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2024 NBA Finals – Game Two
BOSTON — The Celtics were going to have a bad shooting night at some point this series (they always do). The kind of game where they shoot 5-of-27 (18.5%) on above-the-break 3s (and 5-of-12 from the corners), plus 8-of-18 from the midrange (including floaters).
That game was Sunday night. The shots that generally propel the Celtics were not falling.
Boston still won Game 2 — and that is scary for Dallas. They missed a chance on the road.
The Celtics won 105-98 thanks to 26 and 11 from Jrue Holiday and a balanced attack. Look at it this way: Luka Doncic led all scorers with 32, but the next four highest scorers in the game were all Celtics.
Boston has a 2-0 lead heading to Dallas for Game 3 next Wednesday, which is basically a must-win for Dallas.
Here are three takeaways from Game 2:
1) This is why Boston wanted Holiday
Two games into the NBA Finals, Jrue Holiday might be the frontrunner for Finals MVP (he and Jaylen Brown are a coin flip right now).
That may be more than even the Celtics expected out of Holiday, but they got him dreaming of moments like this.
Jrue Holiday’s complete performance in Game 2 was crucial in the Celtics taking a 2-0 series lead!
☘️ 26 PTS
☘️ 11 REB
☘️ 2 3PM
☘️ 11-14 FGM
☘️ 0 TO
Game 3: Wednesday, 8:30pm/et on ABC pic.twitter.com/eITvlzExrf
— NBA (@NBA) June 10, 2024
Brad Stevens gave up a lot to get Holiday out of Portland: Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon, and two first-round picks. But he understood Holiday was an upgrade from Marcus Smart — as good a defender plus Holiday is a steadier, more polished offensive player willing to take on a role.
“I’m a utility guy. I’ll do whatever. I’m here to win,” Holiday said. “I feel like they brought me here to win, and I’ll do my best to do that.”
Jaylen Brown talked about how Holiday has adapted and fit right in for Boston.
“Jrue, he just came in, he wasn’t on the ball as much, still guarded at a high level, but became a corner three-point specialist. That’s just a testament to his greatness,” Brown said of the role Holiday had to take on all season. “Tonight they wanted to emphasize loading…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/mavericks-vs-celtics-nba-finals-085722134.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-06-10 08:57:22
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