Starting 5, June 17: Can Boston close at home? Can Dallas force Game 6?

Staying loose ahead of the biggest game of the season.

THE LINEUP

What’s inside today’s edition?

Game 5 in 1 minute: Everything you must know prior to tonight’s 8:30 ET tip

Mavs media day: The Mavs have a singular focus – sending the Finals back to Dallas

Celtics media day: The Celtics discussed lessons from Game 4 and being ready for Game 5

Connection? Can Boston clinch its 18th title on the 16th anniversary of its 17th title win?

Best of Game 5: Spin through classic Game 5 moments from previous Finals

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Game 5 is just hours away …

The Countdown To Game 5 is on in the NBA App. Relive the 2024 NBA Playoffs with the Chasing History series leading up to tonight’s 8:30 ET tip off on ABC.

Are You An NBA Expert? Prove it by playing today’s NBA Play: Expert Mode challenge, and list the seven players in NBA history to score 50+ points in a Finals game.

1. GAME 5 IN 1 MINUTE

Where Things Stand: The Celtics lead the series, 3-1. The Mavs lead in points, 408-402. How rare is that? It hasn’t happened in over 60 years.

• 2023-24: Dallas (1) 408 vs. Boston (3) 402
• 1962-63: Los Angeles Lakers (1) 444 vs. Boston (3) 437
• 1947-48: Philadelphia (1) 279 vs. Baltimore (3) 276

If The Celtics Win Tonight …

• They would clinch the franchise’s 18th NBA championship, breaking a tie with the rival Lakers for the most in league history
• They would be the first team to finish a Playoff run at 16-3 (.842)
• They would own the second-best win percentage since 2003, when the league debuted the best-of-seven format for all four Playoff rounds
• They would hold the ninth-best win percentage in Playoff history, regardless of number of games played

If The Mavericks Win Tonight …

• They would be the first team since the 1996 Seattle SuperSonics against Chicago to force a Game 6 after trailing 3-0 in the Finals
• They would be the fourth team to ever do so in the Finals and the 16th to do it in any Playoff series
• They would be one step closer to joining the 1951 Rochester Royals as the only teams to force a Game 7 when trailing 3-0 in the Finals
• The last team to do that in any Playoff series? The 2023 Boston Celtics in the East Finals against the Miami Heat

Game 5 Key Stories: Head to the Finals Hub for 4 things to watch, Michael C. Wright’s Finals MVP ladder & more … and tap in for yesterday’s Starting 5, where we dove into Dallas’ PITP advantage & (much) quicker pace.

2. MAVS AT MEDIA DAY: ‘MAKE IT BACK TO DALLAS’

The Mavs are trying to stay focused on the task at hand (Game 5) when everyone wants to ask them about the bigger picture (being the first team to ever overcome a 3-0 deficit). | All-Access: Inside Mavs Practice

• Kyrie Irving: “Just thinking about the goal that’s in front of us as best we can … Just putting our best foot forward and simplifying it.
• “We got a chance to accomplish one of our goals, which is to make it back to Boston. We have another goal in front of us, and that’s to make it back to Dallas.”
• Coach Jason Kidd: “What helps is we were in that situation last game. So not to change or deviate from what we talked about in Game 4. … We can only focus on Game 5, and trying to find a way to win here in Boston.”

This mantra worked in Game 4, which saw the Mavericks put together their most complete game of the Finals as they staved off elimination with a 122-84 win.

• Kidd: “Each game, we have gotten better on both ends, offensively and defensively. So the trend is to continue to get better.
• “We started to knock down shots here in Game 4, and hopefully we can get those same shots in Game 5 and have the opportunity to knock them down.”

Kidd: “We’re going to need that here in Game 5.”

Despite being down 3-1, Luka Doncic continued to talk about the belief he had in his team. That belief paid off in Game 4 and the Mavs will try to build on it in Game 5.

• Luka: “The most important thing is to show that we believe. I think we showed it in Game 4. If not, if we wouldn’t believe, we probably wouldn’t have won that game.”
• Dereck Lively II: “Everyone just counted us out after the first three [games]. We are not going to count ourselves out.
• “We are going to double down and put ten toes down and make sure that we are giving it our all on the court. Put our heart and soul on the floor and do whatever it takes to win.”

After struggling in Boston the first two games (14 ppg, 35.1% shooting, 0-8 from 3), Irving doubled his scoring in Dallas (28 ppg on 50/41.7/100 shooting splits) and will look to continue that upward trend in Game 5.

• Kyrie: “I think in order to silence even the self-doubt, let alone the crowd doubt. When you make or miss shots that’s just as important as leading the team in the right way.”

3. CELTICS AT MEDIA DAY: ‘WE’RE READY’

The Celtics were on their home court Sunday, preparing for their second chance at clinching the title. | All-Access: Inside Celtics Practice

To do so they’ll need to eliminate a Mavericks team that responded with a 38-point win with their season on the line for the first time.

