Celtics win 18th NBA championship with 106-88 Game 5 victory over Dallas Mavericks

BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum put his hands behind his head, with TD Garden fans standing on their feet cheering around him, and took it all in.

Walking to the bench, he wrapped both arms around Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla.

The journey was complete.

The Boston Celtics again stand alone among NBA champions.

Tatum had 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, and the Celtics topped the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 on Monday night to win the franchise’s 18th championship, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in league history.

Boston earned its latest title on the 16th anniversary of hoisting its last Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2008. It marks the 13th championship won this century by one of the city’s Big 4 professional sports franchises.

“It means the world," Tatum said on stage after the team received the trophy from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. "It’s been a long time. And damn I’m grateful.”

Jaylen Brown added 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and was voted the NBA Finals MVP.

“I share this with my brothers and my partner in crime Jayson Tatum," Brown said after the 107th career playoff game he and Tatum have played together — the most for any duo before winning a title.

Jrue Holiday finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Center Kristaps Porzingis also provided an emotional lift, returning from a two-game absence because of a dislocated tendon in his left ankle to chip in five points in 17 minutes.

They helped the Celtics cap a postseason that saw them go 16-3 and finish with an 80-21 overall record. That .792 winning percentage ranks second in team history behind only the Celtics’ 1985-86 championship team that finished 82-18 (.820).

Mazzulla, in his second season, at age 35 also became the youngest coach since Bill Russell in 1969 to lead a team to a championship.

“You have very few chances in life to be great,” Mazzulla said.

Luka Doncic finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas, which failed to extend the series after avoiding a sweep with a 38-point win in Game 4. The Mavericks had been 3-0 in Game 5s this postseason, with Doncic scoring at least 31 points in each of them. He said the chest, right knee and left ankle injuries he played through during the finals weren't an excuse for Dallas struggling throughout the series.

“It doesn’t matter if I was hurt, how much was I hurt. I was out there,” he said. “I tried to play, but I didn’t do enough.”

Kyrie Irving finished with just 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting and has lost 13 of the last 14 meetings against the Celtics team he left in the summer of 2019 to join the Brooklyn Nets.

Irving thinks better things are ahead for the Mavs.

“I see an opportunity for us to really build our future in a positive manner, where this is almost like a regular thing for us and we’re competing for championships,” he said.

NBA teams are now 0-157 in postseason series after falling into a 3-0 deficit.

Mavs coach Jason Kidd believes Doncic and his team will grow from this NBA Finals experience.

“I think the first step is just to be in it. I think that’s a big thing,” he said. “Yes, we lost 4-1, but I thought the group fought against the Celtics and just, unfortunately, we just couldn’t make shots when we had to, or we turned the ball over and they took full advantage of that.”

Boston never trailed and led by as many as 26, feeding off the energy of the Garden crowd.

Dallas was within 16-15 early before the Celtics closed the first quarter on a 12-3 run that included eight combined points by Tatum and Brown.

The Celtics did it again in the second quarter when the Mavericks trimmed what had been a 15-point deficit to nine. Boston ended the period with a 19-7 spurt that was capped by a a half-court buzzer beater by Payton Pritchard – his second such shot of the series – to give Boston a 67-46 halftime lead.

Over the last two minutes of the first and second quarters, the Celtics outscored the Mavericks 22-4.

The Celtics never looked back.

Russell’s widow, Jeannine Russell, and his daughter Karen Russell were in TD Garden to salute the newest generation of Celtics champions.

They watched current Celtics stars Tatum and Brown earn their first rings. It was the trade that sent 2008 champions Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn in 2013 that netted Boston the draft picks it eventually used to select Brown and Tatum third overall in back-to-back drafts in 2016 and 2017.

The All-Stars came into their own this season, leading a Celtics team that was built around taking and making a high number of 3-pointers, and a defense that rated as the league’s best during the regular season.

The duo made it to at least the Eastern Conference finals as teammates four previous times.

They finally reached the finish line in their fifth deep playoff run together.

After both struggling at times offensively in the series, Tatum and Brown hit a groove in Game 5, combining for 31 points and 11 assists in the first half.

It helped bring out all the attributes that made Boston the NBA’s most formidable team this postseason – spreading teams out, sharing the ball, and causing havoc on defense. And even chipping a tooth, like Derrick White did after he was landed on by Dereck Lively II.

“I'll lose all my teeth for a championship,” White said.

And it put a championship bow on a dizzying stretch for the Celtics, that saw them lose in the finals to the Golden State Warriors in 2022 and then fail to return last season after a Game 7 home loss to the Miami Heat in the conference finals.

Tatum vowed that night to erase the sting of those disappointments.

Standing in a sea of confetti Monday night he was reminded by his 6-year-old son, Deuce, of what he'd accomplished.

