Luka Doncic led all scorers with 32 points in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, scoring much more efficiently than he did three nights earlier. Jayson Tatum, meanwhile, shot just 6-for-22 and is now 12-for-38 (32%) in the series.
But there was plenty of Doncic vs. Tatum on both ends of the floor in Game 2, and overall, the Boston Celtics had the edge in those situations, one reason they hold a 2-0 lead as the series heads to Dallas for the game. 3 on Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
A player’s numbers don’t matter much when the team works together to produce good shots. That’s on the Celtics’ end of the floor, where there’s slightly more ball movement (300 passes per 24 minutes of possession) than in the first three rounds of the playoffs (293 per 100). On the other hand, the Mavs have gone from 293 passes per 24 minutes of possession in the first three rounds to just 260 per 24 in the Finals.
Here are some more numbers and some film on how the Celtics won the Doncic-Tatum matchups in Game 2.
1. Tatum shifts, keeps Doncic in check
Number you need to know: Tatum was the screener defender on 11 ball screens for Doncic in Game 2, up from just four in Game 1.
With Tatum primarily guarding opposing bigs, Dallas used its forwards as screeners in Game 1, targeting Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis, who was the defender’s screener on 26 of the 38 ball-screens set for him. Doncic.
Of course, if the bigs aren’t setting screens, they’re somewhere else on the floor and the Mavs’ spacing around Doncic’s offense can be compromised. With Game 1 being one of the Mavs’ worst offensive performances of the season, they turned things around in Game 2, running more screens with the bigs, which put Tatum in the action a lot more.
Ball screens for Luka Doncic, Finals
The screen protector | Game 1 | Game 2 |
---|---|---|
Horford | 15 | 5 |
Porzingis | 11 | 11 |
Tatum | 4 | 11 |
Others | 8 | 8 |
total | 38 | 35 |
through second spectrum monitoring
Tatum mostly changed those screens, and the Mavs scored just four total points in 10 chances in which the guy Tatum was defending set a ball-screen for Doncic. All four of those points – a Doncic floater over Tatum and a difficult spin-back fadeaway – came in the first quarter, when Doncic also went 0-for-2 at the line after beating Tatum off the dribble and drawing a foul .
The Doncic-Tatum actions didn’t pay off after that, although, on a few occasions, the Mavs followed it up with another screen from the guy Porzingis was defending. The Celtics didn’t give up that switch and Tatum was able to get a steal by following the screen with active hands:
After another (sloppy) turnover three possessions later, the Mavs had no Doncic-Tatum action in the final 16 minutes of Game 2.
2. Doncic’s defense under the spotlight
Number you need to know: In 88 games (regular season plus playoffs) before the Finals, Tatum’s career high for tackles was 17. He had 18 tackles in Game 1 and a career-high 29 tackles in Game 2.
This series has been mostly about that end of the floor, where the Mavs have scored just one point per possession, their second-worst offense through two games this season. The only pair of games in which he scored less efficiently were the final two games of the regular season, when Doncic and Kyrie Irving did not play.
But the Celtics wouldn’t be two games away from the championship if they didn’t have some success offensively. And a lot of that success came by attacking Doncic.
Late in the second quarter, there was a four-possession run in which the Celtics scored 10 points, all on Doncic. It turned a tie into a five-point lead and allowed them to go into halftime with an advantage.
First, Holiday (guarded by Doncic) faked a screen on Tatum, burst down the left side of the floor and drove Doncic before he could recover:
On the next possession, Holiday set a real screen for Tatum. Doncic switched it to a cross as Tatum drove to the basket for an and-1.
Holiday then set a screen for Jaylen Brown. Doncic changed it and drew a foul putting Brown on the line.
On the fourth trip, Doncic had to take Brown in transition. Brown drove over him and assisted, and the Celtics eventually got a wide-open corner 3 for Holiday:
Four possessions. Four actions aimed at Doncic. 10 points.
Doncic rose up defensively on a couple of possessions, deflecting a Brown pass (after winning the backdoor), knocking the ball away from him on the next possession and staying in front of Tatum long enough to allow Derrick Jones Jr. BLOCK. But it was too little, too late in Game 2, and he’ll need to be more consistent in that regard going forward.
3. Tatum the creator
Number you need to know: Tatum assisted on 27 of his teammates’ points, tied for the fourth-most assists in 624 career games. He has assisted on at least 27 points by his teammates six times in his career, with five of those six games coming in the playoffs.
Tatum’s assists didn’t just come via those 29 drives. He was also quick off the ball when drawing a second defender and had two assists when doubled in the post:
While Tatum hasn’t shot well in the first two games, he probably leads the Finals in creating advantages, either drawing two on the ball or driving by his defender in 1-on-1 situations. And he trusts his teammates, who all managed to make a shot or make a play.
On the other end of the floor, the Celtics showed Doncic more help in Game 2. But the players they left open – Jones, Josh Green and Maxi Kleber – couldn’t make them pay.
If that doesn’t change in Dallas, this will be a very short streak.
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John Schuhmann is a senior statistician for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him to X.
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