On this episode of 'Inside The Mavs', Kevin Gray, Mavs Pre/Post Game Host breaks down the Dallas Mavericks loss to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals as they go down 2-0. Kevin discusses what went wrong as the Mavs couldn't do the little things down the stretch and Luka and Kyrie struggled in the second half, especially in the 4th quarter as the Mavs couldn't get it done in Boston. Kevin also talks about the keys for Boston's victory including Jrue Holiday and the defense of the Celtics in key moments and so much more!
Support the show: This episode is brought to you by Aura. Aura: Stop data brokers from exposing your personal information. Go to my sponsor at https://aura.com/kevingray to get a 14-day free trial and see how much of yours is being sold.
Subscribe to @InsideTheMavs for more Mavericks content and subscribe to Grant's channel @GrantAfseth on YouTube for more Mavericks coverage as well!
Be sure to subscribe to Kevin's YouTube channel @KevinGraySports and follow him on Twitter @KevinGraySports
Download and subscribe to the 'Inside The Mavs' Podcast, the official Mavericks podcast of 97.1 The Eagle wherever you get podcasts free, give it a five-star rating and write a review for the podcast.
Inside The Mavs Podcast:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-the-mavs/id1687581495
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3lH97deoTre1memqcpISRe?si=16ed964f523e4b17
Support the show: This episode is brought to you by Aura. Aura: Stop data brokers from exposing your personal information. Go to my sponsor at https://aura.com/kevingray to get a 14-day free trial and see how much of yours is being sold.
Subscribe to @InsideTheMavs for more Mavericks content and subscribe to Grant's channel @GrantAfseth on YouTube for more Mavericks coverage as well!
Be sure to subscribe to Kevin's YouTube channel @KevinGraySports and follow him on Twitter @KevinGraySports
Download and subscribe to the 'Inside The Mavs' Podcast, the official Mavericks podcast of 97.1 The Eagle wherever you get podcasts free, give it a five-star rating and write a review for the podcast.
Inside The Mavs Podcast:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-the-mavs/id1687581495
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3lH97deoTre1memqcpISRe?si=16ed964f523e4b17
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Obviously it didn't't work because we lost. But you know, at the end
of the day, we gotta makesome more shots. You know, I
think my turnovers and like misfritos,Claus is a game, so I gotta
do way better in those two categories. But at the end of the day,
we've got to make shots to winthem, to win the game.
(00:20):
The Mavericks couldn't do the little thingsin game two and Kyrie Irving struggles in
the second half and the mavers aredown two games to none in the NBA
Finals of the Boston Celtics. Whatwent wrong in game two and one needs
to change going forward. This isInside the MAVs. Welcome to Inside the
(01:08):
mass presented by Aura. I'm yourhost, Kevin Gray, maveris prim post
game host only Dallas Mavericks Radio Network. Appreciate you joining me here for the
latest episode of Inside the MAVs.Make sure you download and subscribe to the
podcast wherever you get your podcast forfree, give it a five star rating
and write a review for it whileyou're there. And if you're watching this
on YouTube channel at Kevin Gray Sports, makes you like a comment on the
(01:30):
video as well, and you canfollow me on Twitter at Kevin Gray Sports.
The Dallas Mavericks drop Game two ofthe NBA Finals one to oh five
to ninety eight, as the Mavericksare now down two games to none as
the series moves to Dallas for Gamesthree and four beginning on Wednesday. Luka
Donc is making history for the DallasMavericks, becoming the first Maverick to have
(01:53):
a triple double in the NBA Finalswith his thirty two points, eleven rebounds,
and eleven six but unfortunately had eightturnovers as well as a Mavericks simply
couldn't do the little things down thestretch, shooting themselves in the foot way
too often in Game two to losein Game two of the NBA Finals.
The Celtics have now won nine straightgames in the postseason now have a chance
(02:19):
when they go on the road beginningon Wednesday, to extend their postseason road
winning streak to nine as well,as they have not lost on the road
so far this postseason. But forthe Mavericks and opportunity to win a very
gettable game against the Celtics team thatstruggled quite a bit, especially from the
three point line, well yes,they got timely the second chance opportunities and
(02:43):
made some big buckets down the stretch, and of course Derek White's block on
PJ Washington with thirty seconds to goto seal it. No matter how you
may feel about whether or not itshould have been a foul call on Jylen
Brown for pushing PJ. Washington inthe back, the foul wasn't called and
the Celtics were able to hang ondown the stretch after the Mavericks had used
a nine to zero run to closeit within five with a minute or so
(03:07):
left in the game. But forthe Mavericks, they simply couldn't take advantage
of the opportunities that were provided tothem, especially for a Celtics team to
struggle for the three point line thatwent ten of thirty nine from deep at
just twenty five point six percent.In Game two, the Mavericks were even
worse at six or twenty six fromdowntown, shooting at twenty three percent from
(03:31):
the three point line, But evenstill, the Mavericks missed eight free throws
in Game two, going sixteen oftwenty four from the free throw line,
while the Celtics went nineteen of twentyfrom the line, including up perfect ten
to ten in the first quarter.And when you watched this game, you
saw that the Mavericks were much moreaggressive to begin this game, and they
(03:53):
started the near first four minutes ofthe game outscoring the Celtics thirteen to six.
Luke and Kyrie combined for ten ofthe mavers first thirteen points, and
you saw the Mavericks make a concertedeffort to get into the paint, whether
it was attacking Derek White off todubble, Luka, Donc and Kyrie Irving
attacking White at the very beginning ofthe game, getting into the mid range
(04:15):
and into the paint to be ableto get some easy buckets for them to
be able to get off to agood offensive rhythm and start. And we
know that the Celtics, especially fromGame one, were allowing Luke and Kyrie
to be able to get into thepaint and take those twos if they wanted
to. Those two took advantage ofthat in Game two to try and put
some extra pressure on the Celtics defensively. But the Celtics they were able to
(04:40):
respond after the Mavericks started six toten from the field with the six to
zero run of their own over thenext three minutes as the Mavericks led at
thirteen to twelve to five minutes leftin the first quarter. Mas then responded
again with a seven to two runof their own to lead by six at
twenty to fourteen with three minutes leftin the period. The Celtics then went
on a run of their own,going eight to two, and that was
(05:01):
able to tie the game at twentytwo after Christaps Porzingis jumper would a minute
left, but the Mavericks would outscorethe Celtics sixty three in the final minute
after a couple of Kyrie irving basketsand two Josh Screen free throws after he
was filed at the end of thefirst quarter, as they were able to
lead twenty eight to twenty five atthe end of one in which you saw
from the Mavericks was a much moreaggressive approach, not only on the offensive
(05:24):
event end, but also on thedefensive end, where they held the Celtics
just one of nine from the threepoint line and thirty seven percent overall from
the field. Yeah, christolphs Porzingishad eight points, but Luka Doncis got
off to a hot start with histhirteen and Kyrie had eight as they had
twenty one on what was the twentyeighth first quarter points for the Mavericks,
(05:44):
and that to me, I thoughtwas setting a tone for the Mavericks offensively,
that it was going to be differenttaking what the Celtics were giving them
in order to be much more effectiveon the offensive end. Luka donc Is
drilling a three pointer to get toeleven points that made it eighteen to fourteen
with three four left, and thatfirst quarter hit a turn around fadeaway jumper
PC Washington knocking down a three pointeron the left wing as well that gave
(06:05):
him an early five point lead atseven to two with just under eleven minutes
left in that first quarter. Soyou saw the variety of offense for the
Mavericks be able to play itself outin the first quarter, and I thought
that was a good sign for ateam to shot forty percent from three to
fifty two percent from the field inthat first quarter, that maybe this was
going to be different given how muchmore aggressive offensively the Mavericks came out to
(06:30):
begin the game, and you sawthat and it was looking like a team
where Kyrie Irving and Luka Dancis scoredare assistant on the first thirteen points of
the game, and you felt like, okay, this was an opportunity,
especially with Kyrie Irving getting a toughbucket in the paint that put the mass
back out in front twenty four totwenty two after the Celtics had tied it.
