Sixteen years ago to the date from winning their 17th NBA championship, the Boston Celtics won their 18th. The Celtics defeated Dallas 106-88 in Game 5 on Monday, putting the finishing touches on the portrait of a champion. Boston had the best regular-season record (64-18) and rolled through the playoffs with a 16-3 record, never needing more than five games to win a series. The Celtics stand atop this season and stand atop the NBA in all-time titles, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for championships. Boston had the No. 1 offense, the No. 2 defense and best 3-point shooting team during the regular season and that carried over into the playoffs, including the Finals and especially in Game 5. They scored 67 points in the first half, held Dallas to fewer than 100 points (on 44.9% shooting) for the fourth time in the series and overwhelmed Dallas with 3-point shooting – Boston was 12-for-23 on 3s at one point in the third quarter. The Celtics led 78-52 with 9:10 left in the third quarter and the remainder of the game was a celebration for Boston fans. Jayson Tatum (6'8''-F/G-1998, college: Duke) led the Celtics with 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, and Jaylen Brown (6'6''-G/F-1996, college: California) had 31 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Four Celtics starters scored in double figures – Jrue Holiday (6'4''-G-1990, college: UCLA) had 15 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, and Derrick White (6'4''-G-1994, college: Colorado) had 14 points and eight rebounds. Luka Doncic (6'7''-G-1999) had 28 points on 12-for-25 shooting, 12 rebounds and five assists but was 2-for-9 on 3-pointers, and Kyrie Irving (6'3''-G-1992, college: Duke)’s house of horrors at the Garden continued. He was 5-for-16 from the field, 3-for-9 on 3s and had just 15 points. Credit Boston’s versatile defenders for making scoring difficult on Doncic and Irving. Kyrie Irving checked out of the game with 2:37 remaining, but before he headed to the Dallas bench, he shook hands with players on the floor and then the bench. He also briefly stopped by coach Joe Mazzulla and gave him a brief embrace. Irving finished with 15 points, nine assists and three rebounds.
Courtesy of: usatoday.com

Anthony Davis (6'10''-C-1993, college: Kentucky) had seasons highs of 41 points and 20 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament title with a 123-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night. Austin Reaves added 28 points, tournament MVP LeBron James (6'8''-SF-1984) had 24 points and 11 rebounds and D'Angelo Russell (6'5''-SG-1996, college: Ohio St.) added 13 points. Davis was 16 of 24 from the field and also had five assists. Tyrese Haliburton (6'5''-G-2000, college: Iowa St.) had 20 points and 11 assists for Indiana, Bennedict Mathurin (6'6''-G/F-2002, college: Arizona) also scored 20 points and Aaron Nesmith (6'6''-G/F-1999, college: Vanderbilt) had 15. This game was the only one in the tournament that doesn't count in the standings, but there was still plenty on the line. In addition to taking home a trophy, Lakers players on standard two-way contracts each made $500,000 and the Pacers received $200,000 apiece. Players on two-way deals take home half those amounts. Though the stakes weren't as high as they would be for a playoff, the tournament and the title game had that kind of atmosphere in front of the pro-Lakers crowd. It's also another trophy for James, who has won four NBA championships, and he made no secret of his desire to add the title to his resume. In the Pacers, the Lakers found an equally energized team led by an emerging star in this league. Haliburton became a familiar face during this tournament, but the Lakers limited his damage on Saturday. With Cam Reddish (6'8''-F/G-1999, college: Duke) handling most of the defensive duties on Haliburton, he often passed to a teammate rather than try to force the action. The Lakers led most of the game, though Indiana kept in striking distance until Los Angeles went on a 15-3 run late in the fourth quarter to turn in a 100-96 lead into a 115-99 advantage. Among those in attendance were basketball Hall of Famers Julius Erving and Shaquille O'Neal, football Hall of Famers Tim Brown and Shannon Sharpe, former tennis star Steffi Graf, former boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., chef Bobby Flay and rapper Flavor Flav. Members of the two-time champion Las Vegas Aces, including WNBA Finals MVP A'ja Wilson, also watched.
Courtesy of: foxsports.com