“He told me that I was the best in the world,” Tatum said. “I said, ‘You’re damn right I am.’”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Boston Celtics fans react outside the TD Garden following the team's victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals in Boston Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Boston Celtics head coach JJoe Mazzulla, center right, raises the trophy beside owner Stephen Pagliuca, center left, after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics fans attempt to light a Dallas Mavericks jersey on fire outside the TD Garden following the Celtics victory over the Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals in Boston, Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown, center, raises the MVP trophy after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum, center, raises the trophy after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Confetti falls after the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, center, holds the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy as he celebrates with the team after they won the NBA basketball championship with a Game 5 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum holds, center, up the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy as he celebrates with the team after they won the NBA basketball championship with a Game 5 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, center, holds up the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy as he celebrates with the team after they won the NBA basketball championship with a Game 5 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics' Jrue Holiday, right, and Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic (77) battle for the ball during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, center, speaks with guard Kyrie Irving, center right, and center Dereck Lively II, top right, during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals against the Boston Celtics, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Dallas Mavericks forward Derrick Jones Jr. (55) shoots in front of Mavericks center Dereck Lively II (2) as Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, left, defends during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, right, vie for control of the ball during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77)goes up to shoot at the basket in front of Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, left, and forward Jayson Tatum (0) during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, front, drives with the ball as Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, back, defends during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, center, speaks to his players during a timeout in the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals against the Dallas Mavericks, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving pauses on the court in front of Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, left, during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Dallas Mavericks' Kyrie Irving, left, shoots against Boston Celtics' Jrue Holiday (4) and Jayson Tatum (0) during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, right, vie for the ball during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, center, drives toward the basket as Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington, right, defends and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, left, watches during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum celebrates after scoring during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals against the Dallas Mavericks, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

DALLAS (AP) — Nearly 80 criminal trespass arrests stemming from a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas have been dismissed, a prosecutor said Wednesday, the latest dropped charges against demonstrators arrested on college campuses across the U.S. this spring.

Delia Garza, a Democrat who is the elected attorney for Travis County, said 79 criminal trespass cases that were dismissed all stemmed from the April 29 protest. She said cases involving other offenses remain pending.

Garza said her office determined it couldn't meet the legal burden to prove the cases beyond a reasonable doubt. She said factors that were considered included whether the protesters' right to free speech had been violated, whether prosecutors had sufficient evidence to seek a conviction and if pursuing the case was in the interest of justice.

At campuses across the U.S. this spring, demonstrators sparred over the Israel-Hamas war. Texas' protest and others grew out of Columbia University’s early demonstrations.

Last week, prosecutors in New York announced that dozens of Columbia students who were arrested for occupying a campus building as part of a pro-Palestinian protest would have their criminal charges dropped. The Manhattan district attorney’s office said it would not pursue criminal charges for 31 of the 46 people initially arrested on trespassing charges inside the administration building.

On April 29 at UT, officers in riot gear encircled about 100 sitting protesters, dragging or carrying them out one by one amid screams. Another group of demonstrators trapped police and a van full of arrestees between buildings, creating a mass of bodies pushing and shoving. Officers used pepper spray and flash-bang devices to clear the crowd.

The university said in a statement at the time that many of the protesters weren’t affiliated with the school and that encampments were prohibited on the 53,000-student campus in the state capital. The school also alleged that some demonstrators were “physically and verbally combative” with university staff, prompting officials to call law enforcement. The Texas Department of Public Safety said arrests were made at the behest of the university and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Garza said she wished that state and university leadership had looked for "another solution to allow these students to voice what they felt like they needed to voice.” She said the reaction to the protests to protests showed that elected leaders “continue to prioritize extreme government outreach over actual public safety.”

In a statement, the University of Texas said the school was “deeply disappointed” by Garza’s actions, adding that the school “will continue to use the law enforcement and administrative tools at our disposal to maintain safety and operational continuity for our 53,000 students who come to campus to learn, regardless of whether the criminal justice system shares this commitment.”

“Free speech is welcome on our campus. Violating laws or rules is not," the statement said. “Actions that violate laws and Institutional Rules should be met with consequences, not with political posturing and press conferences.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters block police vehicles from leaving the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, April 29, 2024. Nearly 80 criminal trespass cases filed after the campus protest have been dismissed as a prosecutor said Wednesday, June 26, 2024 that the reaction to protests showed that elected leaders “continue to prioritize extreme government outreach over actual public safety." (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman via AP, file)

Texas state troopers line up below the University of Texas at Austin Tower to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus, April 29, 2024, in Austin, Texas. Nearly 80 criminal trespass cases filed after the campus protest have been dismissed as a prosecutor said Wednesday, June 26, 2024 that the reaction to protests showed that elected leaders “continue to prioritize extreme government outreach over actual public safety." (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman via AP, file)