MANILA, Philippines – The Boston Celtics mounted a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals after holding on against the Dallas Mavericks, 105-98, Monday morning (Manila time) at the TD Garden.
Jrue Holiday led Boston with 26 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. He made 11 of his 14 field goals.
However, the biggest play of the game came from Derrick White.
With the Mavericks cutting a 14-point lead to just five, 98-103, following an and-one by Luka Doncic, Dallas made a stop on Jayson Tatum.
This led to an open lane for PJ Washington, and as he attempted the dunk, White blocked his shot and was seconded by Jaylen Brown.
This flipped the momentum to the side of Boston, as Brown made the dagger layup with 29.8 seconds to go, 105-98.
Doncic, on the other side, attempted an off-balanced 3-pointer to try and inch closer, but he missed, sealing the deal for the Celtics.
“Just the effort, right. Just the effort to know that we’re up by seven or 10, whatever… to go up there and get the layup is just elite,” Holiday said after the game.
Boston broke the game wide open in the third quarter, turning a 65-63 advantage to a 75-63 lead capped by a layup by Holiday.
A pair of free throws by Irving dragged the Mavericks to within six, 74-80, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Peyton Pritchard gave the Celtics an 83-74 edge going into the final frame.
Brown provided 21 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals for the winning team, followed by Tatum and White with 18 apiece.
Doncic spearheaded Dallas with a triple-double of 32 markers, 11 boards and 11 dimes to go with four assists. Washington added 17, while Kyrie Irving, expectedly showered with boos the whole game, had 16 off of 7-of-18 shooting.
Game 3 will be on Thursday (Manila time) this time in Dallas.