Mavericks 98 - 105 Celtics summary, stats, scores and highlights | NBA Finals Game 2

The Mavs had a chance to cut the lead to three with under a minute to go, but PJ Washington was stuffed in transition by Derrick White and Jaylen Brown. These are the plays that make the difference in the NBA Finals, and right now they are all being made by the Celtics. 

The Mavs are going to have to figure something out, or they will be in danger of getting swept in front of their home fans. There is a long time between now and then, but Luka Doncic needs some help. If he doesn't get it Boston could be popping the champagne in the American Airlines Center. 

Holiday finished the game with 26 and 11 rebounds and was tasked with guarding Luka Doncic (who commited 8 turnovers) for much of the night. He has won a championship before. He knows what it takes, and he is leading his teammates by example. 

I could probably copy and paste the same post for the Derrick White portion of highlights from each game. He does the same thing every game. He makes clutch buckets. He is always in the right spot at the right time. He makes an impact on defense and most importantly he makes game winning plays. This was a big mid way through the final quarter but his best was yet to come. 

This is how the Celtics kill you. No, obviously not with buzzer beaters at the end of every quarter, but with momentum swinging plays like this deep three from Payton Pritchard to send the C's to the final quarter up 9 instead of 6. Those are the plays that everyone seems to make for Boston, and no one is making other than Luka for the Mavs. 

Porzingis and Holiday have been the best players for the Celtics through the first two games. Tip your hat to Celtic's GM Brad Stevens and the men and women in the front offices from Boston. They brought in these two missing pieces to the puzzle to town, and look at what they have done through two games of the NBA Finals. 

This is what Tatum did so well on Sunday night. He knew the double teams were going to come despite Mavs coach Jason Kidd calling Jaylen Brown the best player on the Celtics. The doubles kept coming and he kept finding Jrue Holiday and Derrick White in the right place at the right time. Holiday's Finals experience was on full display against a Dallas team that had their eyes on Brown and Tatum. 

This Holiday lay up off the turnover was the beginning of the end of the Mavs. Boston would take the lead and keep the lead from here on out. While the Mavs did make pushes to get back into the game, their 15 turnovers and 16/24 shooting from the FT line didn't help their cause much. 

Jayson Tatum struggled from the field, going just 6/22 but made an impact in every other facet of the game. He had 9 rebounds, 12 assists and a couple steals in a complete game that ended up going down to the wire. 

After dropping 30 and 10 rebounds in his Finals debut last game, Luka posted his first Finals triple double in a losing effort. He had 23 at the half and ended with 32, 11, and 11 but he didn't get much from his outside shooters who went just 6/26 from downtown in Game 2. 

The Mavs were paying plenty of attention to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown which opened up space for the other guys and no one took advantage of that space more than Jrue Holiday. Holiday had 17 in the first half and would go on to lead the C's in scoring. 

The Celtics hit just one three in the first quarter, and would struggle from downtown for most of the night. This Derrick White three was the second of 10 made threes for Boston, but it did give the home side their first lead of the game. 

Porzingis came off the bench in Game 2, like he did in the series opener and brought some energy plays on the defensive end much like he did on Thursday night. After a three block night in Game 1 he made his introduction to the game with this stuff on Maxy Kleber just seconds after coming on the court. 

The Boston Celtics took a commanding 2-0 lead over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night from TD Garden, and will now hit the road with a chance to win the title with a clean sweep from Texas.

For the second straight game, it was one of the offseason pick ups that proved to be the difference maker in this Finals series. After Kristaps Porzingis' incredible night on Thursday it was Jrue Holiday who had 26 points and 11 rebounds. 

While Holiday led the way, Jaylen Brown paved the way. He set the tone of the series in Game 1 and wasted little time setting it in Game 2. This crossover on Luka Doncic and slam got the Garden into the game early and they didn't quiet down for the rest of the night. 

IT'S ALL OVER!!!! 

