Luka Doncic is having an incredibly good playoff game, with a case to be made that he’s one of the best players in the world despite playing at maybe 70 percent strength. In Game 2 of Sunday night’s game against the Boston Celtics, Doncic recorded a three-point triple-double with 32 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds, his third 30-point triple-double this season.
It was also Doncic’s 10th time with 30 or more points in a playoff game, tying him for the most points in a playoff game by a Dallas Mavericks player, surpassing the mark he set in the 2022 playoffs (Dirk Nowitzki is the second-most with eight games in the 2006 playoffs).
Read more: Luka Doncic’s Mavericks fall to 2-0 in NBA Finals after Game 2 loss to Celtics
Doncic will be the one to say he wants championships more than accolades as the Mavericks find themselves down 2-0 against a highly talented Boston Celtics team that has won 64 games in the regular season and is well on its way to climbing the Eastern Conference ladder.
Dallas has been in this situation before against a 64-win team, falling 2-0 to the Phoenix Suns in the 2022 Western Conference semifinals before rallying to win that series. They also did the opposite in the 2006 NBA Finals, leading 2-0 before Dwyane Wade got every foul call and the Heat went on to win the next four games. The series isn’t over yet.
But Doncic will need help from Kyrie Irving to win this series. The Slovenian superstar can score, but he hasn’t gotten consistent help from his running mate, who is averaging just 14 points and shooting just 35 percent from the field through two games. Irving hasn’t played well against his former team since his time in Brooklyn, but he’ll need to snap out of that slump if Dallas wants to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy next week.
Read more: Jrue Holiday, Celtics beat Mavericks in Game 2 of NBA Finals: 3 game-changing plays
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