It was "Dame Time" all NBA All-Star Weekend long. The Milwaukee Bucks' Damian Lillard (6'3''-PG-1990, college: Weber St.) was named All-Star Game MVP on Sunday, scoring 39 points to lead the Eastern Conference to a 211-186 win over the West in the highest-scoring midseason exhibition to date. He joined Michael Jordan as the only other player in league history to win a Saturday night event and be named MVP in the same All-Star Weekend. "Anytime you're mentioned in the same category as Mike, it's an honor, it's a major accomplishment, even if it's All-Star Weekend," Lillard said during his postgame news conference with the Kobe Bryant MVP trophy placed on the table in front of him. "Because if it was that simple, more people would have done it." Lillard won the 3-point contest on Saturday, edging the Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns (7'0''-F/C-1995, college: Kentucky) and the Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young (6'1''-PG-1998, college: Oklahoma) in the final round. Jordan won the dunk contest in 1988. Karl-Anthony Towns had a noble effort as a runner-up on Sunday too, leading the West with 50 points in 28 minutes to become just the fourth player in All-Star Game history to reach the 50-point plateau. However, Lillard had more competition for the award from his East teammates in Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton (6'5''-G-2000, college: Iowa St.) and Boston Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown (6'6''-G/F-1996, college: California). Haliburton, the hometown favorite, finished with 32 points on 11-for-15 shooting, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. He outscored the West singlehandedly 15-14 to start the game, going 5-for-5 from the field before missing the heat check from 34 feet away. Brown had 36 points on 15-for-23 shooting and 8 rebounds, and his surge late in the third quarter helped regain control of the game for the East after the West came within 12 points. Lillard received seven out of 12 votes for the award, and Haliburton garnered the other five. Lillard might have sealed his case when Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (6'7''-G-1999) failed to finish an alley-oop to himself, ricocheting the ball off the front of the rim midway through the third quarter. Lillard grabbed the rebound, advanced the ball and pulled up from just inside halfcourt, swishing a 3-pointer from 41 feet to boost his total to 33 points and the East's lead to 132-105. He added six points in the fourth including a 44-foot trey with 22.1 seconds remaining to cap his night. Lillard finished 14-for-26 from the field, including 11-for-23 from beyond the 3-point arc, and added 6 assists. It was his eighth All-Star appearance but his first time being named a starter. "I'm a vet in the game at this point," Lillard, 33, said. "Why not go and try to get an MVP? Since I've been here enough." For Lillard, who joined the Bucks in an offseason trade after spending the first 11 years of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers, it was a welcome weekend in the midst of a challenging stretch for Milwaukee. "It's been a tough year, just the transition to a new team; we've had three coaches since I've been there," Lillard said, alluding to Doc Rivers' surprise replacement of Adrian Griffin and Joe Prunty's brief interim stint. "Anytime you have these types of experiences where you have adversity... I think that's the time you got to show who you really are. Keep doing what you do, keep believing, and when you do that, usually it comes back to you. "You just can't fold." The same couldn't be said for each All-Star team's defensive efforts. "I think it could be more competitive," Lillard admitted. "I think 200 is a lot to be scored. It just shows that we didn't go out there and compete like I guess you would want us to or whoever would want us to. But I think that's just what it is. Guys are talented. Make a lot of shots. We hit a lot of 3s, and that was it."

Courtesy of: espn.com

LeBron James (6'8''-SF-1984) of LA Lakers
Kevin Durant (6'9''-SF-1988) of Phoenix S.
Nikola Jokic (7'0''-C-1995) of Denver N.
Luka Doncic (6'7''-G-1999) of Dallas M.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (6'6''-PG-1998) of OKC Thunder
Anthony Davis (6'10''-C-1993) of LA Lakers
Stephen Curry (6'2''-G-1988) of GS Warriors
Devin Booker (6'6''-SG-1996) of Phoenix S.
Anthony Edwards (6'5''-G-2001) of Minnesota T.
Kawhi Leonard (6'7''-F-1991) of LA Clippers
Paul George (6'9''-G/F-1990) of LA Clippers
Karl-Anthony Towns (7'0''-F/C-1995) of Minnesota T.