The Boston Celtics take a 2-0 lead thanks to a heroic performance from Jrue Holiday. 

Washington just went up for a jam in transition but White rejected it and then Brown went to the rack for the lay up with 30 second to go!

Timeout Mavs. 

Doncic gets Horford in the air after blowing by him, gets the foul and the bucket underneath. FT is good. 

Washington to the line after the foul on Brown and he hits both FTs. 

Jones to the line after the foul on White and he hits both FTs. 

Doncic fires a pass down low for Jones on the open lay up. 

Holiday with an offensive rebound and he hits White at the top of the key for three!

Timeout Mavs with 3:32 to go. 

Holiday with another huge tree ball and he's been the best player on the court tonight! 

Irving running the break and he finds Gafford for the alley oop in transition. 

Timeout Celtics with 4:40 to go. 

Irving puts his head down and gets to the cup for the lay in. 

Brown gets into the paint and he floats it up and in. He's got 19 and 7 assists. 

Washington follows up his own miss and puts it back up and in. 

Tatum fouled on the dunk attempt by Irving and he hits both FTs. 

White bangs home another three ball with the clock running down!

Irving takes a bump off Holiday and lays it up and in with the left hand. 

Timeout Celtics with 8:06 to go. 

Kyrie dumps it down for Gafford and he throws it down in traffic. 

White spins in the corner and gets the floater to fall on the baseline from outside the lane. 

Gafford to the line after the foul on White and he hits one of two FTs. 

Tatum in the corner and that finally goes for Tatum from downtown. 

Gafford down low and he gets the jump hook to fall. 

Doncic lost in and the C's run the break that leads to a Brown jam down the lane. 

Washington with the floater in the lane after a great pass from Doncic. 

PRITCHARD DRILLS A BUZZER BEATING THREE BALL FROM HALFCOURT!!!!

Irving to the line after the foul on Holiday and he hits both FTs with 3.1 seconds on the third quarter clock. 

Washington to the line after the foul on Hauser and he hits both FTs. 

Doncic drives and flicks it out to Exum who hits the three ball from the wing!

Brown was left wide open at the top of the key and he drills it!

Luka to the line after the foul on Brown and he hits one of two FTs. 

Tatum puts the defender on his back and lays it up and in through traffic. 

Doncic with a massive three ball from the top of the key out of the timeout. 

Tatum draws a double team and Holiday went streaking to the cup for the jam! 

Timeout Dallas, down 12 with under 3:00 to go in the 3rd quarter. 

Brown to the line after the foul on Green and he hits both FTs. 

Brown picks off a wild pass from Doncic and he hits Holiday for the transition slam!

Brown gets under the bucket, jump stops and puts it up and in over Luka. 

Timeout Mavs with under 5:00 to go in the 3rd quarter. 

Tatum driving on Washington, takes the contact and gets the bucket before almost falling to the floor. FT is no good. 

Washington side steps around White on the drive and floats it up and in. 

Porzingis out of the timeout and he hits the baseline jumper from the mid range. 

Doncic working the pick and roll with Lively who slashes to the rack and throws it down on White!

Timeout Cletics with 7:29 to go in the 3rd quarter. 

Washington called for a take foul and Tatum hits the FT before White missed the three ball after the inbound. 

Doncic with the fader off one foot and he hits it from outside the lane. 

Tatum with the kick out for White who drills the three ball from the corner!

Horford lays it off to Holiday who lays it up and in following the turnover by Doncic. 

Gafford backing down Tatum down low and he gets the hook shot to go off the glass. 

Holiday with the offensive board and dump off to Tatum who gets the bucket and one! FT is good after the foul on Irving. 

Washington fakes the pass out to Doncic and hits the floater in the lane. 

Gafford spins on Tatum from the block and throws it down. 

WE ARE BACK IN BOSTON FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION!

Luka and Kyrie are going to need the other guys to step up, and so far it's been Derrick Jones who's got 7. They'll need more from him and from PJ Washington in the second half. 

