BOSTON – The Boston Celtics finally got over the hump. But unfortunately, it was against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Celtics lost in the 2017 and ’18 Eastern Conference Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers, in the 2020 and 2023 conference finals to the Miami Heat, and in the 2022 NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors. But the Celtics put all of those adversities aside with Monday’s 106-88 victory over the Mavs, which helped them win this season’s NBA title.
Afterwards, Boston forward Jaylen Brown took a walk down memory lane and described what these past seven seasons have been like for the Celtics.
“All of our adversity has made us stronger, made us tougher,” Brown said. “All season you could see it. We started from the jump, we made all the sacrifices, we played both ends of 
the ball at a high level (and) we didn’t skip any steps. And this was the result.
“But all of those experiences, like, led to here. All of the moments where we came up short, we felt like we let the city down, let ourselves down — all of that compiled is how we get to this moment. And it makes it feel even that much better that we had to go through all the journey, the heartbreak, the embarrassment, the loss, to get to the mountaintop.”
Even former Mavs center Kristaps Porzingis, who joined the Celtics in a trade with the Washington Wizards last June 23, played a major role in the Celtics reaching the mountaintop. Porzingis scored five points in 16 minutes in Game 5 in his first action since injuring his leg in Game 2 of this series.
“Man, from day one when I came in, my mindset was I’m going to give everything to this team and this city to try to win a championship here because I knew these guys have already been so close,” Porzingis said. “Yeah, once I got hurt it was a heartbreaking moment for me. I didn’t want to accept the truth. It was like, ‘No way it happened,’ right.
“But yeah, (Monday) was the night. I was like, ‘Listen, I’m going to give it everything I have.’ And yeah, I’m just super happy to be a part of this and give something to the team, and I’m super thankful for the support I’ve gotten from the fans. And (Monday) the arena was electric.”
Monday’s win gave the Celtics their 18th NBA title, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in the history of the league by one franchise. It also was just the Celtics’ second championship since the 1985-’86 season.
Here are the three takeaways from the Celtics’ 18-point win over the Mavs.
BROWN DID IT FOR CELTICS: Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown put the finishing touches on winning the Most Valuable Player trophy in the NBA Finals by scoring 21 points, collecting eight rebounds, distributing six assists and picking up two steals in Game 5. As Mavs coach Jason Kidd said earlier in the series, Brown is the Celtics’ best player. He 
doesn’t have all of the individual accolades as his teammate, Jayson Tatum. But he is clearly the Celtic’ best player. And now he has the hardware to prove it.
ENDING THE FIRST TWO QUARTERS: All anyone has to do is look at what happened in the final stages of the first and second quarters, and they’ll see where this game was decided. The Celtics outscored the Mavs, 9-0, in the final 1:55 of the first quarter. And they ended the second quarter on a 19-7 run in the final 4:53, including a half court shot by Payton Pritchard at the buzzer that gave Boston a 67-46 lead. Add those up and that’s a 21-point difference in a game that was decided by 18 points. Closing those two quarters with a bang helped the Celtics close out this series.
WORKING THE BOARDS: When it came to grabbing rebounds in Game 5, it appears as though the Celtics where everywhere at once. And it wasn’t just one member of the Celtics who helped Boston gain a sizeable 51-35 advantage on the boards. All five starters for the Celtics grabbed at least eight rebounds apiece. That includes Jrue Holiday (11), Al Horford (nine), Jayson Tatum (eight), Derrick White (eight) and Jaylen Brown (eight). Boston also outrebounded the Mavs, 15-7, on the offensive end, including four each by Holiday and White.
X: @DwainPrice
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