DALLAS @ BOSTON (BOS -6.5, 215)
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MAVERICKS VS. CELTICS 6/9/24
Ahead of Sunday night's NBA Finals Game 2, Boston Celtics players Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown aren't allowing Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd to sow discord in their relationship. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Kidd called Brown Boston's best player. Tatum and Brown did not respond to the comment, which may indicate that he was playing mind games with the Celtics or that he didn't really mean it.
Regardless of what Kidd meant, it will take much more than psychological warfare to slow the Celtics down. If the Celtics are able to duplicate their performance from Game 1, Dallas will be heading home down 2-0. On Thursday night, Boston easily won 107-89, building a lead as large as 29 points at one point.
For the Celtics, Brown finished with a team-high 22 points, and Kristaps Porzingis scored 20 points in 21 minutes off the bench in his first game back after missing 10 due to a calf strain. Tatum recorded a final line of 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists.
For Dallas, Kyrie Irving was limited to just 12 points on 6-of-19 shooting, while Luka Doncic scored 30 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Teased all night long by Boston fans, Irving missed all five of his three-point attempts and committed three turnovers. Irving is sure he can snap his losing streak against the Celtics on Sunday, as he is currently 0-11 in his last 11 games against them.
The Mavericks' main problem was moving the ball poorly. In the end, Dallas had just nine assists in Game 1, which was the fewest of any team this season. In Game 2, Kidd hopes for a more seamless performance. Dallas will have to shoot more from beyond the arc as well. Just 32 percent of the Mavericks shot came from behind the three-point line. That will have to increase if Dallas is to have any chance of beating Boston.
Boston has now won eight straight games. The Celtics are also 7-2 SU in the last nine against Dallas when playing the Mavs at home. In the first two rounds of the playoffs, Dallas lost Game 1 but rebounded to win Game 2. They also won Game 2 in their conference finals victory over Minnesota.
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FREE PICK: P.J. WASHINGTON OVER 1.5 THREES
If Dallas is going to win Game 2, it is going to have to launch more threes. While Luka Doncic will certainly take his fair share, the one guy that has contributed heavily to the Mavs long range shooting is Washington. He missed all three of his deep bombs in Game 1 and that doesn’t happen very often. In fact, Washington has been a virtual ATM for bettors and this prop. He has cleared this prop in 13 of the Mavs’ 18 playoff games, including all 6 games in the OKC series. He’s also hit this number in 6 of his last 7 against Boston.
FREE PICK: KRISTAPS PORZINGIS OVER 23.5 PRA
Porzingis came off the bench in Game 1 to score 20 points in 21 minutes, almost clearing this number on points alone. He looked good in Game 1 and could play even more tonight. Porzingis easily hit this number on Thursday and has hit it in 10 of his last 15 games. He’s played two games against Dallas this season and he’s cleared this number easily (26 & 32) both times.
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