Jrue Holiday had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Jayson Tatum made up for a rough shooting night with 12 assists and nine rebounds as the Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 105-98 on Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the NBA finals.
“It’s slightly different, [Tatum and Jaylen Brown] are the superstars and I’m just here to support,” Holiday, who averaged 12.5 points a game during the regular season, said after the game as he downplayed his own contributions.
Luka Dončić, who was listed as questionable to play in the hours leading up to the game, scored 32 points with 11 rebounds and 11 assists – the first NBA finals triple-double in Mavericks franchise history. But he missed a one-footed, running floater from three-point range with 28 seconds left, ending Dallas’ last chance at a comeback.
Game 3 is on Wednesday night in Dallas. The Mavericks need a win then or in Game 4 on Friday to avoid a sweep and earn a trip back to the Boston, where the local fans are already making space in the rafters for what would be an unprecedented 18th NBA championship banner. The Celtics have now won nine games in a row and teams who have taken a 2-0 lead in NBA finals have a 31-5 series record.
Brown scored 21 points, Tatum had 18 and Derrick White also scored 18 points for top-seeded Boston. Kristaps Porzingis limped his way to 12 points. Tatum was 6 for 22 shooting and 1 of 7 from three-point range; the Celtics were 10 for 39 from long distance overall.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game that his whole team had contributed to the win.
“We’re tired of hearing about one guy or this guy or that guy and anyone trying to make it out as anything other than Celtics basketball. Everyone on that court tonight made plays at both ends of the floor,” he said.
Joe Mazzulla said he has zero concern about Porzingis’ calf and “he’s good.” Looked like Porzingis wasn’t totally right physically late in the game.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) June 10, 2024
Mazzulla added that he was not concerned about a possible calf injury to Porzingis. Asked about the Latvian’s health, Mazzulla replied: “He’s good.”
Kyrie Irving, who has drawn the animosity of the local fans ever since cutting short his stay in Boston in 2019, scored 16 points; he has lost 12 games in a row against the Celtics.
“[Irving] is a hell of a player, we know he’s going to be even tougher back in Dallas. We just gotta continue to make it difficult for him,” White said after the game. “Jrue and the whole team have been on him.”
Unlike their 107-89 victory in Game 1, when a fast start from three-point range staked them to a 29-point first-half lead, the Celtics missed their first eight attempts from long distance and were around 20% for most of the game.
Tatum scored zero points in the first quarter and had only five at halftime, when he was still 0 for 3 from three-point range. Boston were still just 5 for 30 from long distance when Peyton Pritchard banked in a half-courter at the third-quarter buzzer to give Boston an 83-74 lead.
