BOSTON — July Holiday scored a point. Derrick White scored on a chase-down block. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown also contributed with passing and defense.
The Mavericks no longer have to worry about who Boston’s best player is.
Every player the Celtics put into the game is helping them get closer to an unprecedented 18th NBA championship.
Holiday had 26 points and 11 rebounds, White sprinted down the court to snuff out Dallas’ final chances and Boston beat the Mavericks 105-98 on Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
“I’m so tired of hearing about one guy or this guy or that guy trying to make this into something other than Celtic basketball,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Every guy that stepped on the court today made game-winning plays on both ends of the court.”
Tatum redeemed himself after a poor shooting night with 18 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.
Brown had 21 points and three steals, White had 18 points and three steals, and Payton Pritchard’s lone points of the game were a half-court shot from behind the basket just before the third quarter buzzer to give Boston an 83-74 lead.
“That’s why they’re the No. 1 team in the NBA with the No. 1 record,” said Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who finished with 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the first triple-double in Dallas franchise history in an NBA Finals game. “They have a lot of great players. Basically, anybody can play.”
Doncic, whose participation was in doubt just under two hours before kickoff, recorded his 10th triple-double of the playoffs.
But in the fourth quarter, despite a three-point play with 1 minute, 15 seconds left, Dallas scored nine straight points to cut a 14-point deficit to 103-98, but only managed three points.
After Derrick Jones Jr. blocked a Tatum dunk attempt, White ran down the court with Brown to block a P.J. Washington dunk attempt.
Brown made a layup at the other end, then Doncic missed a one-footed 3-pointer with 28 seconds left, ending Dallas’ final chance for a comeback.
“He was outstanding,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “Luka’s a special player. He’s not the best player in the world, but he creates problems. … He’s able to create opportunities and we just didn’t capitalize on them.”
Games 3 and 4 will be played Wednesday and Friday in Dallas.
Boston is undefeated on the road this postseason, but the Mavericks need to end that streak to avoid a sweep and earn a spot back at Boston Garden, where the home fans are already making space in the attic for another banner.
This is the ninth time the Celtics have won the opening game of the NBA Finals, having previously won the previous eight games without any games going to a Game 7.
The day after Kidd tried to sow discord in the Celtics locker room by calling Brown the team’s best player, instead of All-NBA First Team member Tatum, Boston proved that doesn’t matter.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 12 points for top-seeded Boston. Tatum was 6 of 22 shooting and 1 of 7 from 3-point range. The Celtics were 10 of 39 from long range.
Kyrie Irving, who has antagonized the hometown crowd since cutting his stay in Boston short in 2019, scored 16 points but the team has lost 12 straight games against the Celtics.
The Celtics won Game 1, 107-89, when Boston made 7 of 15 3-pointers in the first quarter to build a lead to 17 points, but missed its first eight long-range shots on Sunday.
Dallas led for the entire first quarter.
Tatum had no points in the first quarter and only five points at halftime, but he was still 0-for-3 from 3-point range. Boston also made just 5-for-30 from long range when Payton Pritchard made a half-court bank shot at the third-quarter buzzer to give Boston an 83-74 lead.