That came with forty five seconds leftin the first quarter, that the
(06:53):
Mavericks were going to continue to sustainthat offensive pressure on a Celtics defense that
felt extremely comfortable in game number one, And as you move on to the
second quarter, the Mavericks, asyou saw, were able to continue,
at least for a little while,be able to remain in the game before
we get there though, when youlook at that first quarter, the Mavericks
(07:15):
held the Celtics without a three pointfield goal tip in the first four minutes
of the game. One of thekeys that we knew going into Game two
and for the rest of the series, really at the outset of the series
was the Mavericks are going to haveto run the Celtics off the three point
line. They made sixteen threes inGame one, a team in Boston who
made sixteen and a half threes pergame during the regular season, which was
(07:36):
number one in the NBA. Butthe Mavericks did a good job of making
things difficult from them at the threepoint line and not allowing them to get
up the kinds of shot attempts fromthree that they were accustomed to doing.
But at the same time, KyrieErey picked up a couple of fouls in
that first quarter. The Mavericks strugglefrom the free throw line, which will
be a theme of Game two.They went four to nine from the charity
(07:59):
stripe in the first quarter, whilethe Celtics were ten of ten. That's
what allowed Boston to stay in itin that first quarter, and you saw,
unfortunately at times Maxi Kliba, whomissed two open three pointers, not
shooting the ball well right now andnot shooting it with a lot of confidence
for the Mavericks. So you sawthe different approach the Celtics getting to the
(08:20):
free throw line, getting into thepaint and attacking. Meanwhile, the Mavericks
were doing a bit of that,a good bit of that themselves and executing,
whether it be in the mid rangein terms of the floater or the
jumpers that Lukadoncisy Kyrie every We're hitting. The Mavericks made a concerted effort to
be much more assertive on the offensiveend. That gets us to the second
(08:41):
quarter, because the master were upby three to begin the second quarter,
again feeling like you could sustain themomentum to be able to move forward in
Game two, but the Celtics outscorethe Mavericks eleven to seven in the first
four minutes to take a thirty sixto thirty five lead after a Derek White
three pointer. And again, asyou watched this game, the Celtics didn't
make a lot of threes, butthey made a lot of time lead threes,
including of course at Peyton Pritchard threepointer that he hits at the end
(09:05):
of the third quarter that increased whatwas a six point lead to a nine
point lead going into the fourth quarter. More on that later on in the
show. But the Celtics would maintainthat one point lead at thirty six thirty
five was seven minutes left in thefirst half, as through a Celtics time
out, as they used what wasa nine to run in the middle of
that thirteen to seven start to leadthirty eight to thirty five midway through the
(09:26):
first half, or yeah, midwaythrough the second quarter, and in the
first half, obviously after a JalenBrown layup, but the teams would seesaw
back and forth and the Mavericks willfind themselves getting some of the vertical game
going as well, with Derrick JonesJunior getting a dunk off of an assist
from Luca Dodgs to tie the gameat forty four. Derrick Jones Junior started
to get things going in that secondquarter for the Mavericks, where he had
(09:48):
seven points, including an and one. He also got a nice layup off
of a no look pass from Dodgesto be able to cut the lead to
the of the Celtics to forty tothirty nine. That came with just over
five minutes left in the first half. Jones's activity was really evident in that
second quarter. They got an offensiverebound and found Josh Green cut into the
(10:09):
layup to the basket for a layupas the Celtics led thirty eight to thirty
seven. But it had to besome of the others in this game to
help Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irvings supplementthe scoring. The Mavericks had all five
of their starters in double figures,but their bench is what let them down
in this game, the bench onlyhad nine points, while Christas Brezingis himself
(10:31):
outscored the Celtics or the Mavericks benchtwelve to nine. But what was a
seesaw back and forth five minutes ofthat second quarter, the Celtics will lead
by two fifty one to forty ninewith a minute left in the first half,
eventually helding a three point lead goinginto halftime at fifty four to fifty
one. Luka Doncis again ten pointsin that quarter. Derrick Jones Junior's activity,
(10:54):
as we described, was really goodin that second period. But what
was the theme for the night forBoston especially was Drew Holliday. Drew Holliday
was fantastic with the twenty six pointsthat he had, going eleven to fourteen
from the field, and not onlythat, he had eleven rebounds as well,
and really not only just the defense, but his scoring was excellent,
(11:18):
whether it be on second chance opportunitieswhich the Celtics got some time as second
chance rebounds to be able to makesome things happen for extra possessions, or
just his defense and what he wasdoing knocking down shots from the outside.
Because you look at what he didin that second quarter, they're really affecting
the Celtics offensive where they scored twentynine points. You saw what he was
able to do, Drew Holliday goingfive of six from the field, hit
(11:41):
a three pointer, had eleven points, also had four rebounds in that quarter
as well, so he really puthis stamp on his game, especially in
that second period where the Celtics shotjust thirty three percent from three, but
they shot fifty seven percent overall fromthe field. Mavers shot twenty five percent
from three and forty five and ahalf percent overall from the field as the
(12:03):
Celtics led by three and halftime.But the Mavericks shot themselves in the foot,
especially in the first half, andreally should have been leading at halftime
based off of the way that theywere attacking and getting into the paint.
But in the free throw department,you look at what they did in the
first half. The Mavericks were fiveof eleven from the free throw line,
(12:24):
missing six first half free throws,and while the Celtics were thirteen of thirteen
from the free throw line in thefirst half, and not only that,
you were turning the ball over toomuch. You look at what the Mavericks
did in the first half from aturnover Standpoint had eight first half turnovers that
led to eleven points off turnovers forthe Celtics. So not only were you
(12:46):
missing free throws, but you werenot protecting the basketball as well. And
when the margin of air is asthin as it is against a terrific team
in Boston who's won sixty four gamesduring the regular season, now I have
won nine straight games in the postseason. You've got to be able to take
care of the basketball value possession,but also be able to get free points
(13:09):
when you have the opportunities to getthem from the free throw line, and
the Mavericks simply didn't do that,and now they find themselves down at two
games to none. Jason Kidd talkingabout the loss after the game as well
and what the Mavericks did and weren'table to do in terms of knocking down
shots in game number two to listen, Yeah, they haven't lost the game
(13:31):
since May. Sounded upthing right,So yeah, they're hot, not just
on the road but at home.So we got to protect home and that's
it. We've got to find away continue again to build on our defense.
Our defense put us in a positionto win tonight. Unfortunately, our
offense didn't help us, and soagain Kay and Luca are going to get
(13:56):
their looks. We got to getsomeone else involved of being able to knock
down some shots. But defensively,we can build on this and we can
be better, but we got totake care of the ball. And if
we can take care of the ball, hopefully that gives us more opportunities that's
scoring. So the Mavericks and JasonKid hoping to knock down some more of
those open shots, but more importantlyvaluing and protecting the basketball to be able
(14:20):
to not give the Celtics extra possessionswhich you know that can take advantage of,
which played itself out, especially inGame two after the Mavericks had clawed
their way back into the game.But unfortunately turnovers, especially with Luka donc
his eight turnovers in this game reallycost them. More on this as we
examined what happened in the second halfof this game, particularly Kyrie irving struggles,
(14:45):
I see the Mavericks now down totwo games to none to the Boss
and Celtics. But before we getthere, let's hear from today's sponsor of
our video on our podcast. Let'shear for more of today's video is brought
to you by Aura. Do aGoogle search on your name and email to
see how much information comes up aboutyou. I was devastated by the amount
of information that I could be seensearching my name and profile, and I
(15:07):
knew then I needed to be protectedfor not just myself, but also for
my family. Data brokers sell yourinformation to scammers, spammers, and anyone
else who may want to target you. Your full name, email, home
address, health records, your relatives, It's all out there. That's why
I've been using Aura, the sponsorof today's video, Or shows me which
data brokers are selling my information automaticallysubmits opt out requests for me. Cleaning
(15:33):
up my information not only helps reducethe amount of spam I get, but
it protects me from hackers who coulduse this information to help them access my
social media accounts, bank accounts,and other sensitive information. Or also does
so much more to protect me andmy family from online threats that I can't
see. It's really easy to setup, so I don't have to download
several different apps to get things likeanti virus, VPN, password management,
(15:56):
parental controls, identity that insurance andmore. I get every thing at one
affordable price. You may already haveone of these tools already, but not
having AURA is like locking the frontdoor and leaving the back door wide open.