Head Coach: Doc Rivers

EAST ALL-STAR TEAM
Jayson Tatum (6'8''-F/G-1998) of Boston C.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (6'11''-F-1994) of Milwaukee B.
Bam Adebayo (6'10''-C-1997) of Miami H.
Damian Lillard (6'3''-PG-1990) of Milwaukee B. MVP
Tyrese Haliburton (6'5''-G-2000) of Indiana P.
Jaylen Brown (6'6''-G/F-1996) of Boston C.
Donovan Mitchell (6'3''-G-1996) of Cleveland C.
Paolo Banchero (6'9''-F-2002) of Orlando M.
Tyrese Maxey (6'4''-PG-2000) of Philadelphia 76
Jalen Brunson (6'1''-G-1996) of NY Knicks
Scottie Barnes (6'7''-F-2001) of Toronto R.
Trae Young (6'1''-PG-1998) of Atlanta H.

Head Coach: Chris Finch

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TEAM JALEN (Winner)
Chet Holmgren (7'1''-F/C-2002) of OKC Thunder
Dereck Lively II (7'1''-C-2004) of Dallas M.
Jeremy Sochan (6'9''-PG-2003) of San Antonio S.
Jalen Williams (6'6''-G/F-2001) of OKC Thunder
Bennedict Mathurin (6'6''-G/F-2002) of Indiana P.
Jordan Hawkins (6'5''-G-2002) of N.Orleans P.
Walker Kessler (7'1''-C-2001) of Utah Jazz

Izan Almansa (6'10''-PF-2005) of G League Ignite
Matas Buzelis (6'10''-F-2004) of G League Ignite
Tyler Smith (6'9''-PF-2004) of G League Ignite
Oscar Tshiebwe (6'9''-F-1999) of Indiana P.
Emoni Bates (6'10''-G-2004) of Cleveland C.
Mac McClung (6'2''-G-2000) of Orlando M.
Alondes Williams (6'5''-G-1999) of Miami H.

Paolo Banchero (6'9''-F-2002) of Orlando M.
Keegan Murray (6'8''-F-2000) of Sacramento K.
Jaden Ivey (6'4''-G-2002) of Detroit P.
Vince Williams Jr. (6'6''-G-2000) of Memphis G.
Scoot Henderson (6'3''-G-2004) of Portland TB
Keyonte George (6'4''-G-2003) of Utah Jazz
Jalen Duren (6'10''-F/C-2003) of Detroit P.

Victor Wembanyama (7'4''-F-2004) of San Antonio S.
Brandon Miller (6'9''-F-2002) of Charlotte H.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (6'7''-G/F-2001) of Miami H.
Jabari Smith II Jr. (6'10''-F-2003) of Houston R.
Brandin Podziemski (6'5''-G-2003) of GS Warriors
Cason Wallace (6'4''-G-2003) of OKC Thunder
Bilal Coulibaly (6'5''-G-2004) of Washington W.

Tyrese Haliburton (6'5''-G-2000) of Indiana P.
Bennedict Mathurin (6'6''-G/F-2002) of Indiana P.
Myles Turner (6'11''-C/F-1996) of Indiana P.

Team Top Pick
Paolo Banchero (6'9''-F-2002) of Orlando M.
Anthony Edwards (6'5''-G-2001) of Minnesota T.
Victor Wembanyama (7'4''-F-2004) of San Antonio S.

Team All-Stars
Scottie Barnes (6'7''-F-2001) of Toronto R.
Tyrese Maxey (6'4''-PG-2000) of Philadelphia 76
Trae Young (6'1''-PG-1998) of Atlanta H.

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Damian Lillard (6'3''-PG-1990) of Milwaukee B. WINNER
Trae Young (6'1''-PG-1998) of Atlanta H. FINALIST
Karl-Anthony Towns (7'0''-F/C-1995) of Minnesota T.
Tyrese Haliburton (6'5''-G-2000) of Indiana P.
Lauri Markkanen (7'1''-F/C-1997) of Utah Jazz
Jalen Brunson (6'1''-G-1996) of NY Knicks
Donovan Mitchell (6'3''-G-1996) of Cleveland C.
Malik Beasley (6'5''-G-1996) of Milwaukee B.

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NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest
Mac McClung (6'2''-G-2000) of Orlando M. WINNER
Jaylen Brown (6'6''-G/F-1996) of Boston C. FINALIST
Jacob Toppin (6'9''-F-2000) of NY Knicks
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (6'7''-G/F-2001) of Miami H.