CELTICS READY TO GET JOB DONE

Boston stars Tatum and Brown will draw from past failures in bid for elusive title

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A Boston Celtics team desperate for glory will face a Dallas Mavericks squad eager to play spoiler, when they clash in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals which tip off on June 6 (June 7, Singapore time).

Led by stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics have had an easy road to the title-deciding series.

Coming out of the weaker Eastern Conference as top seeds, they breezed past the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat, beat the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Indiana Pacers, who were without All-Star Tyrese Haliburton for the last two games.

Boston have won 12 of their 14 play-off games and gone undefeated on the road, but they know that none of that will matter if they fail to end a title drought that stretches back to 2008.

The mission is clear - hang that elusive record 18th championship banner from the TD Garden rafters and put recent post-season disappointment, including falling to the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 Finals and coming up short in the Conference Finals in 2023, firmly behind them.