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How to watch the Mavs vs Celtics Game 1 live stream: NBA Finals

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Just four wins away from immortality, the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks meet tonight at the TD Garden for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Boston won both head-to-head meetings this year, but Dallas is peaking at the perfect time after knocking off the 1, 3 and 4 seeds to get here.

Game 1 is about to begin, at 8:30 p.m. ET, and will be televised nationally on ABC. However, if you don’t have cable and want a way to stream the NBA playoffs, we’ve found all the best options for watching the Mavs vs Celtics live online.

Watch the Mavs vs Celtics Game 1 Live Stream on Sling TV

Sling TV on Apple TV.
Sling TV

Taking free trials out of the equation, Sling TV is the cheapest way to watch every game of the NBA Finals, which will all be televised on ABC. Sling only has ABC available in a very few number of markets, but the “Sling Orange” package includes ESPN3, which simulcasts all ABC games.

The “Sling Orange” channel package is normally $40 per month–which is already cheaper than any live-TV streaming service with ABC–but it’s currently being offered for just $20 for your first month. Again, it doesn’t come with a free trial, but any other free trial will only last five or seven days, while the entirety of the NBA finals could go for up to 17 days. There is no cheaper way to watch every game than with Sling.

Is There a Free Mavs vs Celtics Game 1 Live Stream?

Fubo splash screen on a TV.
Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

If you want to watch Game 1 for free, you can do so with a free trial to Fubo (“Pro” plan), YouTube TV (“Base Plan”) or DirecTV Stream (“Entertainment” plan or above). All of them include ABC in most markets.

The Fubo free trial is seven days long, while YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream are both five. That means that if you haven’t used any of these services before, you could stagger each of the three free trials and get 17 days of live streaming at no cost. If the finals go seven games, it will last a total of 17 days.

Watch the Mavs vs Celtics Game 1 Live Stream from Abroad

NordVPN company name and logo, blue mountain peaks against a white circle on a blue background.
NordVPN

If you’re outside of the United States and don’t have any way to watch a live stream of the game, you could combine one of the aforementioned streaming services with a virtual private network (VPN). All of those live-TV services are US only, but a VPN helps you access them from abroad by hiding your location and connecting you to a digital server in the United States.

NordVPN is easy to use, it’s currently on sale and it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. That’s what we would use to watch this game from abroad, but you can also take a look at our guides to the best VPN services or the best VPN deals.

Tim Keeney
Tim Keeney
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Tim is a long-time sports journalist who has written about everything from the NFL to more popular sports such as chess…
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