Banner 18 has recently come to pass. The Boston Celtics solidified their 16-year reign as NBA champions on Monday by dominating the Dallas Mavericks. For Jayson Tatum and the majority of the team, it was their first championship. The forward was as happy as it gets to win a chip, and that’s precisely why. In a post-match interview, Tatum expressed his feelings by making a message directed at all of the doubters.
In Game 5, Jayson Tatum takes the lead.
Tatum proved to the world why he is a superstar after receiving backlash from fans for his performance in the first two games of the finals. In front of a mocking American Airlines Center, the 26-year-old ended with 31 points during Game 3. Even though the Celtics lost Game 4, on Monday the stars were finally on the green and white team’s side, and Jayson Tatum’s performance set the bar high.
He nearly recorded a triple-double in Game 5 with 31 points (again), 11 rebounds, and 8 assists. Tatum played with aggression the whole way, fiercely going to the hoop for layups and dishing out assists to teammates when the defense gave up.
And luckily for him, everyone else was on fire. The Celtics made 10 threes in the first half. Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Sam Hauser were all drilling their attempts from deep. By halftime, the lead ballooned to 21 points.
Never again would the Celtics turn around. For the next two quarters, they persisted in playing aggressive defense and a free-flowing offense. Tatum made sure that Boston will be a city of champions once more in the fourth quarter with 11 points.
On Monday, it was evident that the Celtics simply desired it more. 51-35, they outrebounded Dallas. Specifically, White and Holiday demonstrated why they rank among the league’s scrappiest backcourts. Even though they are both 6-foot-4, they managed to grab four offensive rebounds apiece in the Mavericks game. White actually got a chipped tooth after a loose-ball dive.
The pressure to win it all was on Boston the entire year. Anything less than a championship was viewed as a failure because they had the best record in the league. Jayson Tatum and the Celtics lived up to the hype on June 17, the day the 2008 banner was won, winning the championship once and for all.
As a unit, the Celtics were just unbeatable.
Based on the data, it was a collaborative effort. Because of his steady play throughout the series, Brown won the NBA Finals MVP award with a final line of 21 points and 8 rebounds. Jrue Holiday put on another outstanding two-way performance with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds. White scored 14 points on four three-pointers and pulled down eight rebounds.