BOSTON (AP) — Jrue Holiday led the scoring while Derrick White made a crucial chase-down block. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown also contributed significantly with their passing and defense.
The Mavericks can stop worrying about who Boston’s best player is because everyone is stepping up in the Celtics' quest for an unprecedented 18th NBA championship.
Holiday posted 26 points and 11 rebounds, and White sprinted down the court to block the Mavericks’ last chance on Sunday night, leading Boston to a 105-98 victory over Dallas and a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
Tatum compensated for a rough shooting night with 12 assists and nine rebounds, alongside his 18 points. Brown added 21 points and three steals, White contributed 18 points and three steals, and Payton Pritchard's only basket of the game was a banked half-court shot to beat the third-quarter buzzer, giving Boston an 83-74 lead.
“That’s why they are the No. 1 team in the NBA with the No. 1 record,” said Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who scored 32 points with 11 rebounds and 11 assists, marking the first NBA Finals triple-double in Dallas franchise history. “They have a lot of great players. Anybody can get off.”
Doncic, who was questionable to play until less than two hours before tipoff, earned his 10th career playoff triple-double. However, he managed only three points in the fourth quarter, with a three-point play at 1:15 left as Dallas went on a 9-0 run to cut a 14-point deficit to 103-98.
After Derrick Jones Jr. blocked Tatum’s dunk attempt, White raced down the court to join Brown in blocking P.J. Washington’s potential dunk. Brown then made a layup, and Doncic missed a one-footed, running floater from 3-point range with 28 seconds left, ending Dallas' comeback hopes.
“It’s not all on him. It’s a team,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said of Doncic, who had been battling chest, knee, and ankle injuries. “He put us in a position. He was perfect tonight. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get over the hump. We’ve got to find someone to join Luka and (Kyrie Irving) in that scoring category.”
Games 3 and 4 are set for Wednesday and Friday in Dallas; Boston has not lost on the road this postseason. It was the ninth time the Celtics have won the opening pair in the NBA Finals: they have won the previous eight and have never been forced to a Game 7 in any of those series.
A day, after Kidd attempted to create discord in the Celtics locker room by calling Brown — not Tatum, an All-NBA first-teamer — the team’s best player, Boston, showed why it doesn’t matter. The two All-Stars combined to make just 2 of 12 3-point attempts but filled up the box score in other ways.
“How they play together is sacred, and something that can’t be broken,” Holiday said. “I don’t prefer one or the other, I prefer both. Because they’re both superstars, and they’re showing it on the biggest stage in the world.”
Kristaps Porzingis limped his way to 12 points for top-seeded Boston. Tatum was 6 for 22 shooting and 1 of 7 from 3-point range; the Celtics were 10 for 39 from long distance overall.
“I’m tired of hearing about one guy or this guy or that guy and everybody trying to make it out to be anything other than Celtic basketball,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Everybody that stepped on that court today made winning plays on both ends of the floor.”
Unlike their 107-89 victory in Game 1, when Boston went 7 for 15 from 3-point range in the first quarter to sprint to a 17-point lead, the Celtics missed their first eight attempts from long range on Sunday. Dallas led the entire first quarter.
Tatum was scoreless in the first and had only five at halftime when he was still 0 for 3 from 3-point range. Boston was still just 5 for 30 from long distance when Pritchard banked in a half-court shot at the third-quarter buzzer to give Boston an 83-74 lead.
That excited the crowd, which previously had spent most of its time serenading Irving with boos — and semi-vulgar chants. Before the game, the scoreboard showed Irving’s postgame quote from Game 1, where he said he thought the crowd would be louder. The fans roared in response.
Irving scored 16 points and has lost 12 games against the Celtics.
“A little disappointed in myself for not being able to convert many more of my opportunities in the lane,” he said. “My teammates look for me to convert a lot of shots and lessen the burden on Luka and the entire team.”
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