I'm sure the Mavs didn't game plan for Jrue Holiday taking over on the offensive end, but that's exactly what he did in the first half. Dallas seemed to want to pressure Brown and Tatum and that left Holiday wide open for most of the first two quarters. He's got 17 heading into the third quarter. 

The Celtics hit just one three in the first quarter, but then got going in the second quarter starting with Derrick White who hit the second three of the game and gave Boston their first lead. 

Luka has 23 points in the first half on 9/13 shooting and is 3/6 from DT. 

Kyrie has been getting a lot of attention every time he touches the ball, but that hasn't stopped him even after a subpar game on Thursday. He's got 10 points on 5/10 shooting. 

After scoring 30 and grabbing 10 rebounds in Game 1, Luka followed up with a hot start in the first quarter. 

Porzingis hasn't been as spectacular as he was in Game 1, but he's still doing it on both ends. He had 3 blocks last game and got this one on Kleber just after coming off the bench. 

Brown was the best player in Game 1, and made sure he made his mark early in this game with this cross over and two handed slam. 

WE ARE HEADING TO HALFTIME AND THE BOSTON CELTICS TOOK THE LEAD LATE IN THE 2ND AND HEAD TO THE LOCKER ROOM UP 54-51

Gafford got blocked on his dunk attempt by White but he was called for a goal tend. 

Tatum with the kick out to Holiday and he drills the three ball! That's 17 for Holiday tonight!

Brown to the line after the foul on Doncic and he hits both FTs. 

Irving chases down his own rebound and gets the baseline jumper to go on the second chance. 

Tatum puts it on the deck, gets fouled and gets the bucket to go. FT is good after the foul on Jones. 

Doncic from the top of the key and he drills the pull up triple! He's got 23 already!

Holiday off the dribble and he lays it up and over Lively 

Doncic with a lob up to Jones and he throws it down with two hands. 

Tatum driving into the paint and he lays it off for Holiday who finishes with a reverse on the baseline. 

Timeout Mavs with under 4:00 to go in the half. 

Holiday back inside and he gets a good look from down low to fall. 

Jones goes back at the rack and he gets the bucket and the foul on Brown. FT is good. 

Doncic with the drop off to Jones who went slashing down the paint for the lay up. 

Holiday side steps on the baseline and floats in up and in from the lane. 

Jones follows Green's miss, lays it back to Green who came slashing in for the lay up. 

Brown goes up and under Jones and lays it up and in after getting his defender in the air. 

Horfor called for the defensive three seconds but Luka misses the FT. 

Timeout Celtics with 7:00 to go in the 2nd quarter. 

Tatum finds White in the corner and he drills the three to give the Celtics their first lead. 

Porzingis soars over the defense in the paint and floats it up and in. 

Tatum blows past Irving and scoops it up off the glass going from left to right across the paint. 

Doncic in the pant and hits the fader over Brown. 

Doncic in the corner and he drills another three ball! He's got 20 already!

Tatum drew a double team and slipped a bounce pass across the baseline for the jam. 

Doncic on the step back and he hits the fader over Pritchard. 

White starts the quarter with a mid range J from the baseline. 

WE ARE AT THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER WITH THE MAVS LEADING BY THREE!

Luka has 13 and Kyrie has 8, but DAL turned it over 5 times. 

Porzingis leads the Celtics with 8 off the bench and the Celtics just saw their first three go in right before the buzzer. 

Green got fouled on the three ball with 0.1 on the first quarter clock and he hits two of three after the foul on Porzingis. 

Horford in the corner off the kick out from Brown and he drills it for the first triple of the night for Boston. 

Irving with another blow by of the defender and he lays it up and in. 

Tough shot from Irving who had White all over him and he hits the runner off the glass. 

Porzingis had Kyrie on him and he just shot it over him from the elbow. 

Gafford to the line after the foul on Brown but he misses both FTs. 

Kleber sends Porzingis to the FT line where he hits both FTs. 

Irving sends Hauser to the line and he hits both FTs. 

Doncic to the line after the foul on Holiday and he hits both FTs. 

Holiday to the line after the foul on Green and he hits both FTs. 

Washington with the rebound on one end and he pushes the pace for the floater on the other end. 

Luka drills a three ball off the pull up from the wing and he's got 11 already!

Porzingis backing down Kleber and he gets the fader to fall in the lane. 

Luka with a turnaround and he hits the fader over Tatum. 

Doncic to the line after the foul on Tatum but he misses both FTs. 

Porzingis to the line after the foul on Jones and he hits both FTs. 

Brown crosses Doncic over in transition and rises for the two handed slam!!!

The challenge was unsuccessful so White goes to the line where he hits both FTs. 

Washington was called for a foul on White, and the Mavs want to take a look at that with 7:11 to go in the 1st. 

Irving pull up from the corner and drills the deep two with a foot on the line. 

Timeout Celtics with 8:18 to go in the 1st quarter. 

Irving pull up from the corner and drills the deep two with a foot on the line. 

Timeout Celtics with 8:18 to go in the 1st quarter. 

Doncic with another floater, this time from outside the lane and he gets the friendly role off the front of the rim. 

Holiday on the baseline drive and he flips it up and over Gafford on the lay up. 

Luka into the lane and he gets the two footed floater to fall. 

Tatum tips a long rebound to Brown who looked up and found Horford wide open for a lay up on the other end. 

Irving finds Washington who jacks the three and that's another thing the Mavs were hoping to see early on. 

Irving slashes through the paint and he lays it up and in. That's a great sight for the Mavs.

White finds Holiday cutting to the rim and he hits him in stride for the lay up. 

Luka wastes no time getting going with a turn around fade away over White in the paint. 

WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM BOSTON!!!

Celtics starters

One of the big questions coming into Game 2 was whether or not Porzingis was going to start. Joe Mazzulla is going with the first five that started in Thursday's win. It's Horford in at center with Holiday running the point, Derrick White as Mr. Do Everything, Tatum who was quiet last game, and Jaylen Brown who is MVP form lately. 

Mavs starters

We know that Luka is going to do his thing tonight, but he's got to get the other guys involved tonight. Kyrie is going to be the first option, and the Mavs are going to try and get him going early. Derick Jones Jr and PJ Washington both struggled from the field, and Gafford wasn't much of a factor down low. Jason Kidd is going with the same starting five as in Game 1, let's see how the changes in the gameplan workout tonight. 

Another perfect night for Dallas?

Things couldn’t have gone more perfectly for the Celtics in Game 1. That’s not to say they got lucky, but they couldn’t have drawn up a better game plan if they tried. Porzingis came out and shocked the world hitting 7 of his first 9 shots from the field, while Jaylen Brown dominated on both ends. They forced Luka to try to carry the team on his own, all the while not allowing him to get his teammates involved and Kyrie had a terrible game handling the ball and shooting the ball. On top of that, the Celtics hit 11 of their first 27 threes in the first half, and built up a massive lead at halftime. While he is a mismatch nightmare, Porzingis is unlikely to shoot that well from the field every game. Kyrie is unlikely to have as bad of a game as he had for the the rest of the series. The one thing that could be a constant is Boston shooting well from downtown after hitting 16 in Game 1. They have done so all season, and proved that they can do it in the Finals. How the Mavs change things up and defend the perimeter is going to go a long way in determining how this game and this series plays out. 

Kyrie's unhappy homecoming

While Luka did his thing in his NBA Finals debut, he was missing the second half of the Dallas Duo that has got the Mavs to this point. Luka looked like he was in his comfort zone while Kyrie looked lost. One of the best ball handlers the league has ever seen was sloppy with the ball, dribbling it off his foot, passing it out of bounds and missing shots he usually makes. It was be stated that he was back in Boston where he has developed a rocky relationship with the fans that used to don his jersey at the TD Garden. He was welcomed back to a chorus of boos and jeers which appeared to get to him and affect his play. That may not be the case tonight. If the Mavs are going to win, Kyrie is going to have to have to be himself, because Luka already showed that he is going to get his. 