Ora is always on doing the hardwork to protect me and my family,
so I can focus on other taskswith peace of mind. I value
my privacy and I value yours.You can go to Aura dot com slash
(16:18):
Kevin Gray to start your two weekfree trial. Please see the link in
the description. Back here on Insidethe MAVs, thank you for hanging out
with us through our spot, andthank you to today's sponsor of our video
and our podcast and Aura. Asthe Mavericks drop Game two of the NBA
Finals one oh five to ninety eightto the Boston Celtics, Celtics now having
(16:41):
won nine straight games in this postseason. Meanwhile, the Mavericks dropped to seven
and four away from the American AirlineCenters. They get ready for Games three
and four beginning on Wednesday. Butfor the Mavericks, we've talked about how
they weren't able to do the littlethings in this game to be able to
beat Boston and win, and themargin of era is as thin as it
(17:02):
is. You cannot shoot yourself inthe foot and think you're going to beat
a team as good and as talentedas Boston, no matter how much they
were trying to give you Game two. You have to take it from them
when the opportunity presents itself. Andyou look at what happened in the first
half, Luca and Kyrie combining forthirty three of the fifty one points that
the Mavericks had in the first half, Luka donc Is going nine to thirteen
(17:25):
from the field, Kyrie Irving goingfive to ten, combined fourteen of twenty
three from the field, and youwere thinking that their offensive aggressiveness will continue
to go into the second half.But unfortunately for that was not the case
for the Mavericks. And when youlook at what happened in that second half,
Boston was able to really get afterKyrie Irving especially, And when you
(17:48):
start looking at the second half,Mavericks down by three to begin the second
half, Mavericks started on a sixto three run to tie the game of
fifty seven. Daniel Gafford got invoYou saw Dereck Lively and Daniel gaffer start
to get much more active in thatthird quarter where it's been a tough series
so far in the first couple ofgames for the centers of the mavers particularly
(18:11):
from Dereck Lively, but Daniel Gafferreally started to play well and make his
imprint on this game, especially inthe third quarter. But the Celtics will
respond again with a quick five zerorun to take what was a five point
lead at sixty two to fifty seven, again after another timely Derek White three
pointer. His defense in timely shotmaking and you know how his defense came
(18:32):
to play in the later stages ofGame number two. But the Mavericks again
will pull within two at sixty threeto sixty one with seven and a half
minutes left in that third period,after a Dereck Lively dunk. We talked
about what they were able to doin getting some activity going. You saw
the nice dunk off of a nicemove that Daniel Gaffer had to pull the
(18:52):
MAVs within one at fifty four tofifty three. Derek Lively getting the dunk
off the pick and roll, gettingsome of that vertical game going for the
Dallas Maverickson finishing nice at the rim. But the Boston Celtics would find themselves
responding what was a ten to zerorun, as they were able to lead
by twelve at seventy five to sixtythree. They would increase their lead to
(19:15):
sixty nine to sixty three with fiveminutes left after a Jalen Brown driving layup
forced the Mavericks time out again.That was part of an overall ten to
oh run that had the Celtics upseventy five to sixty three with three minutes
left in the quarter. And thatis something we have seen through the first
couple of games between the Mavericks andthe Celtics. Big runs by the Celtics
to increase leads through games one andtwo that have really put the Mavericks in
(19:41):
bad positions to try and play nearlyperfect basketball to be able to stay within
these games. And when you're notable to do that because you have to
play nearly flawless in order to evenkeep up with the Celtics team that may
struggle from the field at times,that is the kind of pressure that Boston
can put on you throughout the courseof the game. But the Mavericks were
(20:02):
able to pull it within six ateighty to seventy four after two Kyrie Irving
free throws with three seconds left inthe period. But again, doing the
little things has got to come intoplay when you're playing a team as talented
as a Celtics, and Peyton Pritchardmade the Mavericks pay by hitting a buzzer
beater glass shot from thirty four feetthat had the Celtics back up by nine
(20:26):
at eighty three to seventy four.So again, when you know that Celtics
like to push the ball to beable to get an opportunity to be able
to get a three point shot,I'm not saying that you've got to full
on guard Pritchard in that moment,but you've got to try and at least
make it difficult and contests, becauseyou know the Celtics love to jack up
those three pointers, and that onewas a backbreaking went at the end of
(20:49):
the third after you had clawed yourway back into it to make it a
six point game. But nonetheless,the Celtics get that bank shot from Pritchard
to make it eighty three to seventyfour at the into three. Luka Doncapg
Washington each had six points in thatperiod, but Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown
combined for fifteen points. As Bostonshot just twenty percent from three, but
(21:11):
forty four percent overall. And onething that you may notice so far in
this series, while Jason Tatum's offensivenumbers from a scoring standpoint haven't been necessarily
gaudy, he's doing the things forthe Celtics in other areas, especially as
a passer. You look at whathe did in the first half. In
terms of what he did as aplaymaker, he had eight assists in the
(21:33):
first half, making plays for histeammates and getting them in open positions to
be able to make some shots.And when you look at the game overall,
between what Jason Tatum and Jalen Brownwere able to do, you look
at what they did from an assistsstandpoint. For example, they combined for
nineteen assists in Game two. Theycombined for thirteen rebounds in game number two
(21:59):
as well, along as combining forthirty nine points. So not only did
they have the combined nineteen assists tocombine the thirteen rebounds that they had,
but they also put together four stealsbetween the two of them. These are
the things that championship teams do whenshots aren't falling, like for Tatum in
Game two, where he went sixor twenty two, he still found a
(22:21):
way to be a plus six becausehe was doing everything else to facilitate his
teammates in terms of offense and makingplays for them to be able to get
some easy baskets. That is whythese Celtics are in the position that they
are. Among other things that theywere able to do better in Game two
that the Mavericks couldn't. But themavers were able to end what was that
(22:41):
ten to ozer run that we talkedabout with Luka Doncis hitting a three pointer
to make it seventy five to seventysix. It was also good to see
Dante Exum knock down and open threethat pulled the Mavericks again back within ten
at eight to seventy with just undertwo minutes left in that third quarter.
Other folks have got to start comingwith the Maverickson terms of their scoring,
(23:02):
because yes, they had five totheir five starters in double figures, but
their bench, especially in these twogames, have not been very good and
it was terrible in Game two forthe Mavericks. If they can get some
better bench production, this team canfind themselves sticking with the Celtics, and
they did so, but unfortunately whatcame into play as we look at the
(23:25):
fourth quarter, some bad turnovers andsome untimely plays, especially not being able
to get the scoring output between LukaDoncis and Kyrie Irving. And one of
the things that the Celtics you saw, especially in the second half, do
Luka Dodgs was able to really getthings going from a scoring standpoint and a
facilitation standpoint in terms of getting hisguys involved. But in the second half,
(23:48):
the Celtics started to pick on LukaDoncics, hunting him on the defensive
end, making him work because cominginto the game, we had learned that
Luka Doncis were dealing with the chesscontusion Thorscic injury, if you will,
on top of the fact that he'sdealing with ankle sore on is that he's
dealing with the knees sprint. Wealready know that he's been dealing with a
quad injury throughout the course of theseason as well. The Celtics made it
(24:11):
a point to make him work onthe defensive end and hunting him to get
into favorable matchups where he would haveto try to sit down and guard and
be able to do so possession afterpossession, and he simply got worn down
as the game went on, andthe Celtics were able to take advantage of
that. But as you start lookingat the fourth quarter, Mavericks down by
(24:33):
nine to begin the fourth period,they cut the deficit. They did,
as they were able to get itto within seven at ninety to eighty three
in the first four minutes of thatthird period after a Kyrie Irving layup.
In that first four minutes of thefourth quarter. Daniel Gafford was also again
a big factor. We saw whathe did early on in that third quarter,
(24:56):
was able to have another imprint onthis game in the fourth quarter,
where he at five of the Mavericksfirst nine points of the fourth period.
But the Celtics would then go ona five zero run to take a twelve
point lead at ninety five to eightythree. Was seven minutes left, and
you're thinking at that point, theMavericks have got to find a way to
start getting stops because you can't continueto go basket for basket, blow for
(25:18):
blow with the Celtics and think you'regoing to continue to keep up because you
know, even with the struggles thatthey've had on the offensive been at some
point they're going to knock down enoughtimely threes to be able to put you
in a bine as you get closerand closer down the stretch. But the
Mavericks would then pull to within eightat four point forty left in the fourth
(25:38):
quarter at ninety seven to eighty nine, forcing a time out. You saw
what they were able to do toget to that. Kyrie Irving throws a
lot to Daniel Gaffer and transition forthe dunk again, getting some of that
vertical game going that had virtually beennon existent in Game number one. Kyrie
Erving was starting to get things goingfor the Mavericks. He got that lefty
layup in transition to cut down thelead to seven at ninety to eighty three.
(26:02):
Again four minutes in the PJ.Washington worked hard on the offensive end,
got his own offensive rebound off ofhis miss to get the layup to
get the Mavericks again within ten atninety five to eighty five. That came
with just over six minutes left inthe game itself. You look at PJ.
