Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks Highlight Major Fixes for Game 2 Against Boston Celtics

There is a lot the Dallas Mavericks much clean up before Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Jason Kidd, and others, share their thoughts.

Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) controls the ball against Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) in the second quarter during game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics produced a hot start in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in what became a 107-89 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. When reviewing how the loss unfolded when looking ahead to Sunday's Game 2, there is much to consider regarding how the Mavs can bounce back and leave Boston in a 1-1 series tie instead of being down 2-0.

The Celtics scored 37 points in the first quarter to set the tone, mainly by shooting 7 of 15 from beyond the arc. The impressive shooting continued throughout the whole first half, heading into halftime with 63 points scored with 11 makes from beyond the arc at a 40.7 clip. Luka Doncic highlighted the need for the Mavericks to better handle Boston's five-out offense, which proved challenging, particularly with Kristaps Porzingis on the floor.

"I mean, obviously, I think they are the best three-point shooting team in the NBA, so sometimes really hard to take those away," Doncic said. "Especially when they have five guys out and they can all shoot. Obviously, we've got to make more. We didn't make enough shots today to beat them. But we've got to be better on both ends."

Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) controls the ball against Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) in the second quarter during game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Mavericks didn't give up despite trailing by as many as 29 points at one point, rallying back to trail by only eight points at one point in the third quarter. Doncic credits the Mavericks' intent to play their brand of basketball to get them back into the game and the team must do it more in Game 2.

"Just playing our basketball," Doncic said. "I think in those moments, we were playing our basketball. We were getting stops. We didn't allow them to offensive rebound. So we were having fun out there those couple moments, and that's what we got to do more."

Kyrie Irving described the Celtics' early dominance as having hit the Mavericks in the mouth, making it easy for them to manage the rest of the game flow. When playing on the road against a tough opponent on such a big stage, that creates a very difficult circumstance to overcome.

"They came out and hit us in the mouth early. Got the home crowd going into it. Down 17 in the first quarter. It's not really like us to give up 37 points," Irving said. "It's happened to us before in the playoffs, but we just wanted to make it a lot tougher on them. They hit a lot of threes. Again, when you get them rolling like that, they play a very easy game the rest of the game, and we've just got to hit them in the mouth a little bit. They did their job getting Game 1, but we are going to take our lessons and get ready for a good Game 2."

Irving acknowledged beyond shot making that he needed to be more poised to manage the game better than he did in Game 1 for the betterment of the group. “It starts with me as one of the leaders on the team, how can I be better and how can I be more poised in this environment,” he said. “It’s not the booing and it’s not the missed shots. It’s more or less our attitude and how we approach possession by possession.”

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd described the Celtics as the best team in the NBA and pinpointed their 3-point volume for the first half being 27 attempts. Dallas must do a better job of containing that perimeter shooting attack, but stated the Celtics deserve credit for this execution level.

"Yeah, I think this is the best team in the NBA and they are good for a reason. They play their style of basketball at a high rate," Kidd said. "They generated 27 threes there in the first half, and made I think 11 of them. So we have to be better. We can't give them seven made threes in the first quarter. That would have outscored us with only scoring 20. So we have to be better. Give them credit. They were good tonight. But again, we've got to be better. Nerves or not being in this situation, we can't use that as an excuse. It's just basketball, and we've got to be better at the game of basketball on Sunday."

The Mavericks struggled offensively to provide Doncic with much support. He scored 30 points, accounting for over a third of the team's points with the team scoring only once on his passes, resulting in him having one assists while the team as a whole had nine.

Boston guarded Dallas often without helping off the corners and staying attached to interior play finishers. The Celtics were willing to leave players like P.J. Washington or Derrick Jones Jr. open above the break, making them counter by shooting or over-driving into the paint. Dallas shot 7-27. (25.9%) from deep on the night, the team had only three makes outside Doncic's four. With cross matching at the four and five spot, Dallas was neutralized in pick-and-roll without a single roll man point while the wings were held in check.

"They mostly play one-on-one," Doncic said of the Celtics' defensive approach. "They send a lot of help. So that's why."

Irving scored 12 points, which was fewer than even Jaden Hardy's 13. It was a tough night for Irving, shooting 6 of 19 from the floor and missing each of his five 3-point attempts. Dallas simply doesn't have a real chance to win without him playing at a high level as he's shown capable. Boston emphasized keeping him off the 3-point line and out of the paint, making him live on a tough diet of tough short-range jumpers and pressured finishes.

"I think that they really rely on their great defensive ball pressure and one-on-one defenders. They funnel us into certain areas," Irving said. "Even as I say that, they are relying on the one-on-one, every time I got an iso, there's almost two, three people waiting for me to get in there. I have to catch the ball on a live dribble and just be aware of my opportunities. It's uncharacteristic for us to have only nine assists. The ball has got to move a little bit more. And again, that starts with me just being able to push the pace, get us some easy opportunities, and just adjust to what they are throwing at us."

Instead of dwelling on Game 1, Doncic encouraged his teammates to focus on doing what's needed to respond for Game 2. He felt Dallas got quality shots despite him only recording one assist and the team having nine on the night, a staggeringly low total on both fronts.

"Just focus on the next game. I think we really got good shots," Doncic said. "We just didn't make them. But we've got to go game by game. The Game 1 is over. We've got to watch film, what we did wrong, and focus only on the next one."

Other areas proved costly for Dallas, including giving up a lot of offensive rebounds, particularly early in the game, leading to extra chances for Boston to score. Washington felt this was more important than offensive struggles regarding how the loss unfolded.

"I don't really think the offense was our problem tonight," Washington said. "I think they hit a bunch of threes that we need to do a better job of contesting. Had a bunch of offensive rebounds that led to second-chance points. That's what we need to focus on. Offense will come. We are good enough to score. So not really worried about that side of the ball."

Irving is eager to get into the film room and see what can be improved before Sunday's Game 2 at TD Garden. He highlighted the need to withstand Boston's explosive runs, particularly ones fueled by shooting on the team's home floor, but emphasized the need to not focus too much on Game 1.

"Again, just look at film and then also be ready to wash our hands of what this game was and how we didn't rise to the occasion to start off the game," Irving said. "Just be able to battle with them during those runs. They are going to make some threes at times but we want to make them tough. When they are at home, they shoot incredibly well. We knew what we were getting ourselves into but until we experience it, then we wouldn't know.

"This is the first time this group is experiencing the Finals. We don't want to use that as an excuse. We want to use that as a strength," Irving explained. "We want to use that energy that we have of just going into it and playing our game to our advantage, and then, you know, we'll see how the chess pieces fall in."

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