DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks are trailing 2-0 in the series against the Boston Celtics as Game 3 of the NBA Finals approaches. The next two games will be played at the American Airlines Center, and a loss in either game would see the Celtics clinch their 18th championship.
The Mavericks lost Game 2, 105-98, despite welcoming Luka Doncic, who had 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. There were concerns about allowing too many blow-bys on defense, as well as 15 turnovers, eight missed free throws, poor perimeter shooting from role players and once again holding Kyrie Irving to under 20 points.
Doncic shot 4 of 9 (44.4%) from the perimeter while the Mavericks shot 2 of 17 (11.8%) in Game 2. For the series, the Slovenian superstar made 8 of 21 (38.1%) three-pointers while his teammate made just 5 of 32 (15.6%) and Irving missed all eight of his attempts.
“We've got to make our shots, we've got to make our free throws and cut down our turnovers,” Doncic said. “I think those three things are going to be the keys to winning.”
Doncic dominated the first half, scoring 26 of his 32 points before the Celtics slowed him down with aggressive coverage. Asked after halftime what worked best for him in getting his teammates involved, Doncic reiterated the need to make shots, limit turnovers and make free throws.
“Yeah, obviously things didn't go our way and we lost,” Doncic said, “but at the end of the day, I need to make more shots. I think my turnovers and missed free throws contributed to us losing, so I need to work harder in those two areas. But at the end of the day, you've got to make shots to win games.”
Doncic's downhill attack created an advantage for his teammates to take quality shots, and he recorded 11 assists — a big improvement from his Game 1 performance in which he had just one assist, though the Slovenian superstar felt he was being forced to ask Boston for more help as he was forced to defend more one-on-one.
“Yes, they're physical, but they try to defend one-on-one,” Doncic said. “I think today they tried to help out a little more. We got some teammates open. But they're physical. They're very physical. We made them be physical. So they're really good defensively.”
Despite the emphasis on home-court advantage, Doncic stressed the need to step up in key areas regardless of where the game is played. “Score more points, but at the end of the day, it's basketball, whether it's away or at home,” he said. “To win, we've got to play better basketball.”
The Mavericks will have a tough task overcoming a series deficit against a Celtics team with plenty of offensive threats and a solid defense. Doncic felt his team's defense was effective from the 3-point line as the Celtics made 10 of 39 3-point attempts (25.6%).
“That's why they're the No. 1 team in the NBA with the No. 1 record,” Doncic said. “They have a lot of great players. They can basically shoot anybody. I honestly thought we didn't play bad defense today. We blocked a lot of three-pointers, we contested a lot of three-pointers. And like I said, we had too many turnovers, we missed a lot of free throws, and I think that's why we lost.”
Doncic has continued to battle injuries throughout the postseason, having been diagnosed with a sprained right knee, sore left ankle and a chest contusion after a charge in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
When asked if there was any real chance he would miss the game after his status was downgraded to questionable, Doncic said it was. “No, actually, I always wanted to play, so I did a lot of preparation all day leading up to the game,” he said.
The Mavericks will need Doncic to continue dealing with his injury and playing at a high level, but of course, his supporting players will need to improve offensively to get back into the series.
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