NBA highlights on June 9: Mavs in serious trouble against Celtics

The Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 105-98 in Game 2 of the NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on Sunday, extending their lead to 2-0 in the series.

Having learnt their lesson from the lost Game 1 on June 6, the Mavericks had Luka Doncic turn on his full power offensively in the first quarter. He shot 9-for-13 from the field to score 23 points in the first half. On one hand, the team needed him to contribute as much firepower as possible when he was still in good strength; on the other hand, Doncic needed to show enough threat of individual attack to change the opponents' defense so his role player teammates could have more and easier chances to score.

The Mavericks got what they wanted as the Celtics began to double-team Doncic outside the 3-point line from the second quarter, which explained why he only had nine points in the second half. However, his teammates let him down from downtown, where the whole team missed 20 of their 26 attempts. Doncic contributed four of the team's six triples out of nine attempts.

As a result, the second half of Sunday's game grew into a collection of painful loops for the Mavericks. Doncic dribbled to or received the ball in the front court, faced double-teaming, had to pass the ball, watched a teammate shoot a brick and then the team suffered a quick counterattack in transition. The Celtics launched a 10-0 run in the third period to build a double-digit lead that was integral to their victory.

Kyrie Irving again failed to respond to TD Garden's boos with a solid performance. Having made four of his five field goals (FGs) to get eight points in the first quarter, he missed 10 of his 13 shots in the other three quarters. P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford turned some of the passes by Doncic and Irving into buckets, but their work wasn't enough to make a difference.

The Celtics didn't shoot to kill on Sunday night after making only 10 of their 39 triples, but their defense continued to cause a lot of damage on the opponents in forcing turnovers which then led to continuous fast breaks. Doncic alone committed eight turnovers.

Jrue Holiday was the best finisher in Sunday's game as he went 11-for-14 in FGs to score team-high 26 points in addition to 11 rebounds that included four on the offensive glass. He had Jayson Tatum to thank for many of the open buckets he got next to the hoop. Tatum missed 16 of his 22 shots, but he delivered 12 assists for the Celtics.

Jaylen Brown contributed 21 points, seven assists and three steals for the home team, continuing to play an important role on both ends of the game. Derrick White drained four 3-pointers out of 10 attempts to get 18 points.

Game 3 of the series will take place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday.