Doubts about the dominance of the Boston Celtics – and the health of one of them Kristaps Porziņģis – were quickly canceled Thursday night during Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Perhaps driven by the pleasure of making his debut in the final against a team that “basically, I abandoned it” Porziņģis hit Game 1 with a ferocity that many were hesitant to expect after missing 10 games of this postseason.
After taking a 107-89 beating from a full strength player Celtics squad, the Nonconformists we look up a steep hill to meet this series. But therein lies the potential plot twist – the Mavericks to have been here before. They lost in the first match against the Los Angeles Clippers 109-97 and in the first match against the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-95. They came back to win both games 2 and both series 4-2.
Of course, none of those opponents looked anything like this Celtics core, with Finals experience and a hunger for their stars’ first rings. So, who do our experts have for Game 2? We’ve got the NBA Finals odds and expert predictions ahead of Sunday night’s game.
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Dallas Mavericks vs. Boston Celtics
How to watch: 8 p.m. ET on ABC
The Celtics lead the series 1-0
Series odds: Celtics -450, Mavericks +340
The odds for Game 2 aren’t far off from Game 1, with a 7.5-point spread for Sunday compared to a 6.5-point spread heading into Thursday’s game, which Boston covered with flying colors.
It is the odds of the series which have seen a greater change. Before Game 1, Boston was -225 odds to win the series and the Mavs were +180. We are now at -450 for the Celts and +340 for the Mavs. No surprises after this confrontation in the first match.
The story of this match started as a story of star duos: Jayson Tatum And Jaylen Brown against. Luka Doncic And Kyrie Irving. It didn’t really work in Game 1 as Boston found a way to suppress Dallas’ star power to a large extent and both teams showed that their role players will be key to the championship.
Irving, in particular, was held to 12 points on 6 of 19 shooting. Dončić had a solid shooting night with 30 points on 12 of 26 field goals and grabbed 10 rebounds. PJ Washington showed why he is essential to this Dallas lineup with 14 points and eight rebounds.
But the Celtics’ strategy forced the Mavs’ stars to score more than create for their teammates. And it worked: Irving only had two assists (he averaged five per game in the playoffs) and Dončić only had one assist, which is only the fifth time ever. his career that he produced so little for the other scorers. He averaged 8.4 assists per game in the playoffs. The entire Mavericks roster had just nine assists, compared to 23 for Boston.
Meanwhile, on the Boston side, it was not only a star duo, but a dominant team. Six Celtics scored in double figures Thursday night, with the returning Porziņģis scoring 20 off the bench. Tatum had 16 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Brown had 22 points, six rebounds and two assists. Jrue VacationsThe over-under was a game-high plus-20. Seven Celtics players made at least two 3-pointers, which is a single-game record in the NBA Finals. They outscored the Mavericks by 27 from three. And that’s without even digging into their defense, which really won the game.
In our overview of the series, our experts were split on which Boston player would win Finals MVP if the Celtics won the series. That in itself is a testament to the balance of this team.
But don’t forget the path Dallas took to get here – a path of adversity and struggle, where they played their best basketball with their backs against the wall. They cut the Celtics’ lead from 29 points to eight in the third quarter. Dončić looked like he could outscore the entire Celtics team for a minute.
However, it seems clear that Boston is going to lose this series; and if these same two teams show up the same way again, the Celtics could easily sweep. But it’s hard to imagine Dallas can’t dig deep and find an answer. The question is when.
Expert Picks for Mavericks at Celtics
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More NBA Finals coverage
Jay King: Kristaps Porziņģis returns to Celtics and he’s ‘a nightmare’ for Mavericks
David Aldridge: The Celtics could have perfected the modern NBA offense
Tim Cato: Mavericks don’t panic because they’ve been here before
Steve Buckley: Celtics’ 14-0 response after timeout makes Joe Mazzulla look like a coaching assistant
Jared Weiss: Jaylen Brown takes over to lead Celtics to Game 1 victory
John Hollinger: If the Mavericks stars can’t beat the Celtics 1-on-1, this series is over
Joe Vardon: Kyrie Irving thought the Boston crowd was ‘going to be a little louder’
Murray Law: Similarities between this game and Clippers-Mavericks Game 1
(Photo by Kristaps Porziņģis: Matt Stone / MediaNews Group / Boston Herald via Getty Images)
