The Boston Celtics lead the Dallas Mavericks 83-74 heading into the final quarter of Game 2 of the NBA Finals despite a hot start from Luka Doncic, who scored 13 points in the opening quarter to quickly put any injury concerns to bed.
Doncic was questionable for Game 2 of the NBA Finals and genuinely looked to be in pain, grabbing at his chest at practice and then looking equally uncomfortable at shootaround.
However, the Mavericks superstar didn’t look at all hindered by the injury as he went 3-for-4 from the field early in Monday’s game to give Dallas a 13-6 lead over Boston.
Doncic was seen being wrapped up around his chest pre-game, with Mavericks coach Jason Kidd revealing it was a thoracic contusion injury which the team believes was suffered when the Slovenian superstar took a charge or dived on the floor in Game 1.
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Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla called a timeout at 13-6 and it had the desired effect as Boston went on a 6-0 run sparked by some disruptive defence, with Jaylen Brown turning a steal into a dunk while Kristaps Porzingis picked up where he left off Game 1 with an emphatic block.
Jayson Tatum, however, finished the opening quarter scoreless after missing his first four shots, with Doris Burke noting his match-up with Australian Josh Green is one to watch.
“That’s going to be an interesting match-up because Josh in Game 1, some of it in garbage time, held Tatum to 0-for-4,” she said.
“He was super physical with him. Just something to keep an eye on, how much does he get that match-up.”
Green hasn’t prove himself much of a consistent outside shooter in the postseason but he made a crucial play down the stretch when he drew a foul on the final 3-point attempt of the quarter.
Former NBA sharpshooter J.J. Redick described it as a “really smart play” from the Australian, who made two of his three free throws.
The Celtics almost finished the opening quarter without a 3-pointer for the first time this season, only for Al Horford to drain one from deep late.
Although otherwise Boston went 1-for-9 from 3-point land while Dallas made two of its five attempts, with Irving scoring eight points in the first quarter alongside Doncic’s 13.
Porzingis was once again heavily involved after his fast start to Game 1, scoring eight points to go with two rebounds and a block on Monday.
This time around though he was overshadowed by Doncic, who added a turnaround jumper and corner 3-pointer early in the second quarter to quickly bring up 18 total points.
It was just looking like one of those nights for the Celtics, with the Mavericks superstar making tough shot after tough shot.
But eventually the shots stopped falling and that was consistent across the board for Dallas as the Celtics started to gain momentum and took a 36-35 lead five minutes into the quarter.
Boston ended up taking a 54-51 lead into halftime despite getting a combined 13 points from Tatum and Brown while the team as a whole was shooting just 20 per cent from 3-point land.
While Tatum was having a tough shooting night he was finding other ways to make an impact, namely as a playmaker, finishing with a career-high eight assists at the half.
Doncic, meanwhile, was doing everything he could to keep Dallas in the game with 23 points and three assists.
The Mavericks superstar was heavily involved once again to open the third quarter, recording two points, a pair of rebounds, five assists and a steal in the first six minutes of the period.
Even still, it wasn’t enough to put Dallas in front as Tatum started to find his rhythm with six early points, doing well to finish through contact instead of settling for outside shots.
The Celtics were able to push out their lead out to 75-63 late in the third quarter as Jrue Holiday continued to make an impact on both ends of the floor.
It prompted Kidd to call a timeout and bring Doncic back into the game after just a 30-second rest for the Slovenian, who immediately made a 3-pointer on his first possession.
On Dallas’ next possession Doncic was quickly doubled but found a way to get the ball to Australian Dante Exum, who was left wide-open and drained the triple.
Dallas had got the Boston lead down 80-74 entering the final few seconds of the quarter but fell further behind as Payton Pritchard launched up for an unlikely deep 3 on the buzzer — his first field goal of the Finals.
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