Celtics edge out Mavericks in Game 2 of NBA Finals; Jrue leads the charge
BALAYAN, Batangas— The Boston Celtics maintained their lead after being up by two against the Dallas Mavericks, 105-98, in Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs Finals. The match was held at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on Monday, June 10 (PHT).
The game was intense, with the lead changing multiple times throughout the game.
For the Celtics, Jrue Holiday spearheaded the game for the team after finishing with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Together with Jaylen Brown, who scored 21 points, and Jayson Tatum, who had a record of 18 points, nine rebounds, and 12 assists.
Holiday said that what impressed him most about their defense during the game was being consistent and sticking with it.
“Just being consistent and sticking with it, knowing that they were scoring making plays, getting to the free throw line, but being consistent and sticking to it.”
Luka Dončić paved the way for the Mavericks despite being listed as uncertain to participate in Game 2 less than two hours before the game began. He scored 32 points with 11 rebounds and 11 assists. This is the first NBA Finals triple-double in Mavericks’ franchise history.
The Mavericks appeared to be stronger after Dončić dominated the first half of the game with an impressive 23-point performance.
However, the Celtics managed to recover from this, seizing a 54-51 halftime lead despite their struggle with 3-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc.
In the third quarter, they tightened their defense and dominated the game.
The Mavericks made several turnovers, many of which were done by Dončić, leading to easy scoring opportunities for the Celtics on the other end.
The Celtics widened the gap in the scores, 83-74, highlighted by a remarkable attribute by their backup point guard, Payton Pritchard.
During the fourth quarter, Boston’s defense started to show its dominance, and its 3-point shooting returned to its form. Derrick White made a crucial 3-pointer in the remaining moments of the quarter that resulted in the Celtics extending their lead, 103-89.
With 1:15 remaining in the game, the Mavericks went on a late 9-0 run to cut the Celtics lead to 103-98. As the game approached its final minute, the Mavericks pushed forward to narrow the game to a single possession.
However, Derrick Jones Jr. of the Celtics blocked a layup attempt by Tatum at the rim to ignite the Mavericks fast break.
To reduce the Celtics’ lead to 3, Irving then delivered P.J. Washington with a bounce pass for what looked like a layup. But White chased the play down and made a game-changing block against Washington from behind.
The block made by him halted the Mavericks rally and ended the game. The Celtics scored, while the Mavericks didn’t score until the end of the match.
Dončić answered a question regarding how the Mavericks counteract the depth of the Celtics.
“Yeah, I mean they’re that’s what the number one team in the NBA with the number one record. They have a lot of great players. Practically anybody can get off. So honestly, I think we didn’t do a bad job defending today, we took away some threes. We contested more threes, but like I said, you know, I had too many turnovers and we missed a lot of free throws. So, I think that cost us a game,” Dončić said.
Game 3 will happen back at Dallas on June 13 at 8:30 AM (PHT).