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Dates | June 6–23[a] | |||||||||
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Eastern finals | Celtics defeated Pacers, 4–0 | |||||||||
Western finals | Mavericks defeated Timberwolves, 4–1 | |||||||||
The 2024 NBA Finals is the ongoing championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2023–24 season and conclusion to the season's playoffs. The best-of-seven playoffs is being played between the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics and the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks. The series began on June 6, with a possible Game 7 scheduled for June 23.[1]
Main article: 2023–24 Boston Celtics season |
The Boston Celtics finished the regular season as the best record in the NBA, with 64–18.[2] In the first round of the playoffs, they faced the Miami Heat in a rematch of the previous year's Eastern Conference Finals, and won the series 4–1. They then faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, winning again in five games. Finally, they swept the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Finals to reach the NBA Finals for the second time in three years and for the 23rd time in their history. Due to injuries to key players on all three opposing teams during their run through the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Celtics' path to the Finals was considered by media writers as one of the easiest in NBA history.[3]
A series win would give the Celtics their 18th championship, and break their tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in NBA history.[4] Their last win was in the 2008 NBA Finals. This is the Celtics' third Finals appearance where they played a team from Texas, as they previously defeated the Houston Rockets in the 1981 and 1986 Finals.[5][6]
Main article: 2023–24 Dallas Mavericks season |
The Dallas Mavericks finished the regular season as the fifth seed in the Western Conference with a 50–32 record.[7] The Mavericks made the playoffs after missing the stage last season where the team finished 38–44. The Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Clippers and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first and second rounds, respectively, winning each series in 6 games.[8][9] They then defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Conference Finals 4–1 to clinch their first NBA Finals appearance in 13 years. In their last appearance in 2011, the team, which featured current head coach Jason Kidd at point guard, won their first and only title.[10]
Further information: 2023–24 NBA season and 2024 NBA playoffs |
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Notes
Boston Celtics (Eastern Conference champion) | Dallas Mavericks (Western Conference champion) | ||
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Defeated the 8th seeded Miami Heat, 4–1 | First round | Defeated the 4th seeded Los Angeles Clippers, 4–2 | |
Defeated the 4th seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, 4–1 | Conference Semifinals | Defeated the 1st seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, 4–2 | |
Defeated the 6th seeded Indiana Pacers, 4–0 | Conference Finals | Defeated the 3rd seeded Minnesota Timberwolves, 4–1 |
The Celtics won the regular season series 2–0.
Game | Date | Road team | Result | Home team |
---|---|---|---|---|
Game 1 | June 6 | Dallas Mavericks | 89–107 (0–1) | Boston Celtics |
Game 2 | June 9 | Dallas Mavericks | 98–105 (0–2) | Boston Celtics |
Game 3 | June 12 | Boston Celtics | 106–99 (3–0) | Dallas Mavericks |
Game 4 | June 14 | Boston Celtics | 84–122 (3–1) | Dallas Mavericks |
Game 5 | June 17 | Dallas Mavericks | Boston Celtics | |
Game 6[b] | June 20 | Boston Celtics | Dallas Mavericks | |
Game 7[b] | June 23 | Dallas Mavericks | Boston Celtics |
June 6
8:30 pm |
Dallas Mavericks 89, Boston Celtics 107 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 20–37, 22–26, 24–23, 23–21 | ||
Pts: Luka Dončić 30 Rebs: Luka Dončić 10 Asts: Kyrie Irving 2 |
Pts: Jaylen Brown 22 Rebs: Jayson Tatum 11 Asts: Holiday, Tatum, White 5 each | |
Boston leads series, 1–0 |
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 19,156 Referees: Zach Zarba, Josh Tiven, Courtney Kirkland |
