How a 2022 NBA Finals loss fueled the Celtics and Jayson Tatum in 2024

ByNBAUSA



The Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in 5 games in the 2024 NBA Finals. The Celtics were expected to be pushed hard by the Mavs and Luka Doncic in that series, but Boston was focused behind Jayson Tatum and Jailen Brown and they were able to assert themselves by coming through in crunch time in the first 3 games of the series and then shutting out the Mavericks in Game 5.

The Celtics they weren’t about to lose their grip on the championship series, having learned a hard lesson just two years earlier when Boston met the Golden State Warriors in the Finals. In that series, the Celtics cruised to an impressive road win in Game 1 of the series, then took the lead when they came home to win Game 3. However, Steph Curry and the Warriors became more determined after that loss and won the next three games to take the series.

The Warriors won the final game of the series on the home floor of the Celtics, and it was left to Tatum and Brown.

The loss to the Warriors spurred the Celtics on

The Celtics were pushed to seven-game triumphs over the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat in their previous two series, and lacked the strength to mount a similar rally against the Warriors. Tatum said the pain of that loss to Golden State has stayed with the Celtics.

“We lost in the 2022 final, so I know what it feels like to be on the other side. Tatum said. “Seeing someone else holding the trophy. That s*** just meant so much more.”

Tatum is out for the season after tearing his Achilles in last year’s playoff loss to the New York Knicks. Although Tatum was expected to miss the 2025-26 season, his recovery is going well and he could return at some point in 2026.





2025-12-20 23:50:00

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