The Boston Celtics held off a late rally by the Dallas Mavericks in the fourth quarter, to win Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals on Sunday night at TD Garden by a 105-98 final.

Boston led by as many as 14 points in the closing minutes, before Dallas made it a two-possession game with a late run. Celtics point guard Derrick White made a timely blocked shot to kill the run for good, and effectively put the game away.

Jrue Holiday led the Celtics in scoring with 26 points, shooting 11-for-14 from the field (78.6%). Jayson Tatum struggled again shooting the ball on offense (6-for-22, 27.3%), but finished with 12 assists and nine rebounds, just one board shy of a triple-double.

Celtics-Mavs Highlights, Game 2

The Mavericks handily out-shot the Celtics in the first quarter, but escaped with only a three-point lead at 28-25. Dallas shot 52.4% as a team, compared to 36.8% for Boston, including 1-for-9 from three-point range.

Jaylen Brown did, however, add another highlight-reel slam dunk to his finals resume.

• The shots started to fall more in the second quarter, as the C’s shot 12-for-20 (60%) as a team. Point guard Jrue Holiday continued his hot shooting, ending up with 17 first-half points on 7-of-9 (77.8%) from the field.

  Celtics on NBC Sports Boston on X (formerly Twitter): "That ball movement 😮‍💨👌 pic.twitter.com/LJtTmxYbzD / X"

  That ball movement 😮‍💨👌 pic.twitter.com/LJtTmxYbzD

• In the third quarter, the Celtics started to pull away. At one point, they went on a 25-11 run to go up by 13 points ad 80-67. Tatum scored eight points and continued his strong passing night to get up to 10 assists.

  Boston Celtics on X (formerly Twitter): "Plays like this are what makes Jrue great 👏🏾 pic.twitter.com/p2kwR7pQRB / X"

  Plays like this are what makes Jrue great 👏🏾 pic.twitter.com/p2kwR7pQRB

• Dallas ripped off a 7-0 run to cut the deficit back down to six with the final seconds ticking away in the third, but that’s when Celtics guard Payton Pritchard woke up the whole arena. Pritchard heaved it from nearly half-court and made the Hail Mary shot, putting the C’s back up by nine entering the fourth quarter at 83-74, and drawing the loudest pop of the series so far.

  Boston Celtics on X (formerly Twitter): "WHO ELSE pic.twitter.com/b5lWgkkZIG / X"

  WHO ELSE pic.twitter.com/b5lWgkkZIG

• The Celtics pulled back away to lead by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter, after a White steal set up a Holiday three-pointer, then White drained a triple of his own to make it 103-89 Celtics.

  However, the Mavericks wouldn’t go away quietly. They rattled off a 9-0 run to make it 103-98 C’s with just 1:15 left in regulation, then had the ball with a chance to cut further into the deficit.

  But then, White delivered a clutch blocked shot and Holiday pulled down the rebound, and Brown took it the other way to lay it in and put the Celtics back up seven with 30 seconds left. That’s how the score would hold, as the Celtics take their 2-0 lead to Dallas.

  Boston Celtics on X (formerly Twitter): "DERRICK WHITE 🚫 pic.twitter.com/K40AaqRCTk / X"

  DERRICK WHITE 🚫 pic.twitter.com/K40AaqRCTk

  Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and Mavericks takes place Wednesday night at American Airlines Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.

  Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.

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