Washington from a scoring standpoint, hada pretty good game with seventeen points
with six or thirteen from the field, but went just one of five from
(26:26):
the three point line. And whenyou look at what the Mavericks did from
a shooting standpoint, Luka Doncic wentfour of nine from the three point line.
Everyone else outside of Doncic in thegame went two of seventeen from three.
That's simply not gonna cut it whenyou're taking on a Celtics team that's
going to get enough shots made downthe stretch to win games. But that
(26:49):
was a critical juncture of the gamebecause at that point the Mavericks were down
by eight and you felt like theywere starting to get themselves climbing back into
the game. Boston would respond withwhat would be a critical six to zero
run to increase their lead. Partof that came or what it came on,
was back to back three pointers byDrew Holliday and Derek White, And
(27:11):
we talked about the turnovers, LukaDoncic having a turnover a PJ. Washington
having a bad pass in the backcourt where Luka dons him trying to exchange
the passes to get the ball overthe half court line, and it led
to a turnover. Drew Holliday knocksdown a three pointer and then on the
very next possession, Derek White hitsanother three. So you go from being
(27:33):
down just eight to being down byfourteen in a matter of seconds with three
and a half minutes left in thegame. Again costly turnovers, and you
look back even at that third quarter, Luca Dodgers having a couple of bad
passes where he was trying to throwbehind the back pass that was a turnover,
trying to throw an over the shoulderpass that was intercepted going cross court.
(27:53):
Bad decision making at times, andI know that there was a lot
of pressure being put on Dodgic tomake the because other guys simply weren't making
shots, so at times he wasforcing the issue. But for the Mavericks,
you again cannot turn the ball overand expect to win this game and
win games against the Celtics in thisseries. But that was a critical juncture
(28:15):
of the game where the Celtics wereable to pus their lead back up to
fourteen at one oh three to eightynine or three and a half minutes left,
But the Mavericks made one final standin this game. They went on
a nine to zero run to cutwhat was a fourteen point deficit to five
at one oh three to ninety eight, after Luka Doncis was able to get
(28:36):
an am one on Al Horford.He would hit the free throw and be
able to have the Mavericks within fivewith one fifteen left in the fourth quarter.
And now things are starting to getinteresting because you again have clawed your
way back into the game if you'rethe Mavericks and giving yourself an opportunity to
maybe try to possibly steal Game twoon the road. But you give credit
(28:59):
to the Austin Celtics. Again,we mentioned it a little bit earlier.
No matter how you may feel aboutwhether or not it was a foul,
you can look at the replay andyou can see the hand of Jalen Brown
in the back of PJ Washington,but Washington is going up for a dunken
timp In transition, Derek White getsthe block on PJ. Along with Jalen
(29:19):
Brown helping out on the defensive end. A foul wasn't called and then they
go back down on the other end. Jalen Brown gets a layup to increase
their lead back to seven with thirtyseven or thirty seconds left in the game,
and that was it from there,as they will go on to wing
one oh five to ninety eight.But again you saw the Mavericks fight back
(29:41):
and clawback, but simply not haveenough. And part of this is several
things. In this game. Yougave up too many second chance opportunities for
the Celtics to be able to extendpossession. You did not make your free
throws in this game. You missedeight critical free throws and a game that
you lost by seven points. Youturn the ball over fifteen times in this
(30:03):
game, with your superstar having eightof them, and then in the second
half, Kyrie Irving disappeared. Youlook at what Kyrie Irving did in the
second half from a shooting standpoint,and he, along with his teammates Kyrie
Irving with two of eight from thefield for just six points. In fact,
when you look at that fourth quarterbetween Luka Doncis and Kyrie Irving,
(30:25):
the two of them combined for whatwould be seven points in that fourth quarter.
Daniel Gafford had seven points alone forthe Dallas Mavericks. That will not
get you a win on the roadagainst the Celtics. But Kyrie Irving for
a second straight game disappointing, thistime in the second half, as we
mentioned, going two of eight fromthe field, zero of three from the
(30:48):
three point line, had two personalfouls, had three assists in a couple
of rebounds, but was not ableto provide the scoring punch that the Mavericks
needed. And he, especially goinginto game number three on Wednesday, has
got to find some measure of consistencybecause right now offensively he has not come
(31:10):
to play that the way that theMavericks and needed it too in the first
couple of games. In fact,here is Kyrie Irving discussing some of his
struggles along with what happened with theMavericks in Game two that saw them lose
to the Celtics. Yeah, that'sthat's the confidence that I have in myself.
You know, a lot of shotswere hit in the back room that
I could pis you off as acompetitor, but it's all part of the
(31:33):
game of basketball, and you gotto accept the ups and downs to this,
you know. That's that's the Iwould say the toughest challenge when you're
in a series. You want toplay extremely well, especially when you're playing
in the finals. You know,a little disappointed in myself not being able
to convert a lot more of myopportunities that I have in the lane.
You know, obviously I'm going againstDrew Holliday and Jane len Brown a few
(31:55):
times, but I feel like Ihave the upper edge on certain possessions where
I just got to convert that they'repushing me to my left hand a little
bit more. So it just gotto be aware of some of their adjustments.
Like I was in Game one,felt good in the first half,
but in the second half, justshots weren't going down, and defensively,
I was out of position, gotsome Tiki tag fouls and just kind of
(32:15):
took away from our flow of thegame as well. It wasn't just all
on me, but I'm definitely takinga majority of it, just because you
know, my teammates looked to meto convert a lot of these shots and
ease the burden not only just Lucabut everyone else and settle our team.
You know, we've definitely made ouridentity on defensive end, but now offensively,
I got to play better. SoKyrie Irving discussing his struggles, especially
(32:37):
in the second half for the Maverisonwhy they were not able to get a
game to win, and you lookat some of the things from the Mavericks.
PJ Washington had a good second halfin twenty minutes with four of eight,
he had twelve points to actually leadthe Maverickson second half scoring based on
what he was able to do.Daniel Gaffer had eleven as well. But
(32:58):
your superstars, especially Luka Donci hasgot worn down as the game went on.
The turnovers and the mistakes of notbeing able to convert from the free
throw line really hurt this team.And you simply cannot give away points.
You cannot give away the basketball andthink that a team as good as Boston,
even with the shooting struggles that they'vehad that they had in Game two,
(33:21):
think that you're going to win.And with Jalen Brown playing the way
that he's doing on the defensive end, hounding Kyrie Irving at times, you
saw him force a twenty four secondshot lock violation with some really terrific defense
and what was the left corner andin the first half, Jalen Brown's playing
at an NBA Finals MVP level.And Drew Holliday, who has been not
(33:43):
only spectacular on the defensive end throughoutthe course of the regular season, but
offensively, was able to really puthis stamp on this game with not only
his outside shooting but helping out onthe offensive glass. His twenty six points
and eleven rebounds really was a backbreakingsite to see for the Dallas Mavericks.
And that's what the Celtics do.They've got a number of guys that can
(34:07):
put pressure on you when either Brownor Tatum aren't necessarily going Porzingis can get
you twenty like he did in Gameone. Drew Holliday can get you twenty
six like he did in Game two. The amount of depth that the Celtics
present with the guys in the skilllevel that they have make it extremely difficult
for you to last with them throughoutthe course of a forty eight minute game.
(34:29):
But the Mavericks did some good thingsin this game, but again they
were held under to under one hundredpoints for the second straight game to start
this series. They've got to finda way to get more shots made and
also be able to execute better interms of what they can control, which
is protecting the basketball and making theirfree throws and not allowing second chance opportunities.
(34:53):
Derek Lively, who's had a toughseries so far, only played five
minutes in the second half. Alot of things that the Mavericks can improve
upon, and we'll be discussing thosethings over the next couple of days,
as the Mavericks and Celtics won't playGame three until Wednesday. But a difficult
loss to swallow, especially when youknow that the Celtics were giving you plenty
(35:15):
of opportunities to take and win thisgame, and the Mavericks simply didn't take
advantage of those chances when they hadthe opportunities to do so. That is
why they find themselves down two gamesto none in the NBA Finals. They've
got a lot of work to doto try to climb themselves back into the
series. The Celtics did what theywere supposed to do, which was protect
(35:37):
home court in the first couple ofgames. Now the Mavericks need to do
the same. They must do thesame if they want to remain in this
series, and that begins with thework on practice on Tuesday and then of
course game number three on Wednesday night. But the Mavericks fall to the Celtics
in Game number two, one fiveto fallow two games to none down in
(36:02):
this best of seven in the NBAFinals. The Mavericks have got to pick
themselves up, but that starts bygetting themselves an opportunity to see what they
did wrong, clean up the work, and then get back to work on
the practice court and then go fromthere. That'll do it for this episode
of Inside the Mass against thank youfor joining me on this episode here.
