The Dallas Mavericks are emptying the tank to stay alive in this NBA Finals series. Jason Kidd and his squad have received a lot of haymakers from the Boston Celtics that they have not been able to return.
But, one person has been single-handedly keeping them alive. Luka Doncic has not failed to produce such that everyone on his squad could thrive. However, his situation prior to Game 2 against the Jayson Tatum-led squad was not the best.
Luka Doncic was questionable prior to the start of Game 2 against the Celtics. The Mavericks superstar was already bleeding in some parts of his leg throughout this whole postseason run. But, Jason Kidd and the rest of the coaching staff deemed him capable of holding it down. This is why he saw a significant amount of playing time in the second game of the NBA Finals. He even unveiled why he had the desire to play despite the reports on his health, via Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints.
“I actually was [questionable to play]. But I always want to play. All day, we did a lot of things to get ready. Good, I was good,” Luka Doncic said.
During the shootarounds, the Mavericks superstar held some parts of his body while grimacing. This pain might have been solved in the meantime. He got to see 42 minutes of action, the most out of any player in both squads. He then proceeded to go 12 of 21 from the field and knocked down four out of his nine three-pointers for a game-high 32 points.
A huge concern in this NBA Finals matchup is the fact that he went 50% from the charity stripe which is not at all good considering the Mavericks lost with a 98 to 105 scoreline.
Another is the fact that he turned the ball over eight times which prevented the Mavericks from gaining a lot of offensive momentum.
Doncic also boosted Jason Kidd’s squad in nearly all facets of the game. He dropped 11 assists to break down the Celtics defense. His 11 rebounds also helped to round out an impressive triple-double in the NBA Finals. Not to mention, the four steals that came out of him were integral in stopping the Celtics’ lead from getting too far out of reach. Considering the fact that he is playing through an injury, Doncic did a great job of keeping his team afloat.
There was no one else who produced more than 20 points for the Mavericks aside from Doncic. The closest to do it was Kyrie Irving and PJ Washington who combined for 33 points. Even then, these two shot a combined 13 for 31 from the field which did not help them close the gap.
The same story cannot be said for the Celtics. Despite another off night from Jayson Tatum, key members of their rotation stepped up. Most notably, Jrue Holiday led the team in scoring by recording 26 points to end the night. The Mavericks do not have the luxury of these many talents in their squad. Hopefully, some of them step up as the clear second option while others execute better in their roles.
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