Boston's Depth Proves Too Much for Dallas
The Luka-Kyrie Duo Struggles, Celtics Ground Mavs Bigs
Boston Celtics put on a masterful performance in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, defeating the Dallas Mavericks 105-80 at TD Garden on Tuesday night. By dominating the Mavericks from start to finish. The Celtics took an early lead and never looked back, extending their lead to as many as 23 points in the third quarter.
The Celtics were led by Jayson Tatum, who scored 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Jaylen Brown added 28 points, and Marcus Smart chipped in with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The Mavericks were led by Luka Dončić, who finished with 23 points, but shot just 8-of-25 from the field. Kyrie Irving added 18 points, but was also inefficient, shooting 6-of-17 overall. The Celtics defense was able to limit the effectiveness of the Mavericks' star duo by forcing them to take difficult shots, denying their drives, and taking advantage of their penchant for turnovers.
The Celtics also dominated the game on the boards, outrebounding Dallas 56-44. The Mavericks simply could not match the size and physicality of the Celtics' frontcourt, which helped the Celtics control the tempo of the game.
The Celtics will look to take a 2-0 lead in the series when they host the Mavericks in Game 2 on Thursday night. The Mavericks, meanwhile, will need to find a way to generate more offense from their star players and improve their rebounding if they want to avoid falling into a 0-2 hole.
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