One of the main reasons the Boston Celtics are so hard to beat is because they have so many players capable of scoring 10+ points on any given night, and that was evident in Game 1 of the Finals NBA 2024 Thursday evening.
The Celtics earned a 107-89 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden thanks to a total team effort offensively. Jaylen Brown led the team with 22 points. He was one of six Boston players to score in double figures, and Sam Hauser was pretty close with eight points.
The Celtics’ depth also allowed them to set a new Finals record. They became the first team in Finals history to have seven players hit two or more 3-pointers in a single game, according to NBC Sports Boston Celtics stats guru Dick Lipe.
Here is the full breakdown of Celtics players who scored at least one 3-pointer in Game 1:
- Jayson Tatum: 3 out of 7
- Derrick White: 3 out of 8
- Al Horford: 2 out of 5
- Jrue Vacations: 2 out of 5
- Kristaps Porzingis: 2 out of 4
- Sam Hauser: 2 out of 2
- Jaylen Brown: 2-of-6
The Celtics as a team shot 16 of 42 (38.1%) from 3-point range, improving their record to 69-8 this season (including the playoffs) when making over 32% of their 3-pointers .
The Celtics entered the Finals ranked first in 3-pointers made and attempted per game during the playoffs. It will likely be a short streak if the Celtics continue to hit more than 35 percent of their 3-point shots, especially if they take 40 or more each game.
