BOSTON — Mavericks star Luka Doncic didn’t look great walking into TD Garden hours before Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Celtics, but the 25-year-old isn’t going down without a fight.
Despite being listed as questionable before Dallas took the floor in Boston in search of a 1-1 series tie before the Mavericks head back home, Doncic was upgraded and will play. Dallas head coach Jason Kidd, who revealed that taking a charge was a cause for Doncic’s thoracic contusion, didn’t provide a definitive stance on the five-time All-Star’s playing status — leaving it up to warmups.
“Luka’s questionable so we’ll see how he feels when he warms up and make that decision,” Kidd said pregame. “… If he’s out, we’re prepared to go without him, next man up. If he’s going, the game plan doesn’t change.”
Doncic had a rough Finals debut performance, scoring an inefficient 30 points on 12-for-26 shooting, including 4-for-12 from 3-point range, committing four turnovers in the lopsided 107-89 loss to Boston. Granted, it’s just the first of a potential seven-game series, but with Boston’s acclaimed “best player” — according to Kidd — Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis red-hot to start the series, the Mavericks will need to improve vastly on all fronts in Game 2.
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The Celtics, three wins away from Banner 18, could take a favorable 2-0 lead Sunday night and pile up the pressure on the Mavericks before the series heads to Dallas.
Featured image via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
