The Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday, earning the franchise a record 18th championship<\/b>
\nThe Boston Celtics emerged victorious in the 2024 NBA Finals and made some basketball history along the way.
Boston defeated the Dallas Mavericks 106-85 in Game 5 on Monday, June 17, earning the franchise their record 18th NBA title, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Jayson Tatum led the way for the Celtics with 31 points, earning his first championship ring.
With green-and-white confetti falling on top of him, Tatum, 26, celebrated on the floor of Boston\u2019s TD Garden with his son Deuce, 6.
\u201cThis is a surreal feeling,\u201d Tatum said in his post-game interview with ESPN\u2019s Lisa Salters. \u201cWe did it. We did it! Oh my God, we did it.\u201d
Tatum continued, \u201cFirst of all, God is the greatest. Not because we won, but to put me in positions to maximize my God-given ability, to surround me with these guys, my family. This is an incredible feeling. I\u2019m at a loss for words.\u201d
Salters asked Tatum \u2014 who was drafted with the third overall pick by the Celtics in 2017 \u2014 about bouncing back from a blowout loss to the Mavericks in Game 4, a game which Boston lost 122-84.
\u201cWe responded all year,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cThis is no different. We owed our crowd, our fans. It\u2019s been a long journey.
Tatum\u2019s teammate Jaylen Brown, who scored 21 points in Game 5, also earned his first NBA championship ring and took home the Bill Russell Award for NBA Finals MVP.
\u201cIt was a full team effort,\u201d Brown told Salters after winning the MVP award. \u201cI share this with my brothers and my partner in crime, Jayson Tatum. He was with me the whole way.\u201d
Brown, 27, was selected with the third overall pick by the Celtics in 2016. When asked by Salters about how he was able to rise to the occasion in the Finals, Brown said, \u201cMy faith in the most high. Just believing in my teammates, my coaching staff. Just being grateful. I\u2019ve been grateful for every moment, every opportunity. I never hung my head.\u201d
It was also a big night for Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, who won his first NBA championship in his second season as Boston\u2019s head coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the best fans in the world,\u201d Mazzulla, 35, told Salters. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing better than representing the Celtics.\u201d
When asked about embracing the team\u2019s high expectations all season, Mazzulla said, \u201cyou get very few chances in life to be great.\u201d
\u201cYou get very few chances in life to carry on the ownership and the responsibility of what these banners are,\u201d he continued, \u201cand all the great people, all the great players that came here. When you have chances in life, you just gotta take the bull by the horns and you gotta just own it. Our guys owned it.\u201d<\/p>\n