Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving Take Blame For Mavericks' Game 2 Loss to Celtics

With Dallas now behind 0-2 in the series, their two superstars take blame for how the series has gone

Jun 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) high fives guard Luka Doncic (77) after a play against the Boston Celtics during the first quarter in game two of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Mavericks fell behind 0-2 in the NBA Finals with a 105-98 loss to the Boston Celtics Sunday night. It's a game the Mavs needed to capitalize on as the normally lethal-shooting Celtics shot just 25.3% from deep. While Luka Doncic had a 30-point triple-double, he still thinks he needs to be better and admits fault for the loss.

"I think my turnovers and my missed free throws cost us the game," Doncic told the media after the game. "I’ve got to do way better in those two categories.”

READ MORE: Jrue Holiday, Celtics Outlast Mavericks In Game 2 of NBA Finals: 3 Game-Changing Plays

Doncic had 8 turnovers, the most he's had since his first-ever NBA playoff game against the Clippers in 2020. Some were strange, over-the-head pass attempts through traffic, but he was consistently seeing two black jerseys on his drives in the second half as Boston realized he was the only one who could create open looks. He was also just 4/8 from the free-throw line in what has been a horrendous start from the charity stripe for Doncic in this series, now at 6/13 through two games. He had been shooting 80% in the playoffs leading into the series.

Kyrie Irving, meanwhile, has struggled in all areas through two games, averaging just 14 PPG while shooting 35% from the field. It's been a rough series so far for Irving against his former teammate and he's well aware he needs to play better.

“It wasn’t just all on me," Irving started to say to the media Sunday night, "but I’m taking the majority of it because my teammates look to me to convert a lot of these shots and ease the burden, not only just Luka, but everyone else, settle our team. We definitely made our identity on the defensive end but now offensively I gotta play better.”

Some people were upset at this quote by him not taking full ownership of the loss, but Irving has been big on the "win as a team, lose as a team" mantra all year.

At least in the Oklahoma City series when Irving struggled to score, he was doing a good job of getting other guys involved and picking and choosing his spots. His 6 APG in the Western Conference Semifinals tower over his passing in The Finals so far.

For Dallas to come back in this series, it will take both Doncic and Irving playing their best basketball. They've done a good job of limiting Jayson Tatum on the other side, but the Mavericks' offense hasn't been able to get going. They're shooting just 24% from deep in The NBA Finals, and if you take out Doncic's shooting performance, the Mavs are a combined 5/32 (15.7%) from deep, a lot of those being good looks generated by Doncic's passing. It's hard to win when you can't make threes as a team.

The Mavericks saw P.J. Washington step up with some scoring inside the arc in Game 2 and Daniel Gafford started to take advantage of mismatches on the block in the second half, but Dallas needs to start knocking their shots down from the perimeter.

As the series turns back to Dallas for Game 3 on Wednesday night, they've reached desperation looking to avoid a 3-0 series deficit.

READ MORE: Mavericks' Jason Kidd Comments On Questionable No Call Late In Game 2 of NBA Finals

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