The Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics continue the 2024 NBA Finals Sunday evening with Game 2. Dallas is hoping to level the series and recover from an abysmal showing in Game 1, while Boston looks to maintain homecourt advantage before the series shifts to Texas. The Celtics were dominant on both sides of the floor in the 107-89 win in Game 1, managing to find an answer every time the Mavericks threatened to come back in the contest.
Luka Doncic continues to be listed on the injury report but is considered probable. The Mavericks and Celtics are otherwise clean when it comes to injuries.
The Celtics are 7-point favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook with the total coming in at 214.5. Boston is -278 on the moneyline while Dallas is +225.
Mavericks vs. Celtics, 8 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Mavericks +7
Dallas tends to recover well from losses, with a 24-13 ATS mark after losses this season. Boston is solid coming off wins straight up, but is 37-35-4 ATS after wins due to spreads being a bit higher than usual. The Mavericks have generally thrived in the underdog role this season and have been great at winning road games in the playoffs. They haven’t lost back-to-back games yet this postseason, and the Celtics have had letdowns at home in the first and second round of the playoffs.
The Mavericks are 14-12 ATS as road underdogs this season and are looking to bounce back from a dismal Game 1 showing. The shooting percentages from behind the arc should normalize for both teams, and Boston’s +27 advantage from the perimeter is unlikely to be replicated Sunday evening. I’ll back Dallas to make this a much closer contest, even if the Celtics ultimately do pull out the victory to go up 2-0.
Over/Under: Over 214.5
Game 1 went well under this total thanks to the blowout nature of the contest. Both teams put their backups in during the final few minutes, which essentially sealed the under hitting. The Mavericks had five overs in six games prior to Game 1, while the Celtics went over their totals for five games in a row before two unders. I expect Game 2 to be closer, so I’ll take the over to hit in Sunday’s contest.