New York - Kristaps Porzingis dazzled in his return from injury and the Boston Celtics dominated on both ends of the floor to beat the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 in game one of the NBA Finals on Thursday (Friday in Manila).
Kristaps Porzingis (8) of the Boston Celtics dunks the ball against Dereck Lively II of the Dallas Mavericks during the first quarter in Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 6, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. AFP PHOTO
Porzingis, who missed 10 games after straining his right calf in the first round of the playoffs, made an immediate impact on his return as the Celtics built a 29-point lead in the first half then thwarted the Mavericks' third-quarter surge to gain the upper hand in the best-of-seven championship series in front of a raucous home crowd.
Porzingis came off the bench against his former team and scored 11 points with three rebounds and a pair of big blocks as Boston jumped to a 37-20 lead at the end of the first quarter.
After eight lead changes in little more than six minutes, the Celtics began to impose themselves, pulling away with the help of seven three-pointers in the first quarter alone and keeping up the relentless pace as the Mavs struggled to get their offense firing.
Boston finished with 16 three-pointers on a whopping 42 attempts. Jaylen Brown scored 22 points to lead six Celtics players who scored in double figures.
Porzingis finished with 20 and Jayson Tatum scored 16 points with 11 rebounds and five assists.