The Dallas Mavericks were outshined by the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night. Dallas’ former Duke basketball one-and-dones, veteran guard Kyrie Irving and rookie center Dereck Lively II, combined for only 14 points in the 107-89 road loss. Meanwhile, Boston’s NBA Blue Devil superstar, Jayson Tatum, didn’t shoot particularly well yet delivered 16 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists to the winning effort.
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Now, the Mavericks enter Game 2 in Boston at 8 p.m. ET Sunday with eyes on reversing the momentum. Although their woes in Game 1 were anything but encouraging, they still have a shot at returning to Dallas for Game 3 with homecourt advantage in tow.
And judging by Lively’s chat with media on Sunday ahead of the second showdown in TD Garden, the 7-foot-1 defensive sensation — not to mention an efficient finisher, as he’s 17-for-17 from the field across his past five outings — is energized by the opportunity to do precisely that.
“I’m excited for what this game is gonna show the world,” said the mere 20-year-old Lively, whose beyond-his-years playoff performances as Dallas’ backup center have been inspirational in light of the death of his mother, Kathy Drysdale, on April 12 following her decade-long battle with cancer. “I feel like there’s always been a lot of eyes on what the first game is and how we’re gonna handle the first game, and then everyone thinks we don’t have our things together.
“But we do. We know what we need to do. We know how to execute. And we know what we need to do.”
Following Game 2, the Mavericks and Celtics will travel to Dallas for Game 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday and Game 4 on Friday night.
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