The Boston Celtics, behind a huge return from Kristaps Porzingis, have jumped out in front early in the NBA Finals.
The Celtics, who broke open a nearly 29-point lead in the first half, cruised to a dominant 107-89 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night at TD Garden. The Celtics have now won eight straight games, and they've won every single Game 1 they've played so far this postseason.
Luka Dončić and the Mavericks, on the other hand, are now playing from behind in their first NBA Finals appearance since they won the championship with Dirk Nowitzki in 2011. They had won five straight road games entering Thursday night, too.
Kristaps Porzingis powers huge Celtics run
Porzingis missed Boston’s last 10 games with a calf injury he first sustained in its opening-round series against the Miami Heat.
But after coming off the bench for just the second time in his career, he immediately made up for lost time. Porzingis put up eight points early in the first quarter — including a huge early dunk after he blew past Dereck Lively and a bucket in the face of Josh Green. That put the Celtics up by double digits and forced an early Mavericks timeout in the first period.
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