The Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 on Monday night to win a record 18th NBA championship, one more than their former rivals the Los Angeles Lakers.

When you have few chances in life, you’ve got to take the bull by the horns and you’ve got to own it, and our guys owned it,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla at the trophy presentation ceremony.

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What many expected to be a difficult series turned out to be a walk in the park for the Celtics, who won on their home court after leading by 21 points at halftime and remaining ahead throughout the night. The Celtics’ 4-1 series victory was never in doubt, even when the Mavericks won Game 4 by 38 points last Friday. The same could be said about the Celtics’ whole postseason run, in which they lost only three games.

 

 

“We’ve responded all year and this was no different,” said Celtics forward Jayson Tatum after the game, when asked how the Game 4 blowout affected Monday night’s performance. “We owed our fans, it been a long journey. It’s been a long journey.”

 

Tatum, who was chosen to the All-NBA first team for the third time this season, performed admirably on Monday night, scoring 31 points, 11 assists, and grabbing eight rebounds. The Celtics’ victory occurred exactly 16 years after they last won the NBA title in 2008.