(36:23):
Make sure you download and subscribe tothe Inside the Mass podcast wherever you get
your podcasts or free give it afive star rating, write a review for
it while you're there, and makesure you follow me on Twitter at Kevin
Gray Sports, Like and comment onthe video. If you're watching this on
my YouTube channel, make sure youfollow Grant ass Set on his YouTube channel
as well under his name at GrantAsset and followed him for all of his
(36:45):
work for Mass Sports Illustrated. He'llbe back with me on the next episodes
of Inside the Mass. We'll getyou ready for Game number three of the
NBA Finals between your Dallas Mavericks andthe Boston Celtics. But this has been
Inside the mav presented VI
Obviously it didn't't work because we lost. But you know, at the end
of the day, we gotta makesome more shots. You know, I
think my turnovers and like misfritos,Claus is a game, so I gotta
do way better in those two categories. But at the end of the day,
we've got to make shots to winthem, to win the game.
(00:20):
The Mavericks couldn't do the little thingsin game two and Kyrie Irving struggles in
the second half and the mavers aredown two games to none in the NBA
Finals of the Boston Celtics. Whatwent wrong in game two and one needs
to change going forward. This isInside the MAVs. Welcome to Inside the
(01:08):
mass presented by Aura. I'm yourhost, Kevin Gray, maveris prim post
game host only Dallas Mavericks Radio Network. Appreciate you joining me here for the
latest episode of Inside the MAVs.Make sure you download and subscribe to the
podcast wherever you get your podcast forfree, give it a five star rating
and write a review for it whileyou're there. And if you're watching this
on YouTube channel at Kevin Gray Sports, makes you like a comment on the
(01:30):
video as well, and you canfollow me on Twitter at Kevin Gray Sports.
The Dallas Mavericks drop Game two ofthe NBA Finals one to oh five
to ninety eight, as the Mavericksare now down two games to none as
the series moves to Dallas for Gamesthree and four beginning on Wednesday. Luka
Donc is making history for the DallasMavericks, becoming the first Maverick to have
(01:53):
a triple double in the NBA Finalswith his thirty two points, eleven rebounds,
and eleven six but unfortunately had eightturnovers as well as a Mavericks simply
couldn't do the little things down thestretch, shooting themselves in the foot way
too often in Game two to losein Game two of the NBA Finals.
The Celtics have now won nine straightgames in the postseason now have a chance
(02:19):
when they go on the road beginningon Wednesday, to extend their postseason road
winning streak to nine as well,as they have not lost on the road
so far this postseason. But forthe Mavericks and opportunity to win a very
gettable game against the Celtics team thatstruggled quite a bit, especially from the
three point line, well yes,they got timely the second chance opportunities and
(02:43):
made some big buckets down the stretch, and of course Derek White's block on
PJ Washington with thirty seconds to goto seal it. No matter how you
may feel about whether or not itshould have been a foul call on Jylen
Brown for pushing PJ. Washington inthe back, the foul wasn't called and
the Celtics were able to hang ondown the stretch after the Mavericks had used
a nine to zero run to closeit within five with a minute or so
(03:07):
left in the game. But forthe Mavericks, they simply couldn't take advantage
of the opportunities that were provided tothem, especially for a Celtics team to
struggle for the three point line thatwent ten of thirty nine from deep at
just twenty five point six percent.In Game two, the Mavericks were even
worse at six or twenty six fromdowntown, shooting at twenty three percent from
(03:31):
the three point line, But evenstill, the Mavericks missed eight free throws
in Game two, going sixteen oftwenty four from the free throw line,
while the Celtics went nineteen of twentyfrom the line, including up perfect ten
to ten in the first quarter.And when you watched this game, you
saw that the Mavericks were much moreaggressive to begin this game, and they
(03:53):
started the near first four minutes ofthe game outscoring the Celtics thirteen to six.
Luke and Kyrie combined for ten ofthe mavers first thirteen points, and
you saw the Mavericks make a concertedeffort to get into the paint, whether
it was attacking Derek White off todubble, Luka, Donc and Kyrie Irving
attacking White at the very beginning ofthe game, getting into the mid range
(04:15):
and into the paint to be ableto get some easy buckets for them to
be able to get off to agood offensive rhythm and start. And we
know that the Celtics, especially fromGame one, were allowing Luke and Kyrie
to be able to get into thepaint and take those twos if they wanted
to. Those two took advantage ofthat in Game two to try and put
some extra pressure on the Celtics defensively. But the Celtics they were able to
(04:40):
respond after the Mavericks started six toten from the field with the six to
zero run of their own over thenext three minutes as the Mavericks led at
thirteen to twelve to five minutes leftin the first quarter. Mas then responded
again with a seven to two runof their own to lead by six at
twenty to fourteen with three minutes leftin the period. The Celtics then went
on a run of their own,going eight to two, and that was
(05:01):
able to tie the game at twentytwo after Christaps Porzingis jumper would a minute
left, but the Mavericks would outscorethe Celtics sixty three in the final minute
after a couple of Kyrie irving basketsand two Josh Screen free throws after he
was filed at the end of thefirst quarter, as they were able to
lead twenty eight to twenty five atthe end of one in which you saw
from the Mavericks was a much moreaggressive approach, not only on the offensive
(05:24):
event end, but also on thedefensive end, where they held the Celtics
just one of nine from the threepoint line and thirty seven percent overall from
the field. Yeah, christolphs Porzingishad eight points, but Luka Doncis got
off to a hot start with histhirteen and Kyrie had eight as they had
twenty one on what was the twentyeighth first quarter points for the Mavericks,
(05:44):
and that to me, I thoughtwas setting a tone for the Mavericks offensively,
that it was going to be differenttaking what the Celtics were giving them
in order to be much more effectiveon the offensive end. Luka donc Is
drilling a three pointer to get toeleven points that made it eighteen to fourteen
with three four left, and thatfirst quarter hit a turn around fadeaway jumper
PC Washington knocking down a three pointeron the left wing as well that gave
(06:05):
him an early five point lead atseven to two with just under eleven minutes
left in that first quarter. Soyou saw the variety of offense for the
Mavericks be able to play itself outin the first quarter, and I thought
that was a good sign for ateam to shot forty percent from three to
fifty two percent from the field inthat first quarter, that maybe this was
going to be different given how muchmore aggressive offensively the Mavericks came out to
(06:30):
begin the game, and you sawthat and it was looking like a team
where Kyrie Irving and Luka Dancis scoredare assistant on the first thirteen points of
the game, and you felt like, okay, this was an opportunity,
especially with Kyrie Irving getting a toughbucket in the paint that put the mass
back out in front twenty four totwenty two after the Celtics had tied it.
That came with forty five seconds leftin the first quarter, that the
(06:53):
Mavericks were going to continue to sustainthat offensive pressure on a Celtics defense that
felt extremely comfortable in game number one, And as you move on to the
second quarter, the Mavericks, asyou saw, were able to continue,
at least for a little while,be able to remain in the game before
we get there though, when youlook at that first quarter, the Mavericks
(07:15):
held the Celtics without a three pointfield goal tip in the first four minutes
of the game. One of thekeys that we knew going into Game two
and for the rest of the series, really at the outset of the series
was the Mavericks are going to haveto run the Celtics off the three point
line. They made sixteen threes inGame one, a team in Boston who
made sixteen and a half threes pergame during the regular season, which was
(07:36):
number one in the NBA. Butthe Mavericks did a good job of making
things difficult from them at the threepoint line and not allowing them to get
up the kinds of shot attempts fromthree that they were accustomed to doing.
