There were two key questions coming into Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals.

  1. Would the Boston Celtics come out primed and well rested or flat after a nine day layoff resulting from a 4-0 sweep of the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals?
  2. Would Celtics’ center Kristaps Porzingis be healthy and effective after a month long injury hiatus resulting from a strained calf?

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The answers for the Celtics became evident in the very first quarter of this championship series as the Celtics jumped out to a 37-20 advantage and Porzingis led the way with 16 points on 4-of-5 FG shooting, including 1-of-2 from three-point land, 2-of-2 from the line. Porzingis also grabbed three rebounds and blocked two important Dallas shots in the first quarter to set the defensive tone Boston thrived on throughout their league-leading regular season and 12-2 march to the Finals.

The final score of Boston 107, Dallas 89 further answered tho0se questions.

Dallas All-NBA star Luka Doncic slugged it out and managed to score 30 points on 12-of-26 field goal shooting, including a horrid 4-of-12 from 3-point range and sub par 2-of-5 from the free throw line.

Porzingis played 7:17 of the first quarter, looked agile and worked pain free, posting up his defenders, passing well, running the pick and roll and sprinting the length of the floor to hit the defensive boards. The effort allowed Boston to cruise to a 63-42 halftime lead and establish control over the game, allowing only flurries of the Mavericks’ high powered offense to surface.

Boston two All-Stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum scored 22 and 16 points, respectively. Tatum led the Celtics with 11 rebounds. Boston had a narrow 47-43 edge on the boards and an impressive 32-20 advantage on bench scoring, much to the credit of Porzingis’ 20-point effort.

Winning Game 1 in the NBA Finals gives the Celtics a 70% chance of taking the best-of-seven game series which resumes this Sunday on the same TD Garden court.

Game 1 – 2024 NBA Finals

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Preview) – Welcome to Digital Sports Desk’s on-site coverage as the 2024 NBA Finals tipoff tonight with the Dallas Mavericks visiting the Boston Celtics in Game 1 at TD Garden. The Celtics are consensus 6.5-point favorites coming off their sweep of the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Meanwhile, the Mavericks seek to steal home-court advantage in their quest for the franchise’s first NBA title since 2011.

TRENDING
The underdog Mavericks have been popular with the public ahead of Game 1, which is understandable considering Dallas has covered the spread in seven of its past eight road games. The Mavericks have been backed by 74 percent of the spread-line money at BetRivers, where they have also drawn 57 percent of the moneyline handle at +200.

Boston has won eight consecutive games against Western Conference opponents, and the Celtics have won the first half in each of their past five meetings against the Mavs.

The Over/Under on the Vegas line was at 215.5 this morning, with the Over heavily supported with 84 percent of the money.

PROP PICKS
–Luka Doncic Over 31.5 Points (-110 at DraftKings): This has been the most popular player point total prop at the books, and Dallas’ superstar averaged 32.4 points in the team’s five-game win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals. That was a significant uptick from averaging 24.7 points in the six-game series win over Oklahoma City in the semis.

–Jaylen Brown Over 20.5 Points (-265 at BettingHero): The book reported 4.7 percent of the total player prop bets ahead of Game 1 have backed the Over on Brown’s point total. Dallas has a superior defense to Indiana’s, but Brown did average 29.8 points in the sweep of the Pacers while scoring at least 24 in each game.

STARS REBORN
Dallas guard Kyrie Irving and Boston big man Kristaps Porzingis find themselves pitted against their former teams, with Irving’s breakup with the Celtics much messier than Porzingis’ departure from the Mavericks.

Irving spent two seasons in Boston (2017-19) and told fans that he planned on re-signing with the Celtics. That didn’t happen, though, and Irving broke for the Brooklyn Nets once the summer rolled around. He has been met with boos when playing in Boston ever since, and his teams have lost the past six games against the Celtics.

But a hostile environment is the last thing Irving is worried about on the NBA’s biggest stage.

“There’s no fear out here, man. It’s basketball,” Irving said. “The fans are going to say what they’re going to say. I appreciate them and their relationship they have to the game. But it’s about the players at the end of the day.”

Dallas moved on from Porzingis at the 2022 trade deadline, shipping him to the Washington Wizards after deciding that he wasn’t the right piece to pair with Doncic.

“I don’t know why it didn’t work out,” Doncic said. “We were still both young. We tried to make it work, but it just didn’t work.”

