BOSTON — Jason Tatum was hunched over in tears as confetti rained down on him. He had finally achieved his dream as the Boston Celtics routed the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 to capture the 18th championship in franchise history on Monday night.
Tatum finished with 31 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds as he led the Celtics to the historic win, topping the Los Angeles Lakers for most championships in league history.
“It means the world,” Tatum said. “It’s been a long time. And damn I’m grateful.”
Jaylen Brown added 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and was voted the NBA Finals MVP.
“I share this with my brothers and my partner in crime Jayson Tatum,” Brown said after the 107th career playoff game he and Tatum have played together.
Jrue Holiday finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Celtics finished their postseason run with a record of 16-3 and finish with an 80-21 overall record when you count the regular season and playoffs.
Luka Doncic finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas, who made their first NBA Finals appearance in 13 years. Doncic was dealing with injuries to his chest, right knee and left ankle injuries but he refused to use that as an excuse for Dallas struggling.
“It doesn’t matter if I was hurt, how much was I hurt. I was out there,” he said. “I tried to play, but I didn’t do enough.”
Kyrie Irving finished with just 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
Mavs head coach Jason Kidd believes Doncic and his team will grow from the experience.
“I think the first step is just to be in it. I think that’s a big thing,” he said. “Yes, we lost 4-1, but I thought the group fought against the Celtics and just, unfortunately, we just couldn’t make shots when we had to, or we turned the ball over and they took full advantage of that.”
