The Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks are meeting in the NBA Finals, with the Celtics having home-court advantage due to a better regular-season record, thus the first game will be played in Boston.
The Celtics are chasing their first title since 2008, and a potential new championship would be their 18th in history, making them the sole record holders as they are currently tied with the Los Angeles Lakers with 17 titles each.
They reached this year’s finals in a very convincing manner, having lost only two games in the playoffs, and a big news for Boston is the return of the recovered Kristaps Porzingis for the finals.
On the other hand, the Mavericks, led by the brilliant Slovenian Luka Dončić, are in pursuit of their second NBA title in their history, after being led to their first by Dirk Nowitzki in 2011.
Dallas reached the finals despite not having home-court advantage in any series, as they were only fifth in the West with 50 wins and 32 losses.
The Mavericks also have no major injury issues, although the official report states that Dončić has a strained right knee and is experiencing pain in his left wrist. However, Dončić will still lead Dallas’s offense, and he has great support from a rejuvenated Kyrie Irving, who will have extra motivation given that his departure from Boston five years ago was not the most pleasant.
Finals schedule:
Game 1: Boston Celtics – Dallas Mavericks (June 7)
Game 2: Boston Celtics – Dallas Mavericks (June 10)
Game 3: Dallas Mavericks – Boston Celtics (June 13)
Game 4: Dallas Mavericks – Boston Celtics (June 15)
Game 5 (if necessary): Boston Celtics – Dallas Mavericks (June 18)
Game 6 (if necessary): Dallas Mavericks – Boston Celtics (June 21)
Game 7 (if necessary): Boston Celtics – Dallas Mavericks (June 24)
