Jrue Holiday had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Jayson Tatum had 12 assists and nine rebounds, and the Boston Celtics overcame a shooting slump to beat the Dallas Mavericks 105-98 on Sunday night and take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
Luka Doncic, who had been questionable just hours before the game, finished with 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the first time in Mavericks franchise history with a triple-double in the NBA Finals, but missed a one-footed 3-pointer with 28 seconds left to end Dallas’ final chance to come back.
Game 3 is Wednesday night in Dallas. The Mavericks need to win that game or Game 4 on Friday to avoid the sweep and earn a second berth in Boston, where fans are already filling the rooftops with an unprecedented 18th NBA championship banner. The Celtics have now won nine straight games and are 31-5 in the series after taking a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
Jaylen Brown scored 21 points, Tatum had 18 and Derrick White also added 18 for top-seeded Boston. Kristaps Porzingis had 12 points. Tatum made 6 of 22 shots and 1 of 7 3-pointers. The Celtics made 10 of 39 long-range shots.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game that the whole team contributed to the win.
“I’m tired of hearing about one player or this player or that player trying to make a case for it being anything other than Celtics basketball. Everybody who was on the court tonight played on both ends of the court,” he said.
Joe Mazzulla said he had no concerns about Porzingis’ calf, saying “he’s fine.” Porzingis didn’t seem at his best late in the game.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) June 10, 2024
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Joe Mazzulla said he had no concerns about Porzingis’ calf, saying “he’s fine.” Porzingis didn’t seem at his best late in the game.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) June 10, 2024
Mazzulla added that he’s not concerned about Porzingis’ calf injury. “He’s fine,” Mazzulla said when asked about the Latvian’s health.
Kyrie Irving, who has drawn the ire of his hometown fans since cutting his stay in Boston short in 2019, scored 16 points but the team has lost 12 straight games against the Celtics.
“[Irving] “He’s a great player. It’s going to be tougher when he gets back to Dallas. We’ve just got to keep putting pressure on him,” White said after the game. “Jrue and the whole team are putting pressure on him.”
The Celtics won Game 1, 107-89, getting off to a fast start on 3-pointers to jump out to a 29-point lead at the half, but they missed their first eight attempts from long range and made around 20 percent of their shots for much of the game.
Payton Pritchard beats the 3rd quarter buzzer 🚨
The Celtics lead by 9 points at the end of the 4th quarter! pic.twitter.com/Rokx71T9pc
— ESPN (@espn) June 10, 2024
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Tatum had zero points in the first quarter and only five at halftime, including 0-for-3 on 3-pointers. Boston made just 5-for-30 shots from long range, but Payton Pritchard made a bank shot from half-court at the buzzer of the third quarter to give Boston an 83-74 lead.