Boston's Kristaps Porziņģis returned from injury after not playing in a game for 38 days and recorded 20 points and three blocks off the bench. Luka Dončić led Dallas with 30 points as the Celtics held the Mavericks to just nine assists on its 35 field goals as a team.[11] The Celtics led by as many as 29 in the first half. In the third quarter, a 20–6 Mavericks run sparked by key shots from Dončić and Kyrie Irving cut this lead all the way down to eight, but after a timeout Boston responded with their own 14–2 run to pull away.[12]
A moment of silence was held before the game in memory of Bill Walton, the two-time NBA champion – including in 1986 with the Celtics as their sixth man – and broadcaster, who died on May 27 of colorectal cancer at the age of 71. Walton's family was in attendance, and the Celtics players wore black shooting shirts bearing Walton's name with a tie-dye background while their jerseys had a black band with his name on the shoulder. Celtics team staff wore pins with a similar Walton tie-dye.[13]
June 9
8:00 pm |
Dallas Mavericks 98, Boston Celtics 105 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 28–25, 23–29, 23–29, 24–22 | ||
Pts: Luka Dončić 32 Rebs: Luka Dončić 11 Asts: Luka Dončić 11 |
Pts: Jrue Holiday 26 Rebs: Jrue Holiday 11 Asts: Jayson Tatum 12 | |
Boston leads series, 2–0 |
Jrue Holiday led the Celtics to a 2–0 series lead with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Jaylen Brown added 21 points and 3 steals, while Jayson Tatum recorded a near-triple-double of 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 12 assists. For the Mavericks, Luka Dončić notched a triple-double of 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a losing effort, becoming the first player in Dallas franchise history to record a triple-double in the NBA Finals.
June 12
8:30 pm (7:30 pm CDT) |
Boston Celtics 106, Dallas Mavericks 99 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 30–31, 20–20, 35–19, 21–29 | ||
Pts: Jayson Tatum 31 Rebs: Jaylen Brown 8 Asts: Jaylen Brown 8 |
Pts: Kyrie Irving 35 Rebs: Dereck Lively II 13 Asts: Luka Dončić 6 | |
Boston leads series, 3–0 |
American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 20,311 Referees: Marc Davis, James Capers, Kevin Scott |
Boston held off a Mavericks comeback by winning the game to move on the brink of their 18th title. The Mavericks had a 22–2 run to cut Boston's lead to 93–92 but the Celtics responded with a 13–7 run of their own to seal the victory.
As was done for Bill Walton prior to Game 1, a moment of silence was held before the game for NBA legend Jerry West, who died earlier that same day at the age of 86.[14][15]
June 14
8:30 pm (7:30 pm CDT) |
Boston Celtics 84, Dallas Mavericks 122 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 21–34, 14–27, 25–31, 24–30 | ||
Pts: Jayson Tatum 15 Rebs: Jayson Tatum 5 Asts: Al Horford 4 |
Pts: Luka Dončić 29 Rebs: Dereck Lively II 12 Asts: Kyrie Irving 6 | |
Boston leads series, 3–1 |
American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 20,277 Referees: Scott Foster, David Guthrie, James Williams |
Led by Luka Dončić's 29 points, the Mavericks staved off elimination with a 122–84 blowout victory to cut Boston's series lead to 3–1. Kyrie Irving added 21 points for the Mavericks, while Tim Hardaway Jr. scored all of his 15 points in the fourth quarter. As for the Celtics, Jayson Tatum led his team with 15 points while Sam Hauser added 14, and Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday scored 10 each. The loss snapped a 10-game postseason winning streak, which began when the Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The Mavericks' 38-point win was the third largest in NBA Finals history, behind the Chicago Bulls' 42-point win against the Utah Jazz in 1998 and the Celtics' 39-point win against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008.[16]
Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster |
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Roster |
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Luka Dončić | 4 | 4 | 37.7 | .470 | .250 | .625 | 8.0 | 5.8 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 29.5 |
