Celtics vs. Mavericks score: NBA Finals Game 2 takeaways as Jayson Tatum gets help, Luka Doncic doesn't (2024)

FINAL: Celtics 105, Mavericks 98

The Mavericks hung around for nearly the entire 48 minutes of Game 2, but ultimately, their comeback fell short thanks to an incredible block by Derrick White on P.J. Washington. The Celtics hung on thanks to an incredible overall performance from their entire core. Four of their five starters scored at least 18 points, but nobody scored more than 26. Jayson Tatum struggled as a shooter, but made up for it with 12 assists. Dallas, meanwhile, could get nobody going aside from Luka Doncic. Now the Celtics have the Mavericks in a corner. Dallas has started all four of its playoff series on the road and has stolen home-court advantage in the first three of them. But Boston sent them back to Dallas down 0-2. It will take serious adjustments for the Mavericks to overcome the Celtics. Right now, Boston looks like the far better team.

Derrick White with the game-saving block!

Dallas could have just cut the Boston lead to three with time to potentially tie the game afterward, but Derrick White flew in to block P.J. Washington at the rim. Jaylen Brown turned around and scored two of his own to give Boston a seven-point lead! NOW this game is over, and it took an incredible play by White to save it.

Perhaps we spoke too soon...

Oh boy. That and-one for Luka Doncic has the Boston lead down to five. The Mavericks might have a shot at this thing after all thanks to a 9-0 Dallas run.

Back-to-back 3's might've clinched it

The Mavericks hung around all night, but back-to-back 3-pointers there by Jrue Holiday and Derrick White have the lead up to 14 with 3:19 to play. It looks like the Celtics are about to take a 2-0 lead here in the NBA Finals as the series shifts back to Dallas.

Bold move of Jason Kidd to rest Doncic

In a normal game, it would seem unthinkable to pull Luka Doncic out of the game in the fourth quarter with the other team pulling away. Perhaps he had no choice with the injuries Doncic is playing through, and Kyrie Irving has kept the offense afloat, but still, given how much Doncic has done tonight, every possession the Mavericks play without him is dangerous.

Luka can't take advantage of the Pritchard matchup

Luka Doncic is hunting Payton Pritchard to start the fourth quarter, but the shots just aren't going in. Dallas is getting good looks against the rare mismatches Boston offers and they just aren't going in. With the Celtics struggling to shoot themselves, the Mavericks are missing out on a golden opportunity in this game.

Payton Pritchard with the back-breaker!

The Mavericks just got the score within six at the free-throw line going into the fourth quarter. Finally, they had a bit of momentum after Boston controlled the third quarter. And all of that momentum went down the drown on a single shot as Payton Pritchard drilled a half-court bomb at the buzzer to push Boston's lead up to nine.

It's been 5-on-1

Five of the six core Celtics are in double figures. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have 17 combined assists. It's coming from everywhere for Boston even if the Celtics haven't had a great shooting night. Meanwhile, Luka Doncic has 25 points. No other Maverick has more than 10. He has eight of their 14 assists. It's that simple. Dallas has the best player. Boston has the best team.

Celtics owner exchanges words with Luka

Luka Doncic has cooled off a bit in the second half (as have the Mavericks), but after a third-quarter bucket, he exchanged some words with Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck. Grousbeck apparently taunted Doncic earlier in the game, and then Luka responded after hitting a shot.

You can see Grousbeck here (sitting in black, right behind the "TD" in the TD Garden logo) saying something to Doncic after he makes a basket and runs back down the floor.

Doncic had 23 first-half points, but only has those two so far in the third quarter. The Celtics, meanwhile, have stretched their lead to 12 points with 15 minutes remaining. Doncic will need to get going again if Dallas is going to get back in this one.

Can Dallas find another way to get Luka going?

Luka Doncic was dominant early. He had 23 first-half points. But Boston has finally decided to send doubles at him, and as a result, he's looking to pass now instead of score. The problem is that his role players aren't taking advantage of the opportunities he creates. It's looking more and more like if the Mavericks are going to win this game, it's going to have to be with Doncic scoring 40 or more points no matter how he is getting covered.

Boston finally sending doubles at Luka

The Celtics send doubles onto ball-handlers in pick-and-roll less than any other team in the NBA, but after allowing 23 Luka Doncic points in the first half, Boston has finally conceded. They're blitzing Doncic, and that's unlocking him as a passer. He's up to seven assists now after going most of the first half with only one.

Dallas letting Gafford post up

The Celtics have good reasons for letting Jayson Tatum defend Daniel Gafford. The goal is to pre-switch Luka Doncic pick-and-rolls, but the Mavericks are now turning around and saying, "ok, fine, we'll just post up our centers." That's a low-value strategy over a sustained period, but it can certainly work in small doses.

Halftime: Celtics 54, Mavericks 51

Luka Doncic has 23 through two quarters, but the Celtics, despite shooting 3-of-15 from 3-point range, still lead by three going into the locker rooms thanks to some stellar defense on everyone else and a great half out of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. Doncic can maintain this scoring pace, but the Mavericks can't expect Boston to keep shooting this poorly. The role players are going to have to step up for Dallas if the Mavericks are going to tie this series tonight.

Finally, Jayson Tatum is getting on track

A one-for-eight start for Jayson Tatum is one of the biggest reasons Dallas has been able to stay in this game so far, but and and-one finally seems to have woken him up. It's been a slow overall Final thus far for Tatum, who also struggled in the 2022 Finals against the Warriors. The Celtics are going to need to get him going if they want to put this series away quickly.

