The Boston Celtics, coached by former WVU basketball player Joe Mazzula, have moved one game closer to securing the franchise’s 18th NBA title. The Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in game two 105-88 Sunday night.
In a back and forth game, Boston was able to take a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter and never look back from there. Despite a push at the end, Derrick White was able to come up with a key block with under a minute to go to keep the Boston lead at five and ultimately secure the win.
Jrue Holiday led the Celtics in scoring with 26 points, making 11 of the 14 shots he attempted. He also added 11 rebounds to his statline.
As a team, Boston really struggled from the three point line; something that they relied on throughout the entire season. Together, they shot just 10-39 from beyond the arc.
However, it was the free throw line making the difference in the game. The Celtics made 19 of their 20 attempts from the charity stripe compared to Dallas’s 16-24.
Jayson Tatum was able to put together a near triple double despite a poor shooting night. He finished with 18 points, 12 assists, and nine rebounds.
Mazzulla will have to keep an eye on his 7-foot-2 center, Kristaps Porzingis who re-aggravated his calf injury that sidelined him for over a month before the Finals began. After the game Mazzulla stated he wasn’t too worried about the injury and Porzingis said he will “die out there” when asked if he would miss game three.
On the other end, Dallas’s Luka Doncic was a problem for Mazzulla’s squad once again. He finished with a 30-point triple double: 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists.
The series will now shift to Dallas for games three and four. Should Mazzulla continue to lead his team to two more victories, he will become the youngest head coach to win an NBA Finals since Bill Russell did it as a player-coach in the 1969.
Game three is set to tip off on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET. All games in the series can be viewed on ABC or streamed through ESPN+.