But at the same time, KyrieErey picked up a couple of fouls in
that first quarter. The Mavericks strugglefrom the free throw line, which will
be a theme of Game two.They went four to nine from the charity
(07:59):
stripe in the first quarter, whilethe Celtics were ten of ten. That's
what allowed Boston to stay in itin that first quarter, and you saw,
unfortunately at times Maxi Kliba, whomissed two open three pointers, not
shooting the ball well right now andnot shooting it with a lot of confidence
for the Mavericks. So you sawthe different approach the Celtics getting to the
(08:20):
free throw line, getting into thepaint and attacking. Meanwhile, the Mavericks
were doing a bit of that,a good bit of that themselves and executing,
whether it be in the mid rangein terms of the floater or the
jumpers that Lukadoncisy Kyrie every We're hitting. The Mavericks made a concerted effort to
be much more assertive on the offensiveend. That gets us to the second
(08:41):
quarter, because the master were upby three to begin the second quarter,
again feeling like you could sustain themomentum to be able to move forward in
Game two, but the Celtics outscorethe Mavericks eleven to seven in the first
four minutes to take a thirty sixto thirty five lead after a Derek White
three pointer. And again, asyou watched this game, the Celtics didn't
make a lot of threes, butthey made a lot of time lead threes,
including of course at Peyton Pritchard threepointer that he hits at the end
(09:05):
of the third quarter that increased whatwas a six point lead to a nine
point lead going into the fourth quarter. More on that later on in the
show. But the Celtics would maintainthat one point lead at thirty six thirty
five was seven minutes left in thefirst half, as through a Celtics time
out, as they used what wasa nine to run in the middle of
that thirteen to seven start to leadthirty eight to thirty five midway through the
(09:26):
first half, or yeah, midwaythrough the second quarter, and in the
first half, obviously after a JalenBrown layup, but the teams would seesaw
back and forth and the Mavericks willfind themselves getting some of the vertical game
going as well, with Derrick JonesJunior getting a dunk off of an assist
from Luca Dodgs to tie the gameat forty four. Derrick Jones Junior started
to get things going in that secondquarter for the Mavericks, where he had
(09:48):
seven points, including an and one. He also got a nice layup off
of a no look pass from Dodgesto be able to cut the lead to
the of the Celtics to forty tothirty nine. That came with just over
five minutes left in the first half. Jones's activity was really evident in that
second quarter. They got an offensiverebound and found Josh Green cut into the
(10:09):
layup to the basket for a layupas the Celtics led thirty eight to thirty
seven. But it had to besome of the others in this game to
help Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irvings supplementthe scoring. The Mavericks had all five
of their starters in double figures,but their bench is what let them down
in this game, the bench onlyhad nine points, while Christas Brezingis himself
(10:31):
outscored the Celtics or the Mavericks benchtwelve to nine. But what was a
seesaw back and forth five minutes ofthat second quarter, the Celtics will lead
by two fifty one to forty ninewith a minute left in the first half,
eventually helding a three point lead goinginto halftime at fifty four to fifty
one. Luka Doncis again ten pointsin that quarter. Derrick Jones Junior's activity,
(10:54):
as we described, was really goodin that second period. But what
was the theme for the night forBoston especially was Drew Holliday. Drew Holliday
was fantastic with the twenty six pointsthat he had, going eleven to fourteen
from the field, and not onlythat, he had eleven rebounds as well,
and really not only just the defense, but his scoring was excellent,
(11:18):
whether it be on second chance opportunitieswhich the Celtics got some time as second
chance rebounds to be able to makesome things happen for extra possessions, or
just his defense and what he wasdoing knocking down shots from the outside.
Because you look at what he didin that second quarter, they're really affecting
the Celtics offensive where they scored twentynine points. You saw what he was
able to do, Drew Holliday goingfive of six from the field, hit
(11:41):
a three pointer, had eleven points, also had four rebounds in that quarter
as well, so he really puthis stamp on his game, especially in
that second period where the Celtics shotjust thirty three percent from three, but
they shot fifty seven percent overall fromthe field. Mavers shot twenty five percent
from three and forty five and ahalf percent overall from the field as the
(12:03):
Celtics led by three and halftime.But the Mavericks shot themselves in the foot,
especially in the first half, andreally should have been leading at halftime
based off of the way that theywere attacking and getting into the paint.
But in the free throw department,you look at what they did in the
first half. The Mavericks were fiveof eleven from the free throw line,
(12:24):
missing six first half free throws,and while the Celtics were thirteen of thirteen
from the free throw line in thefirst half, and not only that,
you were turning the ball over toomuch. You look at what the Mavericks
did in the first half from aturnover Standpoint had eight first half turnovers that
led to eleven points off turnovers forthe Celtics. So not only were you
(12:46):
missing free throws, but you werenot protecting the basketball as well. And
when the margin of air is asthin as it is against a terrific team
in Boston who's won sixty four gamesduring the regular season, now I have
won nine straight games in the postseason. You've got to be able to take
care of the basketball value possession,but also be able to get free points
(13:09):
when you have the opportunities to getthem from the free throw line, and
the Mavericks simply didn't do that,and now they find themselves down at two
games to none. Jason Kidd talkingabout the loss after the game as well
and what the Mavericks did and weren'table to do in terms of knocking down
shots in game number two to listen, Yeah, they haven't lost the game
(13:31):
since May. Sounded upthing right,So yeah, they're hot, not just
on the road but at home.So we got to protect home and that's
it. We've got to find away continue again to build on our defense.
Our defense put us in a positionto win tonight. Unfortunately, our
offense didn't help us, and soagain Kay and Luca are going to get
(13:56):
their looks. We got to getsomeone else involved of being able to knock
down some shots. But defensively,we can build on this and we can
be better, but we got totake care of the ball. And if
we can take care of the ball, hopefully that gives us more opportunities that's
scoring. So the Mavericks and JasonKid hoping to knock down some more of
those open shots, but more importantlyvaluing and protecting the basketball to be able
(14:20):
to not give the Celtics extra possessionswhich you know that can take advantage of,
which played itself out, especially inGame two after the Mavericks had clawed
their way back into the game.But unfortunately turnovers, especially with Luka donc
his eight turnovers in this game reallycost them. More on this as we
examined what happened in the second halfof this game, particularly Kyrie irving struggles,
(14:45):
I see the Mavericks now down totwo games to none to the Boss
and Celtics. But before we getthere, let's hear from today's sponsor of
our video on our podcast. Let'shear for more of today's video is brought
to you by Aura. Do aGoogle search on your name and email to
see how much information comes up aboutyou. I was devastated by the amount
of information that I could be seensearching my name and profile, and I
(15:07):
knew then I needed to be protectedfor not just myself, but also for
my family. Data brokers sell yourinformation to scammers, spammers, and anyone
else who may want to target you. Your full name, email, home
address, health records, your relatives, It's all out there. That's why
I've been using Aura, the sponsorof today's video, Or shows me which
data brokers are selling my information automaticallysubmits opt out requests for me. Cleaning
(15:33):
up my information not only helps reducethe amount of spam I get, but
it protects me from hackers who coulduse this information to help them access my
social media accounts, bank accounts,and other sensitive information. Or also does
so much more to protect me andmy family from online threats that I can't
see. It's really easy to setup, so I don't have to download
several different apps to get things likeanti virus, VPN, password management,
(15:56):
parental controls, identity that insurance andmore. I get every thing at one
affordable price. You may already haveone of these tools already, but not
having AURA is like locking the frontdoor and leaving the back door wide open.
