BOSTON, MA — Defense is not thought of as one of the glamorous parts of basketball, but it's an end of the court that will win you basketball games. And if you had doubts about that, look no further than Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday and the 2024 NBA Finals.

Alongside Derrick White, Holiday has drawn the challenge of defending Dallas Mavericks stars Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic.

Through the first two games of the series, Irving was held to just 28 combined points on 13-of-37 shooting from the field and 0-of-8 from three. He erupted in Game 3, scoring 35 points on 13-of-28 shooting. Despite the monster scoring line, the Celtics came out with their third straight win in this series.

“For me, personally, Kyrie was going at me today and you saw it,” Jrue Holiday said postgame. “That's what we play for. But individually, I think that everybody takes pride in getting stops and being able to play defense because we know how hard this game is and how hard it is to win. Individually, I think we do our best and we try our hardest, and then as a team, I think we always look out for each other.”

How To Work On Defense

Holiday has been a lethal defender for the better part of the last decade, but it's been on display on the national stage since his arrival in Milwaukee with the Bucks and especially this postseason with the Celtics.

It takes a certain, ‘want-to,' to improve defensively, something that Jrue Holiday says he's committed to given it's impact on a game.

“Play one-on-one,” Jrue Holiday said when asked how he works on his defense. “There's drills that you do with the team, just the different schemes that you want to go over and drill those in practice. [Defense] helps you win games. Hopefully it helps you win championships.”

Following his defensive masterpieces in Games 1 and 2, a video from Swish Cultures resurfaced on social media, detailing some of the defensive drills that Jrue Holiday goes through during the offseason.

“That was actually like four or five years ago. And it was against Svi [Mykhailiuk], one of the ones. I don't just do defense. I take pride in winning. Basketball for me has always been two sides. Offense and Defense. Just as hard as I go on the offensive end and work on my game, I do the same thing on defense against really good players.

“I think that prepares me for, not only this moment, but for my career. That's kind of how I got the chance to get on the court in the first place when I first got to the league. I've always stuck with that and I'll continue to.”

With the Celtics up 3-0 in the 2024 NBA Finals, Holiday is just one win away from securing his second NBA Championship in four seasons. It would be a fantastic birthday present for the guard who just turned 34 years old on Wednesday.

“Yeah, I mean the win. Man it's 10:45 my boy. It's time for me to go to sleep. It's been a great birthday. So let's just make a birthday weekend and make it great.”

Through three Finals games, Holiday is averaging 15.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.0 steal per game on 59.4 percent shooting from the field and 41.7 percent from three

Jrue Holiday and the Celtics can close Luka Doncic and the Mavs out on Friday night in Dallas and win the 2024 NBA Championship. Game 4 is set to tip off at 8:30PM EST on ABC.