NBA Finals: Celtics beat Mavericks 105-98, take 2-0 lead

The Boston Celtics, fueled by 26 points from Jrue Holiday, thwarted a desperate Dallas rally in the final minutes to beat the Mavericks 105-98 on Sunday and take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

On a night when early struggles from three-point range bedevilled the Celtics, their all-around effort on both ends of the floor saw them notch a second straight win at home to head to Dallas for game three on Wednesday with a commanding lead.

Jaylen Brown scored 21 points and Jayson Tatum added 18 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists, Holiday crediting Tatum for keeping the Celtics offense firing.“I would say a lot of it was JT,” Holiday said.

“They were double-teaming him and he was making the right play. The way that he played tonight, the way that he led us, getting into the paint, making plays, finding me wide open — it was all about him,” Holiday added.