Luka Doncic's Mavericks Face 2-0 NBA Finals Hole After Game 2 Loss Against Celtics

Despite Luka Doncic's dynamic performance, the Dallas Mavericks now face a 2-0 series deficit against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals after dropping Game 2 at TD Garden.

Jun 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) dribbles the ball against Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) during the second quarter in game two of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

BOSTON — The Dallas Mavericks left TD Garden facing a 2-0 series deficit against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals following a 105-99 Game 2 loss. The loss occurred despite Luka Doncic finishing with 32 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, and four steals while continuing to bear the brunt of the opposition's defensive efforts.

“That’s why they are the No. 1 team in the NBA with the No. 1 record,” Doncic said. “They have a lot of great players. Basically, anybody can get off.”

Earlier in the day, Doncic was downgraded on the injury report from probable to questionable, with a new injury designation added to the two he already had. He suffered a thoracic contusion in Game 1 while already dealing with a right knee sprain and left ankle soreness. He did acknowledge a real chance he didn't play. "I always want to play," Doncic said. "So all day we did a lot of things to get ready for the game."

Jun 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) dribbles the ball against Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) during the second quarter in game two of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Plenty of factors contributed to the Mavericks' underwhelming offensive performance, including 15 turnovers, shooting 6 of 26 (23.1%) from the perimeter, and going 16 of 24 (66.7%) on free throws. While Doncic accounted for eight turnovers and shot 4 of 8 on free throws, outside of his perimeter shotmaking, Dallas finished 2 of 17 (11.8%) from deep.

Doncic emphasized the need for the team to make more shots, but singled out his turnovers and missed free throws as costing the Mavericks in Game 2. "We've got to make some more shots," Doncic said. "I think my turnovers and my missed free throws cost us the game. So I've got to do way better in those two categories."

Kyrie Irving had another underwhelming performance but had increased interactions responding to the chants from the home crowd. He finished with 16 points and six assists but shot just 7 of 18 overall and missed each of his 3-point attempts, meaning he has yet to convert a triple in the NBA Finals through two games. He struggled to break down the Celtics' on-ball defenders, making it challenging to provide Doncic with the necessary superstar help needed to win.

Irving admired Doncic's willingness to show leadership by taking accountability for areas he could have played better. Still, he expressed that "it's on all of us," and he wanted to "take the brunt of the responsibility."

"We talked about this last series, he did something similar. But when you're in the Finals, and you're taking the brunt of the accountability, he definitely -- he's in the right for wanting to single himself out," Irving said. "But this is a team game. He's not alone, and we are going to tell him that. As expected, he's fresh off the court. He's spilling into his emotions, feels like he could play better, just like me. I would take the brunt of the responsibility.

"The first two games weren't the best for me, especially him scoring 25-plus the points, getting rebounds, getting assists, doing the intangibles, and for me I've always felt responsible for getting other guys comfortable out there, too," Irving explained. "It's on all of us. ... We want to go home and be prepared to win games, and in order to do that, we have to be ready to defend this good Boston Celtics team."

Aside from poor perimeter shooting, the starting lineup was full of double figure scoring performances. P.J. Washington added 17 points and seven rebounds with his success coming from inside the arc. Daniel Gafford had an efficient 13 points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes. Derrick Jones Jr. came up empty on three periemter shots but scored 11 points and added three rebounds. Dallas only received a combined nine points from the bench group and one made 3-pointer.

"Yeah, I think Luka is a special player. He's one of, if not the best player in the world, and he causes a problem. He's able to find guys," Doncic said. "Again, creating open opportunities, and we just didn't take advantage of it. And we'll go back and look and see if we can get even better looks. But the looks that we got, we just missed some open threes. It was good to see Exum knock down an open three, and hopefully we can build on that."

It was another tough scoring night for Jayson Tatum, who shot 8 of 22 (36.4%) overall and 1 of 7 (14.3%) on 3-pointers, but he dished out 12 assists and added nine rebounds. Jrue Holiday's 26 points and 11 rebounds were pivotal. Jaylen Brown chipped in 21 points, seven assists, and three steals. Other key contributors included Derrick White's 18 points, five rebounds, and three steals. Kristaps Porzingis scored 12 points and blocked two shots. Boston overcame shooting 10 of 39 (25.6%) to achieve the victory, portraying a concerning formula for Dallas to fare in this series.

“I’m really 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,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said when asked about Tatum's shooting performance. “Everybody that stepped on that court today made winning plays on both ends of the floor.”

Doncic was getting downhill where he wanted to go early, scoring three times on drives for six points before the game's first timeout. However, Dallas had frequent breakdowns in transition defense, reducing the momentum it created. Regardless, after previous concerns about a questionable injury designation due to a lengthy list of ailments, including a thoracic contusion, a right knee sprain, and a left ankle soreness. It didn't prevent him from a dominant display.

Irving hit a mid-range jumper to put the Mavericks up 13-6, entering a timeout with 8:18 remaining in the first quarter. He went on to have a strong first quarter, with eight points. It became a struggle for him to score for much of the remainder of the night.

