2024 NBA Finals
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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]
Background[edit]
Dallas Mavericks[edit]
The Dallas Mavericks finished the regular season as the fifth seed in the Western Conference with a 50–32 record.[2] 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.[3][4] 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.[5]
Boston Celtics[edit]
The Boston Celtics finished the regular season as the best record in the NBA, with 64–18.[6] Throughout the playoff run, they faced the Miami Heat in the first round, 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 the series 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 with their last win dating back to 2008 NBA Finals. 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.[7] 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.[8]
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.[9][10]
Road to the Finals[edit]
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Notes
- z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
- c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
- y – Clinched division title
- x – Clinched playoff spot
- pi – Clinched play-in tournament spot
- * – Division leader
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 |
Regular season series[edit]
The Celtics won the regular season series 2–0.
Series summary[edit]
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 | Boston Celtics | |
Game 3 | June 12 | Boston Celtics | Dallas Mavericks | |
Game 4 | June 14 | Boston Celtics | Dallas Mavericks | |
Game 5[b] | June 17 | Dallas Mavericks | Boston Celtics | |
Game 6[b] | June 20 | Boston Celtics | Dallas Mavericks | |
Game 7[b] | June 23 | Dallas Mavericks | Boston Celtics |
Game summaries[edit]
- Note: Times are EDT (UTC−4) as listed by the NBA. For games in Dallas, the local time is also given (CDT, UTC−5).
Game 1[edit]
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 |
Boston's Kristaps Porziņģis returned from injury 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 2-time NBA champion – including in 1986 with the Celtics as their sixth man – and broadcaster, who had died on May 27th 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 in tie-dye.[13]
Game 2[edit]
Game 3[edit]
Game 4[edit]
Game 5[edit]
Game 6[edit]
Game 7[edit]
Rosters[edit]
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Roster |
Player statistics[edit]
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 | 1 | 1 | 38.2 | .462 | .333 | .400 | 10.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | .0 | 30.0 |
P. J. Washington | 1 | 1 | 36.1 | .455 | .000 | .667 | 8.0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 14.0 |
Kyrie Irving | 1 | 1 | 36.5 | .316 | .000 | — | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | .0 | 12.0 |
Daniel Gafford | 1 | 1 | 14.3 | 1.000 | — | 1.000 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0 | 8.0 |
Derrick Jones Jr. | 1 | 1 | 28.8 | .222 | .500 | — | 6.0 | .0 | 1.0 | .0 | 5.0 |
Jaden Hardy | 1 | 0 | 10.7 | .500 | .333 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 13.0 |
Josh Green | 1 | 0 | 20.3 | .250 | 1.000 | — | 3.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 3.0 |
Maxi Kleber | 1 | 0 | 18.7 | 1.000 | — | — | .0 | 1.0 | .0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
Dereck Lively II | 1 | 0 | 18.5 | 1.000 | — | .000 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0 | 2.0 |
Tim Hardaway Jr. | 1 | 0 | 7.7 | .000 | .000 | — | .0 | .0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 |
Dante Exum | 1 | 0 | 5.3 | — | — | — | 2.0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
Dwight Powell | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | — | — | — | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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Jaylen Brown | 1 | 1 | 37.2 | .583 | .333 | .545 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 22.0 |
Jayson Tatum | 1 | 1 | 42.2 | .375 | .429 | .500 | 11.0 | 5.0 | .0 | 1.0 | 16.0 |
Derrick White | 1 | 1 | 35.2 | .455 | .375 | 1.000 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 | .0 | 15.0 |
Jrue Holiday | 1 | 1 | 34.9 | .444 | .400 | 1.000 | 8.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 | .0 | 12.0 |
Al Horford | 1 | 1 | 29.8 | .500 | .400 | — | 7.0 | 3.0 | .0 | 2.0 | 10.0 |
Kristaps Porziņģis | 1 | 0 | 20.6 | .615 | .500 | 1.000 | 6.0 | .0 | .0 | 3.0 | 20.0 |
Sam Hauser | 1 | 0 | 16.0 | .750 | 1.000 | — | 4.0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 8.0 |
Luke Kornet | 1 | 0 | 3.3 | 1.000 | — | — | 1.0 | .0 | 1.0 | .0 | 2.0 |
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk | 1 | 0 | 2.7 | 1.000 | — | — | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
Payton Pritchard | 1 | 0 | 15.5 | .000 | .000 | — | 2.0 | 2.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
Oshae Brissett | 1 | 0 | 2.7 | — | — | — | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
- Bold: team high
Media coverage[edit]
The Finals will be televised in the United States by ABC (including local affiliates WCVB-TV in Boston and WFAA in Dallas) for the 22nd consecutive year. This will mark 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.[14] This makes Burke the first woman to serve as a television analyst for a major men’s professional championship event.[15] Furthermore, this will be 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.[16][17]
The Finals will also be broadcast on ESPN Radio with Marc Kestecher and P. J. Carlesimo as commentators, as well as Jorge Sedano as the reporter. This will be the first Finals since 2019 without Doris Burke as a radio commentator for the Finals.[18]
Viewership[edit]
Game | Ratings (American households) |
American audience (in millions) |
Ref |
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1 | |||
2 | |||
3 | |||
4 | |||
Avg |
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "2024 NBA Finals Schedule". NBA.com. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ Vardon, Joe. "NBA regular season ends with a thriller and shifting standings". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^ "Mavs finish off Clippers; Lakers fire coach". Philstar.com. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^ "Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavericks Achieve 17-Point Comeback Win Over OKC Thunder, Clinch WCF Bid". Dallas Basketball. May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^ "Here's the last time the Dallas Mavericks went to the NBA Finals". wfaa.com. May 30, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^ Buckley, Zach (April 4, 2024). "Celtics clinch best record, Suns enter top 6". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- ^ Jones, Tony (June 4, 2024). "Yes, Celtics had the easiest path to the NBA Finals, but how much does it matter?". The New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
- ^ Zillgitt, Jeff (May 28, 2024). "Boston Celtics now just four wins from passing Los Angeles Lakers for most NBA titles". USA Today. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^ Quinn, Justin (May 14, 2023). "On this day: Celtics win '81 championship vs. Rockets; Braun signed". USA Today. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
- ^ Yalung, Brian (June 1, 2024). ""It's just like you against the world" - Kevin McHale was worried going up against the Rockets on the road in the 1986 NBA Finals". Basketball Network. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
- ^ "Celtics rout Mavericks 107-89 in Game 1 of NBA Finals behind Brown, returning Porzingis". ESPN. AP. June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
- ^ Young, Ryan (June 6, 2024). "2024 NBA Finals: Celtics dominate Mavericks in Game 1 win as Kristaps Porziņģis shines in return". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
- ^ Golen, Jimmy (June 6, 2024). "Celtics pay tribute to 1986 champion Bill Walton before Game 1 of the NBA Finals". National Basketball Association. Associated Press. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
- ^ Rajan, Ronce (February 15, 2024). "JJ Redick Joins Mike Breen, Doris Burke and Lisa Salters on ESPN's Lead NBA Broadcast Team". ESPNPressRoom.com. ESPN Interactive Media. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ Tapp, Tom (August 14, 2023). "ESPN Revamps No. 1 On-Air NBA Announcing Team & Sets Up History-Making Finals Run For Doris Burke". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
- ^ Deitsch, Richard (June 30, 2023). "Jeff Van Gundy, Jalen Rose out at ESPN amid network's cuts". The New York Times. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ Reedy, Joe (July 31, 2023). "Mark Jackson laid off by ESPN with Doris Burke and Doc Rivers slated as replacement". Associated Press News. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ "Bang! 2024 NBA Finals Presented By YouTube TV on ABC: Boston Celtics vs. Dallas Mavericks Tips Off June 6". ESPN Press Room U.S. June 3, 2024. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
External links[edit]
- 2024 NBA Finals official website
- 2024 NBA Finals at Basketball-Reference.com