The answers to both questions came early and emphatically on Thursday night in the TD Garden, as the Celtics raced out to the largest lead at the end of the first quarter in any Game 1 in Finals history: Boston was ready, Porzingis most of all.
Thanks to that first-quarter explosion and a tremendous defensive effort across all four frames, the Celtics blew out the visiting Dallas Mavericks in Game 1, 107-89.The Finals are far from over-Dallas has already won multiple series this postseason after dropping Game 1-but the opener did nothing to refute the notion that the 64-win Celtics, with a historically great point differential in both the regular season and playoffs, are the heavy favorite to win their first championship since 2008.
Against what was ostensibly their toughest-and healthiest-opponent of the postseason thus far, the Celtics dictated the flow on both ends, counting on their refined style to cool off Dallas's hot streak.
They took off in particular with the arrival of Porzingis, who was coming off the bench for only the second game in his NBA career because of his lengthy injury absence. When Porzingis entered the game, starting his NBA clock for the first time in more than a month, Boston led by one point. By the time the first quarter buzzer sounded, 11 Porzingis points and multiple Porzingis blocks later, the Celtics led by 17.
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