The Boston Celtics will play the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, in a series that pits the league’s most dominant team in 2024 against one of its hottest over the last three months.
All of the NBA Finals games will air on ABC, meaning those in Colorado can watch the series on Denver7. Game 1 is on Thursday, June 6.
Boston will represent the Eastern Conference after winning 64 games in the regular season and coasting through three playoff rounds, losing just two games in that span. Dallas represents the West after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games, including a blowout win in Minneapolis in Game 5 Thursday night in which they led by as much as 36 points.
The Celtics, led by star small forward Jayson Tatum and guard Jaylen Brown, boasted the league’s second-best scoring offense and fifth-best scoring defense during the regular season en route to the NBA’s best record and the No. 1 seed in the East.
Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics' third leading scorer this year, has missed the last month with a calf injury. His status is unclear, though he indicated on social media that he would be ready for the Finals and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Porzingis had not had any setbacks, according to USA TODAY.
The Mavericks, who have one of the best offensive backcourt duos in league history in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, are the No. 5 seed in the West, but have won 36 of their last 50 games since early February when a pair of trade-deadline deals brought forward PJ Washington and center Daniel Gafford to Dallas.
Two key players in the series will face their former team. Kyrie Irving played for the Celtics for two seasons from 2017-2019. Porzingis played two seasons with Dallas from 2019-2021.
Here is the full NBA Finals schedule, with all games airing on Denver7:
- Game 1: Mavericks at Celtics, Thursday, June 6 (8:30 ET)
- Game 2: Mavericks at Celtics, Sunday, June 9 (8 ET)
- Game 3: Celtics at Mavericks, Wednesday, June 12 (8:30 ET)
- Game 4: Celtics at Mavericks, Friday, June 14 (8:30 ET)
- Game 5: Mavericks at Celtics, Monday, June 17 (8:30 ET)*
- Game 6: Celtics at Mavericks, Thursday, June 20 (8:30 ET)*
- Game 7: Mavericks at Celtics, Sunday, June 23 (8 ET)*
*if necessary
