Surrounded by enthusiastic supporters at TD Garden, Jayson Tatum relished the moment as he made his way towards Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. Their adventure had come to an end. The Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 on Monday night to reclaim their title as NBA champions and won their 18th championship. Luka Doncic scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Dallas, but they couldn’t extend the series after avoiding a sweep with a big win in Game 4. The Mavericks had won all three previous Game 5s this postseason, with Doncic scoring over 31 points each time. Despite playing through chest, right knee, and left ankle injuries during the finals, Doncic didn’t use them as excuses for Dallas’ struggles. “It doesn’t matter how much I was hurt. I was out there,” he said. “I tried my best, but it wasn’t enough.”Kyrie Irving scored only 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting and has lost 13 of his last 14 games against the Celtics since leaving them in 2019 to join the Brooklyn Nets.Irving believes the Mavericks have a bright future ahead. “I see an opportunity for us to build a positive future, where we’re regularly competing for championships,” he said.Teams in the NBA are now winless in 157 postseason series after falling behind 3-0 Irving regretted leaving, however believes the future is great ahead of his current team. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd believes Doncic and his team will learn from this NBA Finals.
WORLD CLASS NBA PLAYER REGRETS LEAVING BOSTON CELTICS SECURE THEIR 18TH NBA CHAMPIONSHIP
