NBA Game Notes (June 9, 2024)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on June 9, 2024.

Jun 10, 2024

Three Stars

The three stars in ice hockey are the three best players in a game, with the “first star” considered the best of the three players, similar to the player of the match in other sports. Here are my “three stars” from yesterday’s NBA games.

First ⭐️

Jrue Holiday scored a team-high 26 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds (tied with Luka Doncic) as the Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 105-98 in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Boston will take a 2-0 series lead to Dallas for Game 3 Wednesday night.

Holiday made 11 of his 14 attempts from the field (2-4 on 3-pointers) and hit both of his free throws. He also recorded one steal and one block in 41 turnover-free minutes.

Second ⭐️

Luka Doncic recorded a triple-double, scoring a game-high 32 points to go with team highs of 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the Mavericks. Doncic went 12-21 from the floor, sinking four of his nine 3-point attempts. He also recorded a game-high four steals in 42 minutes played, although the former total was offset by his game-high eight turnovers.

Third ⭐️

Jaylen Brown scored 21 points for the Celtics, going 8-15 from the field and 4-4 from the free throw line. He also handed out seven assists and swiped a team-high three steals in 42 minutes of action.

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Milestones

Doncic became the first player in Mavericks history to record a triple-double in a Finals game.
Doncic is the just the fourth player in NBA Finals history to record a 30-point triple-double in a loss, joining LeBron James (twice), Jerry West, and Charles Barkley.
Doncic became the first player in NBA history to record a 30-point triple-double within the first two games of his Finals career. Jimmy Butler (2020), Nikola Jokic (2023), and Jamal Murray (2023) each recorded a 30-point triple-double in their third Finals game.
Doncic became just the second player to record at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in each of his first two NBA Finals games. He joins Hal Greer, who accomplished the feat in 1967.
Doncic has 10 career triple-doubles in the playoffs, tying Larry Bird, Rajon Rondo, and Draymond Green for sixth place on the NBA’s all-time list. He’s recorded seven of those triple-doubles in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, tying Wilt Chamberlain (1967) for the second-most triple-doubles in a single postseason.
Doncic has scored at least 30 points in a game 10 times in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, breaking a tie with himself (2022) for the most such games by a Maverick in a single postseason.
Doncic has recorded 15 double-doubles in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, breaking a tie with Dirk Nowitzki (2003 and 2006) for the most double-doubles in a single postseason in Mavericks history.
Doncic has dished out 162 assists this postseason, breaking the Mavericks’ franchise record for most assists in a single postseason held by his head coach, Jason Kidd. Kidd recorded 153 assists in the 2011 NBA Playoffs.
Holiday is just the ninth player player to record a 25-point, 10-rebound game with zero turnovers in the NBA Finals since the league began tracking individual turnovers in 1977-78. Holiday’s field goal percentage was 78.6%, by far the highest in that group. Shaquille O’Neal (June 19, 2000) ranks a distant second at 59.4%.
Holiday has scored 38 points without committing a turnover through the first two games of the Finals. Since the NBA began tracking individual turnovers in 1977-78, the only player to score more points with zero turnovers through the first two games of a Finals is Michael Jordan in 1998 (70).
The Boston Celtics (10-39 on 3-pointers) are just the second team to win an NBA Finals game in which they shot less than 30% on 30 or more 3-point attempts. The first team to pull this off was the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the 2022 Finals.

Streaking

Doncic has scored at least 25 points in each of his last nine games, breaking a tie with Dirk Nowitzki (May 13-28, 2006) for the longest such streak in Mavericks postseason history. Doncic is averaging 31.6 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 8.2 APG over that span, with shooting percentages of 50.0% from the field and 44.0% from 3-point range.
Doncic has made at least one 3-pointer in 47 consecutive playoff games, the third-longest 3-point streak in NBA postseason history. The two longest such streaks belong to the Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry (132 games) and Klay Thompson (54).
The Celtics’ Derrick White (18 points, four 3-pointers made) has made at least one 3-pointer in each of his last 25 playoff games, breaking a tie with Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum for the longest such streak in franchise history. White is averaging 15.8 PPG with 47/43/89 shooting splits during that stretch.
The Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving has lost the last 12 games in which he’s played against the Celtics, one of his former teams. Irving is averaging 19.7 PPG in those contests, shooting just 41.1% from the floor and 26.4% from 3-point range.
The Celtics have won nine consecutive games, the longest postseason winning streak in franchise history. The previous record of seven consecutive playoff wins was set in 1986.

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Doncic was the night’s leading scorer, pouring in 32 points. He was followed by a quartet of Celtics: Holiday (26), Brown (21), Jasyon Tatum (18), and White (18).
Doncic and Holiday were the top board men last night, pulling in 11 rebounds apiece. Tatum and the Mavericks’ Daniel Gafford were next with nine boards each.
Tatum was the leading playmaker, handing out 12 assists last night. Doncic also distributed double-digit dimes with 11, followed by Brown with seven and Irving with six.
Tatum is shooting just 12-38 from the floor (31.6%) in the 2024 NBA Finals. In the 3-point era, only two players have recorded a lower field goal percentage through the first two games of a Finals while attempting at least 35 shots: Tatum himself (30.6%, 2022) and his current teammate, Holiday (31.4%, 2021).