NBA finals 2024 Game 5: Dallas Mavericks v Boston Celtics – live | NBA finals

Mavericks 39-50 Celtics, 3:11 left, 2nd quarter

Tatum gets a break out of the timeout, and Boston misses three shots on one possession.

Washington turns it over, but Brown misses. Four in a row missed from the timeout.

Dončić misses. Boston breaks its mini-drought as Horford decides he’s had enough of these young guys, and he drives at Gafford and lays it in.

Turnover Dallas. Timeout Dallas.

Updated at 02.32 BST

Mavericks 39-48 Celtics, 4:53 left, 2nd quarter

Want high scoring? Check out what West Indies are doing against Afghanistan. They’ve posted a 36-run over. And there was a dot ball in the middle of it.

Back in sports in which a World Cup quarterfinal appearance is the minimum expectation for the US rather than a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, Dončić misses two free throws. Dončić is also 2-for-7 from the field, as is Irving.

Both teams miss a bit more, but Dallas scores on a … wait for it … alley-oop dunk. Washington to Gafford this time.

Boston has gone to a small lineup again. That was a disaster in Game 4. Right on cue, Gafford gets another dunk.

Fortunately for them, Hauser is playing big – he grabs a rebound and feeds Tatum.

But Washington and Jones score on either side of a Holiday miss. The lead is back down to single digits, and Boston calls timeout.

Updated at 02.26 BST

Mavericks 31-46 Celtics, 6:56 left, 2nd quarter

Jones hit a 3. Tatum drives and scores – he now has 8 points to go with his 7 assists.

Brown fouls Jones, who hits one of two free throws.

Tatum isn’t messing around with jumpers tonight. He drives, scores and gets the foul on Kleber, who’ll depart from the game in favor of Washington. Tatum adds the free throw, then fouls at the other end. Celtics call timeout.

Updated at 02.19 BST

Mavericks 27-41 Celtics, 7:56 left, 2nd quarter

Jones opens the second-half scoring with a layup, but Hauser puts up a 3-point shot that rattles in the rim and falls through.

Irving finally scores.

Tatum occupies the defense and flips it to Brown for a 3. That’s 6 assists for Tatum.

Don’t ask about the shots each team put up in the minute or so after that.

Also of interest – Washington grabs Porzingis from behind by both shoulders and flings him to the floor. The big man isn’t happy. He answers by scoring.

Kleber scores for Dallas.

Irving fouls Tatum on the mismatch. That’s two on Irving. Tatum makes both free throws, but Irving gets revenge by hitting a 3.

Game 2 hero Holiday, though, is on fire. He hits a 3.

Updated at 02.15 BST

Dallas dominated the rebounding department in Game 4. Tonight, Boston has a 13-9 edge. And that’s not attributable to the return of Porzingis, who has none.

The Mavericks’ starters have 7 points. The bench has 11.

All of the Mavericks have negative plus/minuses except Lively, who’s +7.

Tatum is shooting 2-for-7 but is on pace for a triple-double with 3 rebounds and 4 assists.

Updated at 02.09 BST

Mavericks 13-16 Celtics, 3:56 left, 1st quarter

Tatum wins a jump ball and feeds White for a 3.

But Porzingis and Tatum misfire, and Irving tosses an alley-oop to Lively for another emphatic slam as the shot clock runs down. Timeout Boston.

Updated at 01.56 BST

Mavericks 11-13 Celtics, 5:08 left, 1st quarter

Dončić, Irving, Tatum and Brown are four of the best players in the NBA over the past 10 years. They’re 0-for-10.

But Dončić hits a shot coming out of the timeout, and he draws a foul on Horford, who went about 30 feet into the air on a Dončić pump fake. Free throw good.

Irving fouls White, who hits the first free throw and … here comes Porzingis! The TD Garden crowd erupts.

White makes the second, too.

Irving misses a long shot, and Brown scores at the other end on a tough shot.

Keeping up the color theme, Josh Green hits a 3, gets a rebound, and hits another 3. All of a sudden, the lead is two.

Updated at 01.53 BST

Mavericks 2-9 Celtics, 7:26 left, 1st quarter

Nifty cut down the lane from Holiday, who takes another Tatum pass and flips it up and in.

The Mavericks love their alley-oops dunks, don’t they? Jones takes this one from Dončić.

Tatum puts up an airball. But after another wasted Dallas possession, Holiday gets out in transition and lays it in. He has the first six Boston points.

Dončić is 0-for-3. Brown is 0-for-4.

The crowd has a few words for former Celtic Kyrie Irving, who also has not scored.

Dončić drives and flips the ball over his shoulder to the corner, but Jones misses.

At the other end, Al Horford hits a 3. That’s enough to make Dallas call timeout. For once, the Mavericks don’t have the early lead.

Updated at 01.47 BST

Mavericks 0-2 Celtics, 9:34 left, 1st quarter

Tatum feeds Holiday for the first points of the game, but more worryingly for the Mavericks, Dončić has already picked up his first foul.

More worryingly for the Celtics, Jaylen Brown is already 0-for-3. But Dončić is 0-for-2.

Updated at 01.42 BST

Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Kyrie Irving on returning to the Garden:

“Now being older with hindsight looking back, I definitely would have taken time to know the people in the community and talked to some of the champions that have come before me,” Irving told reporters on Sunday. “They have championship pedigree here … They expect you to seamlessly buy into the Celtics’ pride, buy into everything Celtics.

“And if you don’t, then you’ll be outed. I’m one of the people that’s on the outs. I’m perfectly fine with that, you know what I mean. I did it to myself.”

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Updated at 21.31 BST