Kyrie Irving | 4 | 4 | 38.5 | .434 | .250 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 21.0 |
P. J. Washington | 4 | 4 | 32.2 | .432 | .353 | .750 | 6.3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 12.5 |
Daniel Gafford | 4 | 4 | 15.8 | .765 | — | .667 | 4.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 8.5 |
Derrick Jones Jr. | 4 | 4 | 23.4 | .409 | .250 | 1.000 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 5.8 |
Dereck Lively II | 4 | 0 | 22.5 | .733 | 1.000 | .429 | 9.3 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 6.5 |
Tim Hardaway Jr. | 3 | 0 | 13.0 | .357 | .455 | — | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 5.0 |
Jaden Hardy | 4 | 0 | 7.5 | .429 | .400 | 1.000 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.5 |
Dante Exum | 4 | 0 | 8.0 | .667 | .600 | — | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 3.8 |
Josh Green | 4 | 0 | 18.6 | .333 | .400 | .500 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 3.3 |
Markieff Morris | 1 | 0 | 12.0 | .200 | .333 | — | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
A. J. Lawson | 1 | 0 | 8.0 | .500 | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
Maxi Kleber | 4 | 0 | 16.6 | .222 | .250 | 1.000 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.8 |
Dwight Powell | 2 | 0 | 6.5 | — | — | — | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Olivier-Maxence Prosper | 1 | 0 | 5.4 | .000 | — | — | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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Jaylen Brown | 4 | 4 | 37.1 | .492 | .240 | .708 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 20.8 |
Jayson Tatum | 4 | 4 | 39.1 | .365 | .290 | .895 | 7.8 | 6.3 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 20.0 |
Jrue Holiday | 4 | 4 | 36.4 | .548 | .438 | 1.000 | 6.5 | 3.8 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 15.7 |
Derrick White | 4 | 4 | 36.4 | .386 | .371 | 1.000 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 13.8 |
Al Horford | 4 | 4 | 29.5 | .526 | .429 | — | 5.5 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 6.5 |
Kristaps Porziņģis | 2 | 0 | 21.9 | .600 | .286 | 1.000 | 5.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 16.0 |
Sam Hauser | 4 | 0 | 15.1 | .550 | .529 | 1.000 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.3 |
Payton Pritchard | 4 | 0 | 15.1 | .222 | .133 | — | 1.8 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 3.5 |
Oshae Brissett | 2 | 0 | 9.0 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 3.5 |
Xavier Tillman | 2 | 0 | 9.3 | .667 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 |
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk | 2 | 0 | 6.3 | .250 | .200 | — | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 |
Neemias Queta | 1 | 0 | 5.4 | 1.000 | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
Luke Kornet | 2 | 0 | 6.6 | .500 | — | — | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Jaden Springer | 1 | 0 | 8.0 | .000 | — | — | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Jordan Walsh | 1 | 0 | 5.4 | .000 | .000 | — | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
The Finals is televised in the United States by ABC (including local affiliates WCVB-TV in Boston and WFAA in Dallas) for the 22nd consecutive year. This marks the first Finals called by the team of play-by-play announcer Mike Breen, analysts Doris Burke and JJ Redick, and sideline reporter Lisa Salters.[19] This makes Burke the first woman to serve as a television analyst for a major men’s professional championship event.[20] Furthermore, this is the first Finals since 2006 without Jeff Van Gundy or Mark Jackson as commentators, as they were laid off after the previous year's finals.[21][22]
The Finals is broadcast on ESPN Radio with Marc Kestecher and P. J. Carlesimo as commentators, as well as Jorge Sedano as the reporter. This is the first Finals since 2019 without Doris Burke as a radio commentator for the Finals.[23]
See also: NBA Finals television ratings |
Game | Ratings (American households) |
American audience (in millions) |
Ref |
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1 | 5.7 | 10.99 | [24] |
2 | 6.2 | 12.31 | [25] |
3 | 6.0 | 11.43 | [26] |
4 | |||
5 | |||
Avg | 6.0 | 11.58 |