• Jaylen Brown On Game 4’s Lesson: “Just that you can’t take it for granted, and it’s going to be difficult. …
• “At this level, you have some very talented basketball players who are going to be on the floor, and you’ve got to bring it every single night. And if you don’t, you can see what happens.”

It’s been 67 days since the Celtics last lost consecutive games – April 9 & 11 in the final week of the regular season – something they hope to avoid on Monday as they try to close the series.

• Brown: “We are at the precipice of completing what we set out to do at the beginning of the season… It’s not difficult to get everybody in that locker room on the same page right now. …
• “We have a great group, a resilient group, and we don’t like to lose. … I think that we’re ready. We’re at home, and we’re looking forward to it.”

Jayson Tatum talked about the pressure to close the series and trying to find the balance between facing that pressure and having fun at the same time.

• Tatum: “I think after Game 4, [Coach Mazzulla] just reminded us to have fun. We wanted to go for the kill, essentially, and we wanted to win so bad that maybe we got away from what makes us special and what makes us the Boston Celtics.”

Jrue Holiday – the only Celtic to have won a championship – kept the Game 4 loss in perspective heading into Game 5.

Holiday: “A loss is a loss. It doesn’t matter how it was lost or by how many points. I’m a competitor and I think we’re competitors, and we want to win every game. You just have to take it on the chin, just like we did, and come back and try to prepare for Game 5.”

4. CHAMPIONSHIP CONNECTIONS?

‘ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!’

Those three words from Kevin Garnett that will forever live in Celtics and NBA lore were exclaimed 16 years ago today – June 17, 2008 – when the Celtics defeated the Lakers at home to clinch Boston’s last NBA title.

Tonight, the 2024 Celtics have a chance to win the franchise’s 18th title on the 16th anniversary of their 17th title.

• Similar Situations: The 2008 Celtics had a chance to clinch that 17th title in L.A. in Game 5, but fell short before returning to Boston and pulling off the most lopsided closeout win in Finals history with a 131-92 victory
• The 2024 Celtics suffered the third most lopsided loss in Finals history with a chance to sweep in Game 4 in Dallas and now return home looking to finish the job
• Similar Records: The 2024 Celtics posted a league-best 64 wins this season – the most by any Celtics team since the 2008 Celtics, who went 66-16
• Different Paths: While the 2024 Celtics have been knocking on the championship door for years – reaching at least the Conference Finals in five of the past seven seasons – the 2008 team made a 42-win jump thanks to the additions of Garnett and Ray Allen to form a Big 3 with Paul Pierce
• Key Acquisitions: The 2024 Celtics added two key players of their own heading into this season in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis (questionable for Game 5 after missing the past two games) that helped elevate the team to the Finals

One more similarity Boston fans want between the 2008 and 2024 teams? The Larry O’Brien Trophy. The Celtics now find themselves just one win away, with three chances to make that ‘possible.’

5. NBA FINALS: TOP GAME 5 MOMENTS

Ahead of tonight’s Game 5 in Boston, spin through some of the top Game 5 moments in Finals history (Before 2000 | Since 2000).

The 1997 Finals — Playing through flu-like symptoms, Michael Jordan hit the go-ahead 3 with 25 seconds left to give him 38 points and the Bulls a 3-2 lead

The 1976 Finals — After John Havlicek gave the Celtics the lead with one second left, Phoenix’s Garfield Heard hit a turnaround shot to force the first triple-overtime game in Finals history

The 2005 Finals — With 5.8 seconds left in OT, Robert Horry hit his fifth and final 3-pointer of the game to put the Spurs up 3-2 on the Pistons

The 1991 Finals – John Paxson hit the dagger 3 off the dish from Michael Jordan to clinch Chicago’s first of three straight titles

The 1990 Finals – Vinny Johnson scored 15 in the 4th quarter, including the championship-clinching jumper with 0.7 seconds left as Detroit won back-to-back titles

The 2021 Finals – Jrue Holiday got the steal on defense then found a streaking Giannis Antetokounmpo for the dagger alley-oop to put the Bucks up 3-2 on the Suns

The 1999 Finals – Avery Johnson’s baseline jumper put the Spurs up for good as they defeated the Knicks in five games for the first of their five NBA titles

The 2015 Finals – Stephen Curry had his highest-scoring game of the series against the defense of Matthew Dellavedova and the Cavs to put the Warriors up 3-2

The 2010 Finals – Kobe Bryant scored half of his 38 points in the 3rd quarter, including this acrobatic alley-oop finish. The Lakers lost the game to go down 3-2 in the series, but rallied to win in seven games

The 1980 Finals – Playing through an injured ankle, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gets the and-1 dunk against Dr. J with 33 seconds left to put the Lakers up for good. Kareem was unable to play in Game 6 – setting up Magic Johnson to start at center as the Lakers won the title