After getting outclassed 107-89 in Game 1, the pressure was on the Mavs to show that they could be competitive in this Finals matchup. They did get closer in Game 2 but still fell 105-98 to drop to 0-2 in the series.
There were no outstanding performances from the Mavs in Game 1. In Game 2, Luka Doncic was the best player on the floor. His 32 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds kept Dallas in the game.
That ultimately wasn't enough, and Boston showed that it was the better team again on Sunday. Here are the biggest takeaways from another strong Celtics performance.
MORE: 2024 NBA Finals Game 2 live blog, highlights
7 takeaways from Game 2 of 2024 NBA Finals
How healthy is Luka Doncic?
The story coming into Game 2 was that a charge taken by Luka on Thursday was affecting him more than initially thought. He was grimacing through warmups while holding his chest, leading to him being listed as "questionable" on Sunday.
Once the game started, he looked about as good as he has all playoffs. He was scorching hot in the first half, scoring 23 points on the entire Celtics team while shooting 69 percent from the field. He finished the night with 32 points on 57.1 percent shooting.
MORE: Luka trash-talks Celtics' owner Wyc Grousbeck
The degree of difficulty on Luka's looks was, as usual, off the charts. The Celtics have tried to play him one-on-one as much as possible, and no one can guard him that way. They did their best, though. Everyone took turns. Payton Pritchard had some nice possessions, as did Al Horford.
Luka seemed to target Jayson Tatum more than anyone else, hitting some tough step-backs over him, but Tatum also forced him into a handful of his eight turnovers by staying in front of him and forcing him to pick up the ball.
MORE: How the Celtics shut down Luka Doncic's passing attack in Game 1
Can anyone on Dallas besides Luka make a 3?
The Mavs shot just 6-of-26 from 3, good for 23.1 percent. Take away Luka's 4-of-9, and that percentage drops to an even worse 11.8 percent.
What makes that percentage even worse is that Boston was conceding open non-corner 3's to most of Dallas' role players all night long.
Here's what Jason Kidd & co. went to out of timeout. Boston leaves Derrick Jones Jr. wide open again above the break, Derrick White is conceding that shot. He can't make them pay. pic.twitter.com/XSTbzDAWqW
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) June 10, 2024
Derrick Jones Jr. and P.J. Washington have been left open above the break throughout the series. Washington made a nice adjustment, driving off the catch rather than shooting it in the second half. That helped him contribute 17 points to the cause, but Dallas needs to make more than six paltry 3's in order to keep up with this Boston offense.
Jason Kidd has tried to adjust by playing Maxi Kleber more as a stretch big option. That went disastrously. Kleber has looked totally overmatched in his minutes thus far — he missed all four of his shots and was afraid to shoot at times.
Kyrie Irving is also an issue. He was cold in Game 1, and that continued in Game 2. He went 7-of-18 from the field on Sunday and missed all three of his 3-point attempts. He has to relieve some of the pressure off Luka in order for the Mavs to be competitive.
MORE: Why NBA fans think Kyrie Irving is cursed after stepping on Lucky the Leprechaun
Did Jayson Tatum take Jason Kidd's bait?
Kidd tried his best to stir the pot by saying pregame that Jaylen Brown, not Jayson Tatum, was Boston's best player. Would that work to get into Tatum's head?
MORE: Jason Kidd says Jaylen Brown is the Celtics' best player
Tatum was a more-than-willing passer, recording a game-high 12 assists. He attacked Luka on defense, driving right past him and kicking out to open teammates.
Tatum's shot selection was not great at times, though. That explained a 6-of-22 night from the field.
Tatum taking this shot is perfect timing, as Doris says that he won't be affected by Jason Kidd proclaiming Jaylen Brown as the best player on the Celtics. pic.twitter.com/4cjSXofD0L
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) June 10, 2024
The Celtics haven't needed Tatum to be at his best through these first two games. At some point, they will. He hasn't been terrible, but he has to play like the All-NBA player that he was during the regular season.
How Dallas is trying to generate easy points
One way that Dallas did try to jump-start its attack was by pushing the pace. They caught Boston's defense scrambling to finally open up their lob attack a bit. Washington provided a spark by pushing the ball. At other times, though, they looked out of control. Kleber and Dante Exum trying to go coast-to-coast ended predictably disastrously.
Another point of emphasis was in posting up Daniel Gafford on Tatum. The Mavs went to that twice to start the second half, getting Gafford buckets both times. Given how well that worked, maybe they try to sprinkle it in more in Game 3.
What happens when Boston actually starts making 3's?
This game was close on paper, but Boston couldn't buy a 3. They shot just 10-of-39 from deep, good for 25.6 percent. They were getting good looks, too, just missing.
Despite getting a great game from Luka and watching the Celtics brick open 3s, Dallas still trailed for almost the entire second half. This was their golden opportunity to steal a game. They did get it to within five points and almost cut it to 3. Derrick White, who played superb defense all night long, wasn't going to let that happen.
Holy **** pic.twitter.com/bVFJas63da
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) June 10, 2024
Jaylen Brown may have gotten away with a push on Washington on that play, but it went uncalled, and the Celtics cruised to victory from that point on.
MORE: Revisiting Jaylen Brown's college career, scouting report
Jrue Holiday shines
That the Mavs even got so close late was impressive. It looked like Holiday was putting the dagger in around the four-minute mark, making a series of plays to get the lead to 14.
Holiday led the Celtics with 26 points, also pitching in 11 rebounds. From the team's first basket of the game, where Dallas completely lost him under the rim, to the finish, Holiday was coming up with big baskets. He blew by Luka for a layup, caught dump-off passes, and hit big 3's. He also played great defense on Irving and others. Kidd might be calling him the second-best player on the Celtics going into Game 3.
Is Kristaps Porzingis okay?
Porzingis bumped into Washington late in the fourth quarter and looked like he was running gingerly for a few possessions before Joe Mazzulla subbed him out with 4:40 left to go.
Mazzulla stated postgame that he had "zero concern" about Porzingis' calf, but the center looked slow going up and down the floor. It might be something to monitor heading into Game 3.