DROUGHT STRICKEN
Both teams are trying to win a championship for the first time in over a decade. The Mavericks’ last title came in 2011, while Boston hasn’t gone all the way since 2008.

The Celtics had a golden opportunity to secure their 18th title in franchise history just two years ago, but they fell 4-2 to the Golden State Warriors in the Finals. Looking back on it now, Boston star Jayson Tatum thinks there was a silver lining in coming up short.

“It was a lesson to be learned,” Tatum said. “I told myself that if I ever got the opportunity again to make it to the Finals, that (I’d) never take it for granted. Obviously, we’re here now and thankful to be here.

“I’m excited to get ready to play and have fun (Thursday).”

Dallas, on the other hand, will be appearing in the Finals for the first time since its title run 13 years ago. Irving, Markieff Morris and Derrick Jones Jr. are the only Mavericks with experience in this stage of the postseason.

“Some of us for the Mavs have been here, some of us haven’t,” said Dallas coach Jason Kidd, who was the starting point guard on the Mavericks’ 2011 championship team. “We’re going to embrace that and find a way to hopefully win a series.”

INJURY REPORT
Beating the Celtics could get a lot harder depending on the health of Porzingis, who has missed the past 10 games due to a right soleus (calf) strain. Porzingis will be good to go for Game 1, but he’s unsure if he will be operating at 100 percent.

“I did as much as I could to prepare for this moment, but there’s nothing like game minutes and game experience that I’m going to get (Thursday),” Porzingis said. “It will be tough to jump into the Finals like this.”

PREDICTION
The Celtics have been riding a high since their improbable final-minute comeback against Indiana to kick off the conference finals. The 6.5-point line is a big one to swallow, so we’re more focused on Game 1 odds contributing to a slow start and backing the Under at 215.5 points. — Game 1: Celtics 109, Mavericks 104. Celtics in 7 for the NBA Finals.

–Field Level Media

Kyrie Irving “No Fear” As Finals Begin

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – A pair of stars will need no introduction when the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks meet for Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.

Dallas guard Kyrie Irving and Boston big man Kristaps Porzingis find themselves pitted against their former teams, with Irving’s breakup with the Celtics getting much messier than Porzingis’ departure from the Mavericks.

Irving spent two seasons in Boston and told fans that he planned on re-signing with the Celtics following the 2018-19 campaign.

That didn’t happen, though, and Irving broke for the Brooklyn Nets once the summer rolled around. He has been met with boos when playing in Boston ever since while posting an 0-10 record overall in his past 10 games against the Celtics.

But a hostile environment is the last thing Irving is worried about on the NBA’s biggest stage.

“There’s no fear out here, man. It’s basketball,” Irving said. “The fans are going to say what they’re going to say. I appreciate them and their relationship they have to the game. But it’s about the players at the end of the day.”

Dallas moved on from Porzingis at the 2022 trade deadline, shipping him to the Washington Wizards after deciding that he wasn’t the right piece to pair with star guard Luka Doncic.

“I don’t know why it didn’t work out,” Doncic said. “We were still both young. We tried to make it work, but it just didn’t work.”

History aside, both Irving and Porzingis are primarily concerned with helping their current teams lock up a championship for the first time in over a decade. The Mavericks’ last title came in 2011, while Boston hasn’t gone all the way since 2008.

The Celtics had a golden opportunity to secure their 18th title in franchise history just two years ago, but they fell 4-2 to the Golden State Warriors in the Finals. Looking back on it now, Boston star Jayson Tatum thinks there was a silver lining in coming up short.

“It was a lesson to be learned,” Tatum said. “I told myself that if I ever got the opportunity again to make it to the Finals, that (I’d) never take it for granted. Obviously, we’re here now and thankful to be here.

“I’m excited to get ready to play and have fun (Thursday).”

Dallas, on the other hand, will be appearing in the Finals for the first time since its title run 13 years ago. Irving, Markieff Morris and Derrick Jones Jr. are the only Mavericks with experience in this stage of the postseason.

“Some of us for the Mavs have been here, some of us haven’t,” said Dallas coach Jason Kidd, who was the starting point guard on the Mavericks’ 2011 championship team. “We’re going to embrace that and find a way to hopefully win a series.”

