Jaylen Brown scored 22 points, Kristaps Porziņģis added 20 in his first game in more than a month and the Boston Celtics edged past the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.
Derrick White finished with 15 points for Boston, which led with 29 points in the first half and made 16 3-pointers in a strong start to its quest for an 18th NBA title.
Porziņģis, sidelined since April 29 with a right calf strain, came off the bench and immediately provided a spark, adding six rebounds and three blocks in 21 minutes. Six Celtics finished in double figures.
Dallas closed the deficit to eight points in the third quarter, but Boston quickly pulled away.
Luka Dončić led Dallas with 30 points. PJ Washington added 14 points and eight rebounds. But Dallas otherwise couldn’t find any offensive consistency, totaling just nine assists on their 35 field goals for the game.
Former Celtic Kyrie Irving struggled throughout and finished with 12 points. He received loud and extensive boos on Thursday when he was introduced before the game. It continued throughout the game whenever he touched the ball.
The treatment came after Irving sparred with Boston fans and was fined for using an obscene gesture during a 2022 playoff visit to TD Garden.
The Celtics, seeking their first championship since 2008, showed little rust after their 10-day layoff after beating the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.
They were full of energy throughout, sharing the ball in the half and getting the ball to the shooters for open threes. They also attacked the interior of the Dallas defense and got to the rim for several dunks.
Meanwhile, aside from Dončić, who shot 12 of 26 from the field, Dallas struggled to get into sets early and couldn’t find a consistent groove offensively.
The Mavericks led by one midway through the first quarter. The Celtics responded by outscoring them 44-16, making it 58-29 in the second.
Things changed over the next 12 minutes of game action as Dallas used a 35-14 run, including 15 points from Dončić, to cut Boston’s lead to 72-64. But Boston closed the third quarter on a 14-2 spurt to regain the lead at 86-66 entering the fourth.
Dallas had just five assists through the first three quarters, the fewest any NBA team has had in any game over 36 minutes over the past three seasons.
Porziņģis ended his ten-game hiatus when he came off the bench with 7:17 left in the first quarter in place of starter Al Horford. With the exception of a white compression stocking on his right leg, it was difficult to tell that Porziņģis suffered an injury.
He quickly got into the mix and knocked down a pair of free throws after being fouled by Dončić. One possession later, the Latvian made his first field goal when he fell over Dončić with a short jumper.
He wasn’t done yet.
A few minutes later, he went wild in the paint for a two-handed dunk over Derrick Lively. On Dallas’ next possession, Porziņģis was there to bat away Jaden Hardy’s layup attempt. The Celtics pushed the ball up the court and got the ball back to their big man, who calmly buried a 16-footer.
It was part of a 17-5 surge by Boston in the final 5:24 of the quarter, in which Porziņģis went 4 for 5 from the field, scored 11 points, blocked two shots and grabbed three rebounds. Boston had a 37-20 lead in the second quarter.
Porziņģis finished the half with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting.