BOSTON- Luka Doncic it hurts. Kyrie Irving is in trouble and that of Jason Kidd mind game on the Boston Celtics did not work. All are ingredients for the 2-0 hole. Dallas Mavericks are present during the NBA Finals.
Boston took control of this series Sunday night with a 105-98 victory behind 26 points Jrue Vacationsa near triple-double of Jayson Tatum and another balanced effort of Jaylen Brown.
Dončić, who was playing with a bruised chest in addition to nagging knee and ankle injuries, was again dominant in the loss, this time with a triple-double of 32 points (11 rebounds and 11 assists). But he only scored nine points after halftime, and if any of the injuries affect him, well, Dallas can’t afford it, especially if no one else steps up.
“I think my turnovers and missed free throws cost us the game,” said Dončić, who said he was “fine” physically. He suffered a chest injury in the first match, but said he felt no pain until the next day.
“Actually, I was (doubtful),” Dončić said. “But I still want to play. All day we did a lot of things to prepare.
Irving is shooting 13 of 37 in this series after his 16 points on 7 of 18 shooting in Game 2, and he is 0 of 8 from 3 in two games. Irving’s teams have never beaten Boston since he left the Celtics in 2019, losing 12 in a row.
“I would take most of the responsibility,” Irving said. “The first two games weren’t the best for me, especially (Luka) scoring over 25 points, grabbing rebounds, getting assists, doing the intangibles. And for me, I always felt responsible to put the other guys comfortable too.
“It is the responsibility of all of us. I’m pretty sure if you hear what everyone has to say, they’ll say they can do something better. But I think the message right now is just to get our bearings.
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Game 3 takes place Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
After practice Saturday, Mavs coach Jason Kidd, in an obvious attempt to sow division among his opponent, said Brown, not the more decorated Tatum, was the Celtics’ best player. It’s not the kind of debate that’s settled in a single game anyway, but Tatum came out of a poor shooting night to produce 18 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists.
Brown added 21 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals, supporting Kidd’s statement. Late in the fourth quarter, with Boston clinging to a five-point lead, Brown (with Derrick White) defended a potential dunk by Dallas’ PJ Washington, then Brown converted a layup on the other end to take a 105-98 lead with 29 seconds left.
“I’m really tired of hearing about some guy, or this guy or that guy, or everyone trying to pass themselves off as something other than Celtic basketball,” Celtics coach said , Joe Mazzulla. “Everyone who stepped on that field today made winning plays on both ends of the floor, and that’s the most important thing.”
The holidays were Celtics‘best man on the scoreboard on Sunday. The team’s lone champion made 11 of 14 shots, contributed 11 rebounds and had no turnovers. His perimeter defense was a factor in Boston’s successful defensive game plan of placing Dončić and Irving on islands, shutting down the rest of Dallas’ offense.
“I’m a utility guy. I’ll do anything. I’m here to win,” said Holiday, one of Boston’s two key additions last offseason. “I feel like they brought me here to win, and I’ll do my best to do that.” But at the end of the day, it’s (Tatum and Brown’s) team, and I know it’s probably as much my team as theirs, but again, I feel like I already have talked about, about the pressure they have on themselves to perform. and being awesome is a little different than my pressure.
“They are superstars and I am here to support them.”
White finished with 18 points, but it wasn’t just about his offensive contributions. At the end of the fourth quarter, he continued Washington across the field to make a crucial block with help from Brown.
“It was sick,” Mazzulla said.
Kidd had a different opinion. “It looked like a foul, but it wasn’t called, so it wasn’t a foul,” Kidd said.
If there was a downside to the Celtics’ evening, it was this. Kristaps Porziņģis may have aggravated his right calf strain that caused him to miss 10 playoff games. Porziņģis finished with 12 points on Sunday, but limped through the fourth quarter and struggled up and down the court before being ejected for the rest of the game.
“Zero (concern),” Mazzulla said of Porziņģis. “It is good.”
Porziņģis said he would have to be evaluated Monday before the Celtics flew to Dallas for Game 3, but he appeared to intend to play.
“I’m going to die there,” Porziņģis said.
Dallas came into halftime trailing 54-51 behind Dončić’s 23 points. The Celtics maintained control in the third quarter, leading by as many as 13 points, and Payton Pritchard pulled out of the NBA Finals logo and made a 3 as time expired to send Boston into the fourth quarter -time with an advantage of 83-74.
“I think it was the play of the game, it can’t go unnoticed,” Mazzulla said of Pritchard’s shot. “You see guys around the league passing up that shot, or pretending they don’t want to take it so their numbers don’t get ruined. He takes pride in making that shot, and it’s winning the basketball.
Dončić shot 12 of 21 from the field with four steals, and Washington contributed 17 points and seven rebounds for the Mavericks, who were 2 of 13 from 3 in the second half. For the game, every Dallas player not named Dončić shot 2 of 17 from the 3-point line.
The Mavericks also struggled at the free throw line, where they missed 8 of 24. The Celtics converted 19 of 20 at the line to make up for their poor 3-point shooting (10 of 39).
“(Dončić) put us in a position – he was really good tonight,” Kidd said. “Unfortunately, we were unable to overcome this obstacle. I thought our defense was good. We just have to take care of the ball. There are too many turnovers that gave them points, and then also being able to – we have to score the ball, and right now we have to find someone to join Luka and Ky in that scoring category.
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(Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
