The Boston Celtics, fueled by 26 points from Jrue Holiday, thwarted a desperate rally by the Dallas Mavericks in the final minutes for a 105-98 win and a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals on Sunday.
On a night when early struggles from three-point range frustrated the Celtics, their all-around effort on both ends of the floor saw them notch a second straight win at home.
Jaylen Brown scored 21 points and Jayson Tatum added 18 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists.
Holiday credited Tatum for keeping the Celtics’ offense firing.
“I would say a lot of it was JT,” Holiday said.
“They were double-teaming him, and he was making the right play. The way that he played tonight, the way that he led us, getting into the paint, making plays, finding me wide open — it was all about him.”
Ailing Mavericks star Luka Doncic — now nursing a chest contusion in addition to the right knee sprain and sore left ankle that have troubled him throughout the playoffs — delivered a triple-double of 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
He did not, however, get enough help from his supporting cast.
P.J. Washington scored 17 points and eight-time All-Star Kyrie Irving had 16 — going 7 of 18 and missing all three of his three-point attempts.
The Mavericks, trailing by 14 with less than four minutes remaining, made a final push and sliced the deficit to five with 1:15 to play, with Doncic driving for a layup and converting the free throw after he was fouled.
Boston’s Derrick White came up with a monster block on Washington that would have cut the deficit to three, and Brown made a layup as the Celtics closed it out.