The Boston Celtics punched their ticket to the NBA Finals on Monday night with a thrilling Game 4 win over the Indiana Pacers to win the Eastern Conference.
Boston had to wait three days to find out who would meet the team on the other side.
Now, the stage is set.
The Celtics will battle the Dallas Mavericks, who eliminated the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night in Game 5 to win the Western Conference title. In the clincher, Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving combined for 72 of the Mavericks’ 124 points on Thursday night.
Story continues below advertisement
The Celtics reached the finals for the first time since 2022, while the Mavericks will play for a title for the first time since 2011.
The series features several marquee headlines, with none bigger than Kyrie Irving’s latest chapter in an emotion-filled battle with Boston after an instigating run as a member of the Celtics for two seasons.
Elsewhere, Jayson Tatum battles Dončić in a matchup of two of the sport’s biggest stars. Both teams fight for their first respective championships in over a decade.
The Celtics won both regular-season matchups with the Mavericks this season with a +37 point differential in the sweep.
Story continues below advertisement
Boston hosts Dallas in Game 1 in a week on Thursday night at TD Garden. You can check out the full NBA Finals schedule for the Celtics and Mavericks.
Featured image via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