Ora is always on doing the hardwork to protect me and my family,
so I can focus on other taskswith peace of mind. I value
my privacy and I value yours.You can go to Aura dot com slash
(16:18):
Kevin Gray to start your two weekfree trial. Please see the link in
the description. Back here on Insidethe MAVs, thank you for hanging out
with us through our spot, andthank you to today's sponsor of our video
and our podcast and Aura. Asthe Mavericks drop Game two of the NBA
Finals one oh five to ninety eightto the Boston Celtics, Celtics now having
(16:41):
won nine straight games in this postseason. Meanwhile, the Mavericks dropped to seven
and four away from the American AirlineCenters. They get ready for Games three
and four beginning on Wednesday. Butfor the Mavericks, we've talked about how
they weren't able to do the littlethings in this game to be able to
beat Boston and win, and themargin of era is as thin as it
(17:02):
is. You cannot shoot yourself inthe foot and think you're going to beat
a team as good and as talentedas Boston, no matter how much they
were trying to give you Game two. You have to take it from them
when the opportunity presents itself. Andyou look at what happened in the first
half, Luca and Kyrie combining forthirty three of the fifty one points that
the Mavericks had in the first half, Luka donc Is going nine to thirteen
(17:25):
from the field, Kyrie Irving goingfive to ten, combined fourteen of twenty
three from the field, and youwere thinking that their offensive aggressiveness will continue
to go into the second half.But unfortunately for that was not the case
for the Mavericks. And when youlook at what happened in that second half,
Boston was able to really get afterKyrie Irving especially, And when you
(17:48):
start looking at the second half,Mavericks down by three to begin the second
half, Mavericks started on a sixto three run to tie the game of
fifty seven. Daniel Gafford got invoYou saw Dereck Lively and Daniel gaffer start
to get much more active in thatthird quarter where it's been a tough series
so far in the first couple ofgames for the centers of the mavers particularly
(18:11):
from Dereck Lively, but Daniel Gafferreally started to play well and make his
imprint on this game, especially inthe third quarter. But the Celtics will
respond again with a quick five zerorun to take what was a five point
lead at sixty two to fifty seven, again after another timely Derek White three
pointer. His defense in timely shotmaking and you know how his defense came
(18:32):
to play in the later stages ofGame number two. But the Mavericks again
will pull within two at sixty threeto sixty one with seven and a half
minutes left in that third period,after a Dereck Lively dunk. We talked
about what they were able to doin getting some activity going. You saw
the nice dunk off of a nicemove that Daniel Gaffer had to pull the
(18:52):
MAVs within one at fifty four tofifty three. Derek Lively getting the dunk
off the pick and roll, gettingsome of that vertical game going for the
Dallas Maverickson finishing nice at the rim. But the Boston Celtics would find themselves
responding what was a ten to zerorun, as they were able to lead
by twelve at seventy five to sixtythree. They would increase their lead to
(19:15):
sixty nine to sixty three with fiveminutes left after a Jalen Brown driving layup
forced the Mavericks time out again.That was part of an overall ten to
oh run that had the Celtics upseventy five to sixty three with three minutes
left in the quarter. And thatis something we have seen through the first
couple of games between the Mavericks andthe Celtics. Big runs by the Celtics
to increase leads through games one andtwo that have really put the Mavericks in
(19:41):
bad positions to try and play nearlyperfect basketball to be able to stay within
these games. And when you're notable to do that because you have to
play nearly flawless in order to evenkeep up with the Celtics team that may
struggle from the field at times,that is the kind of pressure that Boston
can put on you throughout the courseof the game. But the Mavericks were
(20:02):
able to pull it within six ateighty to seventy four after two Kyrie Irving
free throws with three seconds left inthe period. But again, doing the
little things has got to come intoplay when you're playing a team as talented
as a Celtics, and Peyton Pritchardmade the Mavericks pay by hitting a buzzer
beater glass shot from thirty four feetthat had the Celtics back up by nine
(20:26):
at eighty three to seventy four.So again, when you know that Celtics
like to push the ball to beable to get an opportunity to be able
to get a three point shot,I'm not saying that you've got to full
on guard Pritchard in that moment,but you've got to try and at least
make it difficult and contests, becauseyou know the Celtics love to jack up
those three pointers, and that onewas a backbreaking went at the end of
(20:49):
the third after you had clawed yourway back into it to make it a
six point game. But nonetheless,the Celtics get that bank shot from Pritchard
to make it eighty three to seventyfour at the into three. Luka Doncapg
Washington each had six points in thatperiod, but Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown
combined for fifteen points. As Bostonshot just twenty percent from three, but
(21:11):
forty four percent overall. And onething that you may notice so far in
this series, while Jason Tatum's offensivenumbers from a scoring standpoint haven't been necessarily
gaudy, he's doing the things forthe Celtics in other areas, especially as
a passer. You look at whathe did in the first half. In
terms of what he did as aplaymaker, he had eight assists in the
(21:33):
first half, making plays for histeammates and getting them in open positions to
be able to make some shots.And when you look at the game overall,
between what Jason Tatum and Jalen Brownwere able to do, you look
at what they did from an assistsstandpoint. For example, they combined for
nineteen assists in Game two. Theycombined for thirteen rebounds in game number two
(21:59):
as well, along as combining forthirty nine points. So not only did
they have the combined nineteen assists tocombine the thirteen rebounds that they had,
but they also put together four stealsbetween the two of them. These are
the things that championship teams do whenshots aren't falling, like for Tatum in
Game two, where he went sixor twenty two, he still found a
(22:21):
way to be a plus six becausehe was doing everything else to facilitate his
teammates in terms of offense and makingplays for them to be able to get
some easy baskets. That is whythese Celtics are in the position that they
are. Among other things that theywere able to do better in Game two
that the Mavericks couldn't. But themavers were able to end what was that
(22:41):
ten to ozer run that we talkedabout with Luka Doncis hitting a three pointer
to make it seventy five to seventysix. It was also good to see
Dante Exum knock down and open threethat pulled the Mavericks again back within ten
at eight to seventy with just undertwo minutes left in that third quarter.
Other folks have got to start comingwith the Maverickson terms of their scoring,
(23:02):
because yes, they had five totheir five starters in double figures, but
their bench, especially in these twogames, have not been very good and
it was terrible in Game two forthe Mavericks. If they can get some
better bench production, this team canfind themselves sticking with the Celtics, and
they did so, but unfortunately whatcame into play as we look at the
(23:25):
fourth quarter, some bad turnovers andsome untimely plays, especially not being able
to get the scoring output between LukaDoncis and Kyrie Irving. And one of
the things that the Celtics you saw, especially in the second half, do
Luka Dodgs was able to really getthings going from a scoring standpoint and a
facilitation standpoint in terms of getting hisguys involved. But in the second half,
(23:48):
the Celtics started to pick on LukaDoncics, hunting him on the defensive
end, making him work because cominginto the game, we had learned that
Luka Doncis were dealing with the chesscontusion Thorscic injury, if you will,
on top of the fact that he'sdealing with ankle sore on is that he's
dealing with the knees sprint. Wealready know that he's been dealing with a
quad injury throughout the course of theseason as well. The Celtics made it
(24:11):
a point to make him work onthe defensive end and hunting him to get
into favorable matchups where he would haveto try to sit down and guard and
be able to do so possession afterpossession, and he simply got worn down
as the game went on, andthe Celtics were able to take advantage of
that. But as you start lookingat the fourth quarter, Mavericks down by
(24:33):
nine to begin the fourth period,they cut the deficit. They did,
as they were able to get itto within seven at ninety to eighty three
in the first four minutes of thatthird period after a Kyrie Irving layup.
In that first four minutes of thefourth quarter. Daniel Gafford was also again
a big factor. We saw whathe did early on in that third quarter,
(24:56):
was able to have another imprint onthis game in the fourth quarter,
where he at five of the Mavericksfirst nine points of the fourth period.
But the Celtics would then go ona five zero run to take a twelve
point lead at ninety five to eightythree. Was seven minutes left, and
you're thinking at that point, theMavericks have got to find a way to
start getting stops because you can't continueto go basket for basket, blow for
(25:18):
blow with the Celtics and think you'regoing to continue to keep up because you
know, even with the struggles thatthey've had on the offensive been at some
point they're going to knock down enoughtimely threes to be able to put you
in a bine as you get closerand closer down the stretch. But the
Mavericks would then pull to within eightat four point forty left in the fourth
(25:38):
quarter at ninety seven to eighty nine, forcing a time out. You saw
what they were able to do toget to that. Kyrie Irving throws a
lot to Daniel Gaffer and transition forthe dunk again, getting some of that
vertical game going that had virtually beennon existent in Game number one. Kyrie
Erving was starting to get things goingfor the Mavericks. He got that lefty
layup in transition to cut down thelead to seven at ninety to eighty three.
(26:02):
Again four minutes in the PJ.Washington worked hard on the offensive end,
got his own offensive rebound off ofhis miss to get the layup to
get the Mavericks again within ten atninety five to eighty five. That came
with just over six minutes left inthe game itself. You look at PJ.
Washington from a scoring standpoint, hada pretty good game with seventeen points
with six or thirteen from the field, but went just one of five from
(26:26):
the three point line. And whenyou look at what the Mavericks did from
a shooting standpoint, Luka Doncic wentfour of nine from the three point line.
Everyone else outside of Doncic in thegame went two of seventeen from three.
That's simply not gonna cut it whenyou're taking on a Celtics team that's
going to get enough shots made downthe stretch to win games. But that
(26:49):
was a critical juncture of the gamebecause at that point the Mavericks were down
by eight and you felt like theywere starting to get themselves climbing back into
the game. Boston would respond withwhat would be a critical six to zero
run to increase their lead. Partof that came or what it came on,
was back to back three pointers byDrew Holliday and Derek White, And
(27:11):
we talked about the turnovers, LukaDoncic having a turnover a PJ. Washington
having a bad pass in the backcourt where Luka dons him trying to exchange
the passes to get the ball overthe half court line, and it led
to a turnover. Drew Holliday knocksdown a three pointer and then on the
very next possession, Derek White hitsanother three. So you go from being
(27:33):
down just eight to being down byfourteen in a matter of seconds with three
and a half minutes left in thegame. Again costly turnovers, and you
look back even at that third quarter, Luca Dodgers having a couple of bad
passes where he was trying to throwbehind the back pass that was a turnover,
trying to throw an over the shoulderpass that was intercepted going cross court.
