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In the second game of the NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks 105-98 at home to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
The visiting team, the Dallas Mavericks, started better in the game played at TD Garden. The Mavericks were able to take the lead in the score thanks to the high shooting accuracy percentage of star point guard Luka Doncic. The Celtics, on the other hand, tried to tie the game by using the basket after failing to hit 3-pointers.
Towards the end of the first quarter, the Celtics kept the game in balance and prevented the gap from widening. The Celtics, who have made at least one 3-pointer in the first quarter of every game they have played this season, made their first three-pointer of the quarter from Al Horford with 6 seconds left in the quarter. The Mavericks led 28-25 at the end of the first quarter.
THE CELTICS’ ‘X FACTOR’ WAS JRUE HOLIDAY
The second quarter of the game started with an exchange of baskets. The Celtics took the lead for the first time in the game in the 4th minute of the quarter, reflecting the superiority they started to establish in the game to the score. Although the Mavericks took the lead again 2 times in the second quarter, they could not maintain their scoring advantage and closed the first half trailing 54-51.
In the first half, when the Celtics’ 3-point shooting percentage was very low, Jrue Holiday penetrated the basket without the ball and converted the passes he received into baskets. Holiday finished the first half with 17 points. For the Mavericks, Doncic scored 23 points in the first half.
In a game that was competitive until the middle of the third quarter, the Celtics went on a 10-0 run to increase their lead to 12 points with 3 minutes left in the quarter. The Mavericks responded to the Celtics’ run with a 7-0 run at the end of the quarter and managed to reduce the deficit to 6 points. The Celtics took an 83-74 lead into the final quarter thanks to a last-second 3-pointer from midcourt by reserve point guard Payton Pritchard.
In the last quarter of the game, where both teams started with baskets exchanged, the Celtics continued to maintain their superiority mostly by double digits, increasing the lead to 14 points with 3.30 minutes to go. Against this, the Mavericks went on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 5 points with 1.15 minutes left. In a game where defenses did not allow easy points in the last minute, the Celtics first stopped the Mavericks offense with a block, and then Jaylen Brown’s layup to win the game 105-98.
With this result, the Boston Celtics took a 2-0 lead over the Dallas Mavericks in the finals series.
TRIPLE-DOUBLE FROM DONCIC
The top scorer of the match was Luka Doncic, who finished the match with a triple-double. Doncic had 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
The Celtics’ leading scorer was Jrue Holiday. Holiday finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds.
Other standouts for the Celtics were Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Jayson Tatum. Brown had 22 points and 7 assists in the game; White 18 points, 5 rebounds; Tatum had 18 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds. Tatum missed a triple-double with 1 rebound.
FINALS SERIES MOVES TO DALLAS
Game III of the NBA Finals will be played at the American Airlines Center, the home court of the Dallas Mavericks, at 03:30 CET on the night connecting Wednesday to Thursday.