Beating the Celtics could get a lot harder depending on the health of Porzingis, who has missed the past 10 games due to a right soleus (calf) strain. Porzingis will be good to go for Game 1, but he’s unsure if he will be operating at 100 percent.

“I did as much as I could to prepare for this moment, but there’s nothing like game minutes and game experience that I’m going to get (Thursday),” Porzingis said. “It will be tough to jump into the Finals like this.”

– Field Level Media

Celtics’ Porzingis to Play in Finals

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis, who has not played since April 29 because of a calf injury, plans to be available for Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks.

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“That is the plan right now,” Porzingis said on Tuesday in his first public comments since May 4. “Again, it’s a couple more days, and I think that could make a difference. Every day gives me a bit more time to get even better.”

NBA Finals: Coach Joe Preaches

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – With a long wait for the NBA Finals begin, Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla made it known that there is one storyline he will not delve into any further in the days before Game 1, scheduled for this Thursday.

The relationship between Celtics stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum has been analyzed for years. Brown is Boston’s former No. 3 overall pick in 2016 out of Cal, and Tatum was selected No. 3 overall from Duke a year later.

The draft pick slots were acquired through a pair of savvy trades by the Celtics’ front office and have restored a winning culture to a legendary franchise, but drama has followed the duo since they were paired together in the NBA.

While talk of the fractured dynamic has slowed somewhat in recent years, Mazzulla was asked about it potentially being a talking point before Game 1 when the Dallas Mavericks visit Boston.

“I’m kind of (considering) how deep I want to get into that because the whole thing about that really (angers me),” Mazzulla said at a news conference Friday. “I think it’s unfair to both of them and I think it’s stupid that people have to use those two guys’ names and use information they don’t know to create click bait so that they can stay relevant.”

The Brown-Tatum duo has never missed the playoffs. In fact, they have led Boston to the Eastern Conference finals in five of the past seven seasons and into the NBA Finals this season and in 2022, when they fell to the Golden State Warriors.

A bruising forward with long-distance shooting range, Tatum has finished at least sixth in NBA MVP voting in each of the past three seasons. Brown, an All-Star in three of the past four seasons, is a scoring guard who has averaged at least 20 points in each of the past five seasons.

“It’s very unfair that those two get compared,” Mazzulla said. “They’re two completely different people, two completely different players. They’re great teammates, they love each other and they go about winning and they go about their process in a different way. So why they have to be lumped together I think is unfair and people just use it for their own (relevance).”