Boston frequently got to the free throw line in order to close the gap. Meanwhile, Doncic missed a pair of free throws when Dallas was still up 13-12. He heated up in response for the Mavericks' next five points using tough jumpers; first a short-range turnaround, followed by a quick trigger 3-point attempt after turning the corner agaisnt aggressive pick-and-roll coverage. He already scored 11 points at this point.

Throughout the first half, the Mavericks prioritized size and defensive versatility. When Irving went to the bench, the team had Doncic playing with Josh Green, Derrick Jones Jr., Maxi Kleber, and Lively. In frequent situations, Jaden Hardy was getting rotation minutes with Tim Hardaway Jr., ending a streak of DNPs in Game 1. Even when Irving was in to close the period without Doncic, there was defensive personnel on the floor. Dante Exum received more minutes as well.

Late in the first quarter, Irving was aggressively turning the corner to get to the rim for finishes using ball screens, often by pulling Porzingis into the action. He scored eight points by the end of the period, providing a needed additional boost to the early success Doncic was experiencing.

Doncic began the second quarter, continuing his early momentum. He hit another turnaround jumper, a corner 3-pointer, and then a one-legged jumper after coming off an off-ball screen. Dallas was more creative with creating favorable touches for Doncic to score using screening actions, along with having Washington initiate the offense.

Doncic already had 20 points on the night early in the period. This stretch created some separation to extend Dallas' lead to 35-29, but the momentum was short-lived. A 3-point make from White put Boston ahead 36-35 midway through the second quarter, achieving its first lead. Boston's lead only reached as large as three points before Dallas responded with a 7-2 run, with Jones scoring or assisting on all 7 points in the stretch to take a 42-40 lead, including a steal leading to an and-one finish in transition.

Boston continued to leave open Washington and Jones in order to pack the paint, but there was more creativity in this game with off-ball activity and screening to create advantages. However, it still resulted in some limitations, including Doncic making an incredible wraparound spray-out pass to Washington but the shot was missed.

Both teams continued to trade made shots down the stretch of the first half. After Doncic scored 23 points with yet another made 3-pointer, Boston began aggressively showing help to stifle the Mavericks' offensive momentum. The Celtics closed the opening half with a 54-51 advantage, with Holiday's 17 points proving instrumental. Irving was the only other player who scored in double figures at this point with 10 points.

The Mavericks exited halftime by outscoring the Celtics with four consecutive points. Gafford became a focus of the offense by hunting Tatum in the post, who was often cross-matched onto him as a base matchup. However, a failure to box out and turnovers prevented Dallas from turning early scoring success into any sort of separation. After a steal led to a layup and White hit a contested corner 3-pointer, Boston led 62-57.

After Doncic hit a turnaround jumper, he later used a series of screen flips from Lively to create a pass over the top for an emphatic dunk. Dallas trailed by two points, entering a timeout with 7:29 remaining in the third quarter. With continued shooting struggles from role players like Jones, Washington, and Green, coupled with an inability to contain drives from Tatum and Brown, Dallas had a scoring drought that left the door open for Boston to go up by eight.

The Celtics achieved their first double-figure lead of the night with 3:27 left in the third quarter after Brown made a pair of free throws. The advantage grew to 12 after Holiday finished a reverse layup.

The Mavericks deployed Doncic, Irving, and Exum together, a combination that was highly successful in the regular season in limited opportunities, but has been rarely used in the postseason. Doncic took advantage of not having to initiate by hitting a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer. Dallas also was focused on pushing the pace, but Boston had heated up significantly on jump shots, with Brown's top of the key jumper pushing the lead to 13.

At one point, Hauser missed a 3-pointer with the chance to grow Boston's lead back to double figures, he missed and Irving took it the other way to get to the free throw line, resulting in Dallas trailing 80-74. However, Payton Pritchard banked in a 34-foot jumper to beat the buzzer, established a nine-point edge for the Celtics entering the final period.

After hearing more 'Kyrie sucks!' chants from the TD Garden crowd, Irving orchestrated a pick-and-roll by snaking into the gap to find Gafford for a dunk, then turned the corner against White to finish at the rim. Dallas went from trailing by 11 earlier in the frame to being down 90-83 with 8:06 left to play.

White answered with a tightly contested 3-pointer coming out of a timeout to put Boston back up by 10. Irving missed a pull-up jumper in mid-range on the next play before Tatum drove past Gafford on a switch to draw a foul, leading to two free throws. Boston's lead was as large as 12 in the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks trimmed the Celtics' lead to eight points after Irving got to the rim and later found Gafford on a lob with 4:40 left to play. A costly turnover attempting to avoid a backcourt violation resulted in a wide-open 3-pointer for Holiday that he hit. White followed it up with a perimeter make of his own. Dallas trailed five points after Doncic used a slow step on a drive to get Al Horford to foul him on an and-one. After a defensive stop, Washington was blocked in transition, ending a chance to make it a single-possession game with Boston finishing at the rim on the other end.

The series shifts to Dallas for the next two games with Game 3 played on Wednesday. The Mavericks remain eager to protec home court at American Airlines Center.

"Yeah, we are not down. We're positive," Kidd said. "This is a group that believes. We didn't get an opportunity to get a split or win two here on the road. Now Boston held serve. Now we've got to go home and hold serve."

Stick with MavericksGameday for more coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA Finals.

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