NBA

Will Luka Doncic play tonight in Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Celtics? What is a thoracic contusion?

Doncic to play in Game 2

Luka Doncic has been dealing with injuries all postseason, and comes in to Game 2 with another one added to the list. Despite the long list of problems, it looks like he will play tonight.

More Luka magic in store?

What we are seeing from Luka Doncic isn’t normal. He is a generational sensation, a stone cold killer, and an unstoppable force on the offensive end and does it with a smile on his face. In Game 1 there wasn’t much more he could do. He had 30 points and almost single handily brought the Mavs back from the dead while showing there is no stage to big for the one time teenage MVP of the Euroleague only a few years ago. It should come as no surprise that he is putting up 30 and 10 rebounds in his Finals debut, considering in the short time in the league he has become the all time leaders in points per game in the playoffs. Tonight, we would be foolish if we expected anything less from the Slovenian, but who else is going to show up for Dallas?

What can Brown do for Boston?

Jason Kidd came out of the Game 1 loss with one thing very clear. Jaylen Brown is the best player on the Boston Celtics. Those in the front offices in Boston must have known that last year after offering him the richest contract in NBA history. He has played second fiddle to Jayson Tatum for most of the season, but when it mattered most, Brown showed that he is ready to take this team back to championship glory, and show the world he is worth every penny that the Celtics gave him a little less than a year ago. It wasn’t just him locking down Luka for much of the game, it wasn’t just his ability to keep the Mavs defense guessing. Jrue Holiday was asked about Kidd’s statement’s and the Boston point guard was in agreement with the Dallas coach. If Brown plays like he did in Game 1, the Mavs are going to have an awfully difficult time winning this series. 

Game 1 recap

After a long break between close out games to the Conference Finals for both teams, the Mavs and Celtics met in Game 1 of the Finals in TD Garden. It was billed as the battle of the best back courts in the league, and there was only one team that came out ready for battle on Thursday night. It was close for about the first five and a half minutes, but Kristaps Porzingis came back from injury after almost 40 days and put the Celtics on his back scoring 18 points in the first half. He was the catalyst of Boston’s 23-5 run at the end of the first quarter, which blew the game open and left Dallas chasing for the rest of the game. Luka Doncic did try to pull his side back in the 3rd quarter, cutting a one time 29 point lead down to 8, but his 30 points and 10 rebounds weren’t nearly enough as Kyrie and the rest of the Mavs struggled from the field. While Porzingis provided a spark off the bench, it was Jaylen Brown who set the tone on both ends of the floor. He took it upon himself to guard Luka and made plays for him and his teammates on the other end of the floor, ending the night with 22, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks.

We are live from Boston

Hello everyone and welcome to the Garden where the Celtics came out and landed the first blow in the Finals with what looked to be an easy win in Game 1. They were off for nearly 10 days, but showed no signs of rust early in the game, as Kristaps Porzingis came back from injury and ignited the C’s and the TD Garden crowd with a fantastic start to the game. The Mavericks looked stunned from the start and never rebounded. They may have lost by 18 points, but there is no difference losing by 3 or 30 in the Finals. They have to get back up and dust themselves off for tonight’s Game 2 if they want to steal home court advantage and head back to Dallas with the series level at 1-1. 

Mavericks vs. Celtics Game 2

The Boston Celtics are up a game to the good after their comfortable win over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night. Now Jaylen Brown and the Celtics have a chance to double their lead before heading south, but the Dallas Mavericks will be looking to even up the series and take home court away from Boston tonight at the Garden. AS English will be with you all night providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of tonight’s Game 2 oft he NBA Finals.