[Read more…] about NBA Finals: Coach Joe Preaches

Celtics Complete the Sweep

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INDIANAPOLIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Derrick White had missed seven of eight  3-point attempts when he found himself open in the right corner of the floor in the final minute of a tie game with an NBA Finals berth at stake.
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He watched Jaylen Brown handle the ball and was just waiting for his Boston Celtics teammate to deliver a pass. Once Brown did just that, it was White’s turn to make a play.
“Just was trusting that JB is going to make the right play like he has this entire year,” White said. “I got a good look and wanted to stay in the shot and knock it down.”
White drained the 3-pointer with 45 seconds left and the Celtics finished off a four-game sweep of the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals with a 105-102 victory on Monday night at Indianapolis.
“It’s a credit to him,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said of White. “He’s another guy who has short-term memory. The last (missed) shot doesn’t bother him, he plays with a sense of presence.”
Brown scored 29 points and Jayson Tatum added 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists as the top-seeded Celtics landed a spot in the Finals for the second time in the past three seasons.
“It’s been nothing but a grind,” Brown said. “We didn’t skip no steps all season. We have a bunch of great guys in this locker room. We have a bunch of tough guys and our coaching staff and front office has been great. Now we want to take it to the next step.”
Andrew Nembhard had 24 points and a playoff career-high 10 assists for the sixth-seeded Pacers, who lost in the East finals for the eighth time in nine trips. Indiana’s only victory was over the New York Knicks in 2000.
Boston overcame a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter while once again playing better basketball down the stretch.
A defensive breakdown by the Pacers left White standing alone in the right corner on the decisive shot. Brown, who was named the MVP of the series, spotted him and his pinpoint pass was on the mark, and White’s shot swished through the net.
Nembhard missed a 3-pointer with 33.6 seconds left and Tatum got the rebound. Indiana decided not to foul, and Tatum missed a trey with 8.3 seconds remaining. But Jrue Holiday collected the offensive rebound with 4.7 seconds left, and the Celtics ran out the clock.
It was Boston’s second straight comeback win in Indianapolis. The Celtics overcame an eight-point deficit with 2:38 left in Game 3 to post a 114-111 victory. Boston trailed by as many as 18 in that contest.
“We never say die,” Tatum said. “These were some tough games we had to play in, and we always find a way to figure it out. It’s different guys every single night and we sacrifice in order to reach our ultimate goal.”
Holiday had 17 points and nine rebounds and White added 16 points, five steals and three blocked shots for the Celtics, who will face either the Dallas Mavericks or Minnesota Timberwolves in the Finals.
Pascal Siakam had 19 points and 10 rebounds and T.J. McConnell added 15 points for Indiana. Aaron Nesmith scored 14 points and Obi Toppin added 12.
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring) missed his second straight game.
“The level of fight was tremendous all the way through this,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said of his team. “Circumstance never fazes them one way or the other. They were in this to win every possession that they could and any game that they could.
“A lot of respect to our players and how they conducted themselves in the series.”
The Celtics shot 44.9 percent from the field, including 14 of 44 from 3-point range. Indiana made 46 percent of its shot attempts and was 10 of 29 from behind the arc. McConnell scored six points in 64 seconds early in the fourth quarter to give the Pacers an 89-82 lead. A three-point play by Nembhard made it 94-85 with 8:57 remaining.
After Boston moved within four, Nesmith made back-to-back baskets to give Indiana a 98-90 lead with 5:56 to go. The Celtics answered with an 8-2 run, moving within 100-98 on Holiday’s three-point play with 3:54 remaining. Brown’s runner tied the score at 102 with 2:40 left.
Tatum scored 16 points before halftime as Boston led 58-57 at the break. Nembhard also tallied 16 points in the first half.
The Pacers took an 83-80 advantage into the final stanza but were outplayed by Boston down the stretch of a close game for the third time in the series. Indiana lost Game 1 in overtime.
“It’s hard because I think when you look at all those games, we were right there,” Siakam said. “It stings and it’s hard because I know how hard we work.
“It’s heartbreaking losses after heartbreaking losses. … It doesn’t matter how good we played. We didn’t get it done.”
–Field Level Media

Nuggets Open as NBA Faves in 2024

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LAS VEGAS – Fresh off capturing the first NBA championship in franchise history on Monday, the Denver Nuggets were installed by sportsbooks as favorites or co-favorites to repeat as champions.

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The Nuggets closed out the NBA Finals in Game 5, defeating the visiting Miami Heat 94-89 to end the best-of-seven series. Finals MVP Nikola Jokic amassed 28 points and 16 rebounds in the title-clinching win.

DraftKings listed Denver as a +500 favorite to win the championship again in 2024. The nearest followers per DraftKings are the Boston Celtics (+550), the Milwaukee Bucks (+650) and the Phoenix Suns (+850).

FanDuel posted Denver and Milwaukee as co-favorites at +460. The Celtics (+500) and the Suns (+700) are the only other teams with odds better than +1200, which is the number listed for both the Golden State Warriors and the Philadelphia 76ers.

BetMGM has the Nuggets at +500, followed by the Celtics (+550), the Bucks (+600) and the Suns (+850).

Others among the favorites according to FanDuel are the Cleveland Cavaliers (+1900), the Los Angeles Lakers (+1900), the Los Angeles Clippers (+2100), the Heat (+2500), the Dallas Mavericks (+2700) and the Memphis Grizzlies (+3000).

Per DraftKings, the other favorites aside from the top four are the Lakers (+1200), the Warriors (+1200), the 76ers (+1300), the Mavericks (+1300), the Clippers (+1500), the Heat (+1800) and the Grizzlies (+1900).

BetMGM’s other top contenders are Dallas, Golden State and the Lakers, all at +1200; the Clippers and Philadelphia, both at +1400; and Memphis and Miami, both at +2000.

The biggest longshots according to FanDuel are the Charlotte Hornets, Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons, all at +50000. DraftKings has the Hornets at +40000 and the Pistons alone at the bottom at +50000, while BetMGM has Charlotte and Detroit bringing up the rear at +50000.

Neither of this year’s finalists were among the top five favorites in odds posted right after the Golden State Warriors won the 2022 NBA Finals.