One of the main reasons the Boston Celtics have a hard time losing is because they have so many players capable of scoring 10 or more points in a game, and that was evident in Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals on Thursday night.
The Boston Celtics used their collective offensive power to a 107-89 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden. Jaylen Brown led the team with 22 points. He was one of six Boston players to score in double figures, with Sam Hauser coming close with eight points.
The Celtics' depth also led to them setting a new Finals record: They became the first team in Finals history to have seven players make at least two 3-pointers in a game, according to NBC Sports Boston's Celtics stats guru Dick Lipe.
Here's the complete breakdown of Celtics players who made at least one 3-point shot in Game 1:
- Jayson Tatum: 3/7
- Derrick White: 3/8
- Al Horford: 2/5
- Jrue Holiday: 2/5
- Kristaps Porzingis: 2/4
- Sam Hauser: 2/2
- Jaylen Brown: 2/6
As a team, the Celtics made 16 of 42 3-point attempts (38.1 percent) and improved to 69-8 this season (including playoffs) when shooting better than 32 percent from the 3-point line.
The Celtics entered the Finals ranked first in both three-pointers made and attempted per game during the playoffs, and this series will likely be a short one if the Celtics maintain an average of 35% or better from three, especially if they make more than 40 per game.
