The Dallas Mavericks have dropped the first two games of the 2024 NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics. They’ll have their chance to get even back at the American Airlines Center but, as they learned in their first two games, it won’t be easy.

Even though the Mavs played better in Game 2, they still lost by a final score of 105-98. Irving has not been great through the first two games of this series, shooting a combined 13-37 from the field and averaging just 14.0 points and 4.0 assists per game. Luka Doncic has been able to make some tough shots but has had to work very hard against Boston's defense, resulting in an inefficient team offense.

After letting Celtics fans know that they will see him again in Game 5 — implying that the Mavs aren’t going to let the Celtics beat them twice on their home court — he explained that he has experience playing from behind in the NBA Finals, referring to the 2016 Finals when his Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors.

“They feel very confident here. They’ve been a great team all year. Just look at their record,” Irving said, citing the Celtics' 8-2 home playoff record. That winning percentage of 80.0 percent is the best in this year’s playoffs (save for the Orlando Magic, who won their only three home games. Once the Mavs get a chance to get going on their home court, the series could have a different feel to it.

“They’ve really made their identity here. They want to take care of home court. Now it’s our job to go home and do the same,” Irving said. “Being in the Finals before, down 0-2, I’ve had a little experience in this. Didn’t play particularly well in the first two games of that series, too, that I'm referring to…It is gonna be a possession-by-possession thing. It is gonna be the hardest thing that we’ve ever done.”

Irving said that he learned lessons from being in that deficit in 2016 that should come in handy now. But he also made it clear how tough it will be for Dallas to make its comeback.

Mavs looking to even up Finals after falling into 0-2 deficit vs. Celtics

While Irving is right that the Celtics are great at home, they are perhaps even better on the road. They have consistently been a strong team away from TD Garden, which includes this season, where they haven’t lost any of their first six road matchups. Boston could drop both of these games in Dallas and still have one of the best road records of any playoff team in recent memory.

The Mavs, first and foremost, need Irving to step up and play like the star he is capable of being. If he isn’t able to generate offense against Boston, the Mavericks have very little chance of even winning a single game.

With the Cavs in 2016, Irving also shook off two rough games and went back to his home arena in an 0-2 deficit. Cleveland blew out Golden State in Game 3 before losing Game 4, trailing 3-1. The greatest comeback in NBA history ensued. What will the script be this time?