By Darryl Harding Sr-
On June 25th, 2015 with the 4th overall pick in the NBA draft, a fan was heard exclaiming, “who is this Tingus Pingus,” referring to Kristaps Porzingis. It is safe to say that Boston, along with Dallas, definitely knows who Porzingis is now.
Playing in his first ever finals playoff game, Porzingis persisted to let Dallas know that he was back. As a second highest scorer with 20 points overall, Porzingis hit jumpers that went in and barely hit the rim.
Although offensive production was prime, it was Porzingis’s defense, with three block shots and a plethora of defensive maneuvers, that altered Dallas’s shot making ability. Holding Dallas to under 25 points in each quarter and holding Kyrie Irving to only 12 points, Boston’s defense once again pronounced itself relevant.
Jaylen Brown was the high scorer for the Celtics, with 22 points, and Jason Tatum had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Although Luka Doncic had 30 points and 10 rebounds, he seemed to be the only Maverick that shined for Dallas.
Leading by 29 Points at the half, 58-29, Dallas returned to the game and in the third quarter brought the deficit down to eight points. It was at this point that the Celtics went on a 14-0 run and never looked back.
Outscoring Dallas by 33 points from the three-point line, Boston managed to keep Dallas’s 3-point shooting percentage just below 26%. Consistently over matching Dallas in every stat except for points in the paint, Boston continually applied defensive pressure and easily took game one 107-89.
Celtics return to the garden on Sunday at 8:00 for Game 2. “Last year was like a wake up call when we didn’t make it,” said Tatum in the post game press conference,” So getting back to this point and being here is really a big deal.”Sunday Celtics will look to dispel past Series game two woes and maintain home court advantage against Dallas.