BOSTON Celtics overcame a late run by Dallas Mavericks for a 105-98 win in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines) at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
With the Celtics leading 103-89 after back-to-back triples by Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, the Mavericks responded with a 9-0 blast behind Derrick Jones Jr., P.J. Washington, and Luka Doncic to cut the deficit to 98-103.
Dallas had a chance to pull even closer but Washington’s fastbreak attempt was foiled by the defense of White. Jaylen Brown iced the win for Boston with a layup on the other end.
Holiday finished with a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds as the Celtics took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, two wins away from a record 18th NBA championship.
Brown added 21 markers, White and Jayson Tatum each finished with 18 markers, and Kristaps Porzingis contributed 12 markers for Boston, which last hoisted an NBA title in 2008.
The Mavericks were aggressive to start the game as they jumped to a 20-14 advantage behind Doncic, but the Celtics clawed their way back to cut the deficit to 25-28.
Dallas pulled away anew to start the second quarter behind Doncic at 35-29, but Boston leaned on conversions from Brown, Tatum, and Holiday to surge ahead at 54-51 at the half.
After the Mavericks tied the score at 57-all early in the third quarter, the Celtics responded with Brown, White, and Tatum as they established an 83-74 lead after a buzzer-beating triple by Payton Pritchard from near midcourt.
Dallas still tried to keep the match close early in the fourth quarter, but Boston got three-pointers from White and Holiday to establish the biggest lead of 103-89.
Doncic tallied a triple-double of 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, Washington added 17 points, while Kyrie Irving, Daniel Gafford, and Jones had 16, 13, and 11, respectively, for the Mavericks./PN
BOX SCORE:
BOSTON 105 — Holiday 26, Brown 21, Tatum 18, White 18, Porzingis 12, Horford 5, Pritchard 3, Hauser 2.
DALLAS 98 — Doncic 32, Washington 17, Irving 16, Gafford 13, Jones 11, Green 4, Exum 3, Lively 2, Kleber 0, Hardy 0.
Quarterscores: 25-28, 54-51, 83-74, 105-98.
