86.1% of teams that go up two to nothing in the NBA Finals end up hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy by the end of the series. While the outcome could be predicted, there is no space for complacency. A lot of moving parts were in play for Joe Mazzulla's Boston Celtics in their Game 2 win against the Dallas Mavericks. But, one member of the squad who has been here before and seen the top of basketball immortality stepped. He goes by the name of Jrue Holiday and he channeled his inner Kobe Bryant.
If one were to guess who the player who led his team in scoring in the NBA Finals and told his team that there were still a lot of games remaining in the series, Kobe Bryant is the obvious answer. Right? Well, not in this scenario. Jrue Holiday may have exploded and gotten the Celtics to just two more wins for Banner 18 but he remains hungry for more action. He unveiled his stern message to the Celtics faithful who are celebrating this early against the Mavericks, via Daniel Donabedian of ClutchPoints.
“It means a lot. When you go through things like that, it makes you closer and that's what this team has done. From one to fifteen, somebody sacrificed something. It's been great and the journey has been awesome. But, at the end of the day, the job's not done,” Jrue Holiday said echoing the words of the late Kobe Bryant.
The Celtics got a big boost from him to propel them into a 105 to 98 victory over the Mavericks. He knocked down 11 out of his 14 shots from the field, that's right only three misses, to score 26 points for the Celtics. His elite defense on the Mavericks also shined. Jrue Holiday ended the game with a steal, a block, and 11 rebounds. Not to mention, he did all of this while not committing a single turnover. There's no one else in this game more fitting to say the same words that Kobe Bryant uttered.
Celtics leave Mavericks scouring for answers
It was not a pretty start. Up until Al Horford hit a shot from beyond the arc in the dying seconds of the first quarter, the Celtics were not at all doing great from three. Their outside shot remained unreliable for the rest of the game. This led to a horrid 25.6% shooting stroke from everyone in Joe Mazzulla's squad. But, that did not mean that they could not make the Mavericks' lives more hellish than theirs. By the end of the game, the Mavericks had only sunk a more horrible 23.1% from three. This made the Celtics' lead down the stretch insurmountable.
Every time the Luka Doncic-led squad tried to get momentum, they were always stopped. The Celtics had 10 steals. It prevented the Mavericks from getting a run going or even just gaining some offensive firepower. A lot of the time, the Mavericks would get to the rim and almost instantly someone from the Celtics would meet them at the apex of their shot. This also resulted in five blocks to round out the night.
In each set that the Mavericks had, the Celtics were prepared. There are only so many problems that need solutions that one can have in the NBA Finals. No answers have been given by Jason Kidd just yet.
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