Kyrie Irving's struggles in Game 1 of the NBA Finals carried over into Game 2, as the guard went 7-for-18 from the field and missed all three of his three-pointers in the Celtics' 105-98 win over Dallas on Sunday night in Boston.
Through two games, Irving is averaging just 14 points on 35.1 percent shooting from the field and 0 percent (0-for-8) from deep. That's a far cry from his past NBA Finals performances.
Entering the series, Irving averaged 27.6 points per game on 46 percent shooting from the field and over 40 percent from distance for his career in the Finals (13 games).
Irving spoke about his struggles after the game and defended Luka Doncic, who blamed himself for the Mavericks' loss due to his costly missed free throws (4-for-8) and eight turnovers.
"He's spilling into his emotions, feels like he could play better, just like me. I would take the brunt of the responsibility. The first two games weren't the best for me," Irving said.
Doncic finished with 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, becoming just the fourth player in NBA Finals history to record a triple-double in a loss. But said his mistakes and missed free throws were the difference.
"I think my turnovers and my missed free throws cost us the game," Dončić said. "So, I've got to do way better in those two categories. But at the end of the day, we've got to make shots to win the game."
Irving agreed with that sentiment and expressed frustration that his shots didn't go down on Sunday.
"A lot of shots were hitting the back rim," Irving said. "That could piss you off as a competitor, but it's all part of the game of basketball. And you have to accept the ups and downs of this. That's, I would say, the toughest challenge when you're in a series. You want to play extremely well, especially when you're playing in a Finals.
"A little disappointed in myself not being able to convert a lot more on my opportunities that I have in the lane. Obviously, I'm going against Jrue Holiday and Jaylen Brown a few times, but I feel like I have the upper edge on certain possessions where I've just got to convert."