The Boston Celtics took Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals in emphatic fashion thanks to a surprisingly spry Kristaps Porzingis in his first game in the '24 NBA Playoffs in over a month, and perhaps the best defensive game of Jaylen Brown's career.

Even on a night that saw Jayson Tatum go 6-of-16 from the floor, he still found ways to impact the game, and Boston as a whole limited Dallas to just 9 assists and 4 shot attempts between bigs Daniel Gafford and Derrick Lively II. The Celtics roared out to a 29-point lead only to see the Mavs cut it to 8 points in the third frame, but a healthy dose of the clamps coupled with a trademark Boston scoring barrage put Dallas away for good.

To talk over what they saw in Game 1 of the series, the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast, Alex Goldberg, Cameron Tabatabaie, and Justin Quinn, convened postgame from TD Garden.

They also preview what might be coming in Game 2 of the series on Sunday evening, so if you want to gloat a bit or just need to get your bearings, this is the pod for you.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by Prize Picks and Gametime.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

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