Dallas, over to you.
The Boston Celtics, with a 105-98 Game 2 win over the Mavericks Sunday, now possess a 2-0 NBA Finals lead as the series shifts cities.
Dallas started the opening period much better than it did in Game 1, seizing a pivotal 28-25 lead. Luka Doncic led the way with 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting, but the Mavericks fell short on securing the easy points, going just 4 of 9 from the foul line.
Kristaps Porzingis once again led Boston off the bench, scoring eight points on 2 of 3 shooting with a block. Whereas Dallas couldn't convert free throws, Boston struggled from beyond the arc. The Celtics missed their first eight 3-point attempts before Al Horford's late make broke the streak.
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The second quarter tilted in Boston's favor, which led 54-51 at the half. Jrue Holiday took over as the Celtics' best scorer, posting 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting while Jayson Tatum struggled with five points on 2 of 10 shooting (0 of 3 from deep). Tatum did add eight assists.
But Dallas remained mostly one-dimensional, with Doncic having 23 points and three assists on 9 of 13 shooting. Kyrie Irving reached double-figure points on 5 of 10 shooting while Derrick Jones Jr. slashed his way for seven points, but the Mavericks lacked consistent offensive threat if Doncic didn't shoulder the burden.
Boston began pushing away with a 13-point lead in the third quarter, but Dallas did well to make it a six-point game again, especially thanks to a Dante Exum 3-pointer. But then, Payton Pritchard, after missing all seven attempts in Game 1, hit a deep three at the buzzer to extend the lead to 83-74.
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In the fourth, Dallas just didn't produce enough offense with Doncic looking more fatigued as the game wore on. Boston increased the lead to 14, but a 9-0 Mavericks run cut it to five in the final minute. However, it proved too much to overcome.
Boston finished the game with four players providing at least 18 points. Holiday pioneered the team with 26, while Jaylen Brown had 21 and Derrick White and Tatum added 18 apiece. Tatum struggled with his shot, going just 6 of 22 overall and 1 of 7 from deep, but logged 12 assists, nine rebounds and two steals to help elsewhere.
Porzingis finished the game quietly after a strong first 12 minutes, going for 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting with all misses coming from 3-point range. He added four rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 23 minutes.
For Dallas, all five starters eclipsed double-digit point totals but the numbers didn't tell the full story. Doncic shouldered the burden with 32 points on 12 of 21 shooting to go with 11 assists, 11 rebounds, four steals and eight turnovers.
The next best scorer was P.J. Washington, who added 17 on 6 of 13 shooting and seven rebounds. But Irving, after a sluggish Game 1, continued to fly under the radar with just 16 points on 7 of 18 shooting and six assists. He missed all three 3-point attempts. Irving is Dallas' best shot generator not named Doncic, but the Mavericks have little chance of winning this series if he can't play like a real second star.
Also like Game 1, the Mavericks' bench was hardly existent. Josh Green's four points on 1 of 4 shooting in 14 minutes was the unit's best scorer.
For Boston, the formula for winning the series is simple: let Doncic fatigue by the final quarter. No other Maverick has proven capable of consistently getting a bucket without Doncic's help, while the Celtics have multiple scorers who can also lock in defensively.
Boston shot just 10 of 39 from deep (25.6%), but the Mavericks managed to be worse with 6 of 26 3-point shooting (23.1%) and 16 of 24 (66.7%) makes from the foul line. Boston, on the other hand, missed just one of 20 free-throw attempts. If Dallas had a similar percentage, the outcome could've been different.
Game 3 in Dallas is set for Wednesday, June 12 at 8:30 p.m. ET. It'll be a must-win game for the Mavericks since zero of 156 teams have ever won a series down 3-0.
