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2024 NBA Finals: Five key questions entering Celtics-Mavs Game 2 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics threw the first punch in the 2024 NBA Finals with a 107-89 win in Game 1 at TD Garden, and now it’s up to the Dallas Mavericks to respond.
The Mavs have been in this situation before. They lost the first game in both the first round and conference semifinals. They bounced back with a Game 2 victory in each series.
Replicating that success a third time will be a difficult challenge for the Mavericks. The Celtics have won a franchise record eight straight playoff games and star center Kristaps Porzingis is back in the lineup after missing most of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
What should we watch for in Game 2 on Sunday night in Boston? Here are five key questions.
Will Mavs’ role players step up?
The Mavericks can’t win this series if their role players don’t show up. Dallas players not named Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving combined to score just 47 points on 17-of-39 shooting in Game 1, and those numbers are inflated a bit by Jaden Hardy scoring 11 points in garbage time during the fourth quarter.
P.J. Washington was the only other Mavs starter besides Irving and Doncic to score in double figures.
Derrick Jones Jr. chipped in five points. Josh Green, Dereck Lively II and Maxi Kleber scored only two points each. Foul trouble limited Lively to just 18 minutes of action.
It’s fair to wonder after Game 1 if the Mavs have the firepower to keep up with the Celtics. The C’s are averaging 111.1 points per game in the playoffs. They had six players score 10-plus points Thursday, and Sam Hauser was close with eight. Even if Doncic and Irving scored 30 points apiece, the Mavericks still need several other players to contribute at a high level offensively. Role players typically perform better at home, but the Mavs need to win at least one game in Boston to become NBA champions.
Washington is the key. The Mavs lost Game 1 in both the first and second rounds of the playoffs, but they won Game 2 in each of those series because Washington scored 18 points against the Clippers and 29 points against the Thunder….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/2024-nba-finals-five-key-190446161.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-06-07 19:04:46
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