(27:53):
Bad decision making at times, andI know that there was a lot
of pressure being put on Dodgic tomake the because other guys simply weren't making
shots, so at times he wasforcing the issue. But for the Mavericks,
you again cannot turn the ball overand expect to win this game and
win games against the Celtics in thisseries. But that was a critical juncture
(28:15):
of the game where the Celtics wereable to pus their lead back up to
fourteen at one oh three to eightynine or three and a half minutes left,
But the Mavericks made one final standin this game. They went on
a nine to zero run to cutwhat was a fourteen point deficit to five
at one oh three to ninety eight, after Luka Doncis was able to get
(28:36):
an am one on Al Horford.He would hit the free throw and be
able to have the Mavericks within fivewith one fifteen left in the fourth quarter.
And now things are starting to getinteresting because you again have clawed your
way back into the game if you'rethe Mavericks and giving yourself an opportunity to
maybe try to possibly steal Game twoon the road. But you give credit
(28:59):
to the Austin Celtics. Again,we mentioned it a little bit earlier.
No matter how you may feel aboutwhether or not it was a foul,
you can look at the replay andyou can see the hand of Jalen Brown
in the back of PJ Washington,but Washington is going up for a dunken
timp In transition, Derek White getsthe block on PJ. Along with Jalen
(29:19):
Brown helping out on the defensive end. A foul wasn't called and then they
go back down on the other end. Jalen Brown gets a layup to increase
their lead back to seven with thirtyseven or thirty seconds left in the game,
and that was it from there,as they will go on to wing
one oh five to ninety eight.But again you saw the Mavericks fight back
(29:41):
and clawback, but simply not haveenough. And part of this is several
things. In this game. Yougave up too many second chance opportunities for
the Celtics to be able to extendpossession. You did not make your free
throws in this game. You missedeight critical free throws and a game that
you lost by seven points. Youturn the ball over fifteen times in this
(30:03):
game, with your superstar having eightof them, and then in the second
half, Kyrie Irving disappeared. Youlook at what Kyrie Irving did in the
second half from a shooting standpoint,and he, along with his teammates Kyrie
Irving with two of eight from thefield for just six points. In fact,
when you look at that fourth quarterbetween Luka Doncis and Kyrie Irving,
(30:25):
the two of them combined for whatwould be seven points in that fourth quarter.
Daniel Gafford had seven points alone forthe Dallas Mavericks. That will not
get you a win on the roadagainst the Celtics. But Kyrie Irving for
a second straight game disappointing, thistime in the second half, as we
mentioned, going two of eight fromthe field, zero of three from the
(30:48):
three point line, had two personalfouls, had three assists in a couple
of rebounds, but was not ableto provide the scoring punch that the Mavericks
needed. And he, especially goinginto game number three on Wednesday, has
got to find some measure of consistencybecause right now offensively he has not come
(31:10):
to play that the way that theMavericks and needed it too in the first
couple of games. In fact,here is Kyrie Irving discussing some of his
struggles along with what happened with theMavericks in Game two that saw them lose
to the Celtics. Yeah, that'sthat's the confidence that I have in myself.
You know, a lot of shotswere hit in the back room that
I could pis you off as acompetitor, but it's all part of the
(31:33):
game of basketball, and you gotto accept the ups and downs to this,
you know. That's that's the Iwould say the toughest challenge when you're
in a series. You want toplay extremely well, especially when you're playing
in the finals. You know,a little disappointed in myself not being able
to convert a lot more of myopportunities that I have in the lane.
You know, obviously I'm going againstDrew Holliday and Jane len Brown a few
(31:55):
times, but I feel like Ihave the upper edge on certain possessions where
I just got to convert that they'repushing me to my left hand a little
bit more. So it just gotto be aware of some of their adjustments.
Like I was in Game one,felt good in the first half,
but in the second half, justshots weren't going down, and defensively,
I was out of position, gotsome Tiki tag fouls and just kind of
(32:15):
took away from our flow of thegame as well. It wasn't just all
on me, but I'm definitely takinga majority of it, just because you
know, my teammates looked to meto convert a lot of these shots and
ease the burden not only just Lucabut everyone else and settle our team.
You know, we've definitely made ouridentity on defensive end, but now offensively,
I got to play better. SoKyrie Irving discussing his struggles, especially
(32:37):
in the second half for the Maverisonwhy they were not able to get a
game to win, and you lookat some of the things from the Mavericks.
PJ Washington had a good second halfin twenty minutes with four of eight,
he had twelve points to actually leadthe Maverickson second half scoring based on
what he was able to do.Daniel Gaffer had eleven as well. But
(32:58):
your superstars, especially Luka Donci hasgot worn down as the game went on.
The turnovers and the mistakes of notbeing able to convert from the free
throw line really hurt this team.And you simply cannot give away points.
You cannot give away the basketball andthink that a team as good as Boston,
even with the shooting struggles that they'vehad that they had in Game two,
(33:21):
think that you're going to win.And with Jalen Brown playing the way
that he's doing on the defensive end, hounding Kyrie Irving at times, you
saw him force a twenty four secondshot lock violation with some really terrific defense
and what was the left corner andin the first half, Jalen Brown's playing
at an NBA Finals MVP level.And Drew Holliday, who has been not
(33:43):
only spectacular on the defensive end throughoutthe course of the regular season, but
offensively, was able to really puthis stamp on this game with not only
his outside shooting but helping out onthe offensive glass. His twenty six points
and eleven rebounds really was a backbreakingsite to see for the Dallas Mavericks.
And that's what the Celtics do.They've got a number of guys that can
(34:07):
put pressure on you when either Brownor Tatum aren't necessarily going Porzingis can get
you twenty like he did in Gameone. Drew Holliday can get you twenty
six like he did in Game two. The amount of depth that the Celtics
present with the guys in the skilllevel that they have make it extremely difficult
for you to last with them throughoutthe course of a forty eight minute game.
(34:29):
But the Mavericks did some good thingsin this game, but again they
were held under to under one hundredpoints for the second straight game to start
this series. They've got to finda way to get more shots made and
also be able to execute better interms of what they can control, which
is protecting the basketball and making theirfree throws and not allowing second chance opportunities.
(34:53):
Derek Lively, who's had a toughseries so far, only played five
minutes in the second half. Alot of things that the Mavericks can improve
upon, and we'll be discussing thosethings over the next couple of days,
as the Mavericks and Celtics won't playGame three until Wednesday. But a difficult
loss to swallow, especially when youknow that the Celtics were giving you plenty
(35:15):
of opportunities to take and win thisgame, and the Mavericks simply didn't take
advantage of those chances when they hadthe opportunities to do so. That is
why they find themselves down two gamesto none in the NBA Finals. They've
got a lot of work to doto try to climb themselves back into the
series. The Celtics did what theywere supposed to do, which was protect
(35:37):
home court in the first couple ofgames. Now the Mavericks need to do
the same. They must do thesame if they want to remain in this
series, and that begins with thework on practice on Tuesday and then of
course game number three on Wednesday night. But the Mavericks fall to the Celtics
in Game number two, one fiveto fallow two games to none down in
(36:02):
this best of seven in the NBAFinals. The Mavericks have got to pick
themselves up, but that starts bygetting themselves an opportunity to see what they
did wrong, clean up the work, and then get back to work on
the practice court and then go fromthere. That'll do it for this episode
of Inside the Mass against thank youfor joining me on this episode here.
(36:23):
Make sure you download and subscribe tothe Inside the Mass podcast wherever you get
your podcasts or free give it afive star rating, write a review for
it while you're there, and makesure you follow me on Twitter at Kevin
Gray Sports, Like and comment onthe video. If you're watching this on
my YouTube channel, make sure youfollow Grant ass Set on his YouTube channel
as well under his name at GrantAsset and followed him for all of his
(36:45):
work for Mass Sports Illustrated. He'llbe back with me on the next episodes
of Inside the Mass. We'll getyou ready for Game number three of the
NBA Finals between your Dallas Mavericks andthe Boston Celtics. But this has been
Inside the mav presented VI
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.