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Jrue Holiday had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Jayson Tatum made up for a tough shooting night with 12 assists and 9 rebounds as the Boston Celtics beat Dallas Mavericks 105-98 on Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
“It’s a little different, [Tatum and Jaylen Brown] are the superstars and I’m here to support them,” Holiday, who averaged 12.5 points per game during the regular season, said after the game, downplaying his own contributions.
Luka Doncic, who was listed as questionable in the hours before the game, scored 32 points with 11 rebounds and 11 assists – first The NBA Finals triple-double in Mavericks franchise history. But he missed a one-footer from three-point range with 28 seconds left, ending Dallas’ last chance at a comeback.
Game 3 is Wednesday night in Dallas. The Mavericks need a win then or in Game 4 on Friday to avoid defeat and earn a return trip to Boston, where local fans are already lining up for what would be an unprecedented 18th NBA championship banner. The Celtics have now won nine games in a row, and teams that have taken a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals have a 31-5 streak record.
Brown scored 21 points, Tatum had 18 and Derrick White also had 18 points for top-seeded Boston. Kristaps Porzingis limped his way to 12 points. Tatum was 6 for 22 shooting and 1 of 7 on three-pointers; The Celtics were 10 for 39 from long range overall.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzula said after the game that his entire team contributed to the victory.
“We’re tired of hearing about one guy or this guy or that guy and everybody trying to make it out to be anything other than Celtics basketball. Everybody on that court tonight played both ends of the court,” he said.
Joe Mazzula said he has no concerns about Porzingis’ calf and “he’s good.” It looked like Porzingis wasn’t quite right physically at the end of the game.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) June 10, 2024
Mazzula added that he is not concerned about Porzingis’ possible calf injury. Asked about the health of the Latvian, Mazula replied: “He is fine.
Kyrie Irving, who has drawn the enmity of local fans since ending his stay in Boston in 2019, scored 16 points; he lost 12 straight games against the Celtics.
“[Irving] is a hell of a player, we know he’ll be even tougher in Dallas. We just have to keep making it difficult for him,” White said after the game. “Jrue and the whole team have been after him.”
Unlike their 107-89 win in Game 1, when a quick start from three-point range gave them a 29-point lead in the first half, the Celtics missed their first eight long-range attempts and were about 20% most of the game .
Tatum scored zero points in the first quarter and had just five at halftime, when he was still 0 for 3 from three-point range. Boston was still just 5-for-30 from long range when Peyton Pritchard made a half-court layup at the third-quarter buzzer to give Boston an 83-74 lead.
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