Not much Gafford so far tonight

Just something to keep an eye on. For the first time this postseason, Dallas has really started to move away from the two-headed center monster of Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford. Now that Maxi Kleber has gotten healthy, Dallas seems much more comfortable splitting the majority of the center minutes between Lively and Maxi Kleber. Gafford started, but it has mostly been Lively and Kleber ever since. They have seemingly decided to emphasize spacing so Luka Doncic could function as a scorer rather than playing all of their minutes with lob threats that Boston is taking away anyway.

Mavericks killing themselves at the line again

Free throws have been an issue for Dallas all season. They have cost them playoff games, such as their Game 4 loss to Oklahoma City. Well, the Mavericks are now 4-of-10 from the line tonight, leaving six huge points on the table. This game is too close for Dallas to keep giving away those points.

Luka is on fire!

That's 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting thus far for Luka Doncic, and we've barely started the second quarter. Right now, Doncic is testing the Celtics in the same way he tested Minnesota. Boston does not like to send doubles. As the Timberwolves showed, that's really the only way to slow Doncic down. Can he get the Celtics to compromise their scheme defensively?

Dallas wins the first quarter

The Celtics missed their first eight 3-point attempts in Game 2, and were it not for an Al Horford triple at the end of the first quarter, they would have gone the whole first frame without one for the first time all season. That shooting problem has Dallas in front, 28-25, but the Mavericks are a disappointing 4-of-9 from the line thus far. This lead could and should be bigger.

A tale of two first quarters

The Celtics made seven 3-pointers in the first quarter of Game 1. They've made none so far in Game 2. This is where the Celtics have been vulnerable in the past. They're unbeatable when the 3's are going in. They can get a bit stagnant when they aren't. Kristaps Porzingis is their theoretical solution to that. They're going to have to either look to him in mid-range against mismatches or intentionally attack the basket if Dallas keeps trying to defend him with centers.

Dereck Lively defending Kristaps Porzingis early

Just something to watch here from a matchup perspective: Dereck Lively is defending Kristaps Porzingis on the perimeter. This is a dangerous approach for Dallas, as it means their center is going to be very far away from the basket, opening up the rim for the Celtics to attack. However, Porzingis hit so many mid-range jumpers against mismatched, smaller defenders in Game 1 that the Mavericks seemingly had no choice.

Dallas loses its challenge in the first quarter

Tough break for the Mavericks as Jason Kidd challenges that foul on P.J. Washington. The challenge is unsuccessful, but more importantly, it was a low-value challenge to begin with. The Celtics would have had imminent possession, it came against a player that doesn't tend to foul much, and of course, it was in the first quarter. All in all, it was a bad way for the Mavericks to lose their lone challenge for the night.

Luka Doncic functioning as a scorer early on

Luka Doncic only had one assist in Game 1, and Boston's game-plan was the reason why. With Jayson Tatum defending centers, the Celtics were essentially pre-switching every Doncic pick-and-roll to take away lobs. So Doncic is rolling with that, and instead of looking to pass, he's playing to score early on. He's made three of his first four shots for six quick points.

Kyrie drawing predictable early boos

Kyrie Irving said that he expected Celtics fans to be a bit louder in Game 1. Well, they've come out and booed him voraciously to open Game 2. If Irving wanted more noise, he's certainly getting it so far in Game 2. Of course, the Celtics putting that quote on the jumbotron before the game probably helped.

Meanwhile, on the Celtics jumbotron...

Celtics vs. Mavericks Game 2 info

We're about to tip-off in Beantown. Here's what to know.

Time: 8 p.m. ET |Date: Sunday, June 9
Location: TD Garden -- Boston
TV channel: ABC |Live stream:fubo(try for free)

Luka playing Game 2

Unsurprisingly, Luka Doncic will be playing Game 2. He was listed as questionable this afternoon with three different injuries (chest contusion, right knee sprain and left ankle soreness. Luka has dealt with the knee sprain and ankle soreness throughout the postseason but has not missed a game. Sunday is no exception.

Best bets for tonight's Game 2

CBS Sports' Sam Quinn has a slate of best bets for tonight. Check them out:

Celtics respond to Kidd's comments

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd made some headlines between Games 1 and 2 by referring to Jaylen Brown -- not First-Team All-NBA selection Jayson Tatum -- as the Celtics' best player. The Celtics responded, but refused to add any fuel to the fire.

"This is a team sport. We understand that. We wouldn't be here if we didn't have JB on our team, and we could say that for a lot of guys. We all played a part in getting to where we're at. We understand that people try to drive a wedge between us. It's a smart thing to do, or try to do, but we've been in this position for many years with guys trying to divide us, and say that one of us should be traded, that one's better than the other. It's not our first time at the rodeo."

Here's more:

Mavs need more from Kyrie

It was not a great night for Kyrie Irving on Thursday. He posted just 12 points in the Mavericks' Game 1 loss. It extended his personal losing streak to 11 in a row against his former team. He also called out the fans in Boston for not being "louder." Can Irving pick it up and Game 2 and quiet those fans? Dallas needs him to step up.

Can Mavs solve their math problem?

The Mavericks have a problem against the Celtics. More specifically, they have a math problem. Boston showed in Game 1 that the team is content to play Luka Doncic 1-on-1 and not leave Dallas' shooters open on the perimeter. The result was the Celtics making nine more 3-pointers in Game 1. Here's more from James Herbert: