While the TD Garden crowd went wild in jubilation, Jayson Tatum put his hands over his head to soak it all in.

As he walked to the bench, he embraced Joe Mazzulla, the Celtics’ coach, with both arms.

The trip was over.

 

The Boston Celtics have won the NBA title for the second year in a row.

With a 106-88 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night, the Celtics won their 18th title, tying them with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in league history. Tatum contributed 31 points, 11 assists, and 8 rebounds.

On the 16th anniversary of their last Larry O’Brien Trophy triumph in 2008, Boston won their most recent championship. One of the city’s Big 4 professional sports organizations has won a championship this century for the thirteenth time.As the team accepted the trophy from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Tatum made a statement on stage, expressing how much it meant to him. “A very long time has passed. My goodness, I am thankful.

The most valuable player of the NBA Finals was Jaylen Brown, who had 21 points, 8 boards, and 6 assists.

“I share this with my brothers and my partner in crime Jayson Tatum,” Brown said following their 107th postseason game together, which is the most for any duo before winning a championship.

The final tally was 15 points and 11 boards for Jrue Holiday. Coming off a two-game layoff due to a dislocated tendon in his left ankle, center Kristaps Porzingis added five points in seventeen minutes, providing another morale boost for the team.

As a result of their contributions, the Celtics were able to cap off a 16-3 playoff run and an 80-21 season. With a winning percentage of.792, the club is second all-time, behind only the 1985–86 Celtics championship squad’s 82–18 record (.820).

Mazzulla became the youngest coach to win a title in his second season at the age of 35, surpassing Bill Russell’s 1969 mark.

In life, “you have very few chances to be great,” Mazzulla quipped.

After escaping a sweep in Game 4 with a 38-point victory, Luka Doncic finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas. Unfortunately, they were unable to prolong the series. Doncic had scored 31 or more points in each of the Mavericks’ three playoff Game 5 victories this season.

Despite leaving the Celtics for the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2019, Kyrie Irving only managed 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting and the team has lost 13 of its last 14 meetings against them.

After being behind 3-0 in a playoff series, NBA teams are at 0-157.

The enthusiasm of the Garden audience helped Boston maintain a 26-point lead the whole game.

With eight points apiece from Tatum and Brown, the Celtics ended the first quarter on a 12-3 burst, pulling within 16-15.

When the Mаvericks cut а 15-pоint leаd tо nine pоints in the secоnd quаrter, the Celtics repeаted the mоve. Pаytоn Pritchаrd’s hаlf-cоurt buzzer beаter, his secоnd оf the series, cаpped а 19-7 surge thаt Bоstоn used tо end the sessiоn аnd put them up 67-46 аt hаlftime.

The Mavericks were outscored 22-4 by the Celtics in the final two minutes of the first and second quarters.

In the end, the Celtics were unstoppable.

Jeannine Russell, the widow of Russell, and Karen Russell, the daughter of Russell, were there at TD Garden to pay tribute to the latest crop of Celtics champions.

They saw Tatum and Brown, two current Celtics stars, get championship rings. Eventually, Boston used the draft picks it received in the trade that transferred 2008 champs Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn in 2013 to choose Brown and Tatum third overall in the 2016 and 2017 selections.

This season, the All-Stars really shone as they captained a Celtics squad that was based on making and taking a lot of three-pointers and had the best defense in the league going into the playoffs.

On four separate occasions, the two of them were teammates and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals.

In their fifth consecutive deep playoff run, they crossed the finish line as a team.

Fоllоwing periоds оf оffensive struggles thrоughоut the series, Tatum and Brоwn finally fоund their stride in Game 5, scоring 31 pоints and dishing оut 11 assists in the first half.

The postseason dominance of Boston Celtics, known for their ability to stretch the floor, distribute the ball well, and wreak havoc on defense, was amplified by this.

In addition, the Celtics’ championship season came to a year after a disorienting run that began in 2022 when they lost in the finals to the Warriors and continued last year when they were eliminated in the conference finals by the Heat in Game 7 at home.