NBA Betting Tips: Can the Celtics take a two-game lead?

Game two of the NBA Finals takes place in the early hours of Monday morning (01:00), live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK.

The Boston Celtics are looking to strengthen their advantage in the series, after flying out of the blocks in game one, enjoying a 107-89 victory. Below you can find my NBA betting tips for Sunday.

Today's NBA Odds

Boston were excellent in game one, particularly from beyond the arc, and when this Celtics side are hitting three-point shots, they're almost impossible to defend against.

The losing team - in this case Dallas - usually makes adjustments heading into the next game, but what can the Mavericks do to disrupt this Boston side and stop them from taking a 2-0 lead?

Offensively, game one was a night to forget for Dallas as their superstar duo of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic didn't really get going. Their brilliant ball movement, that we'd seen all the way through the postseason, was non-existent.

Boston Celtics -7.5 vs Dallas Mavericks @ 1/1

Boston probably couldn't have played any better in the series opener, and Dallas surely have to improve in game two, but I still think the value lies with the Celtics covering the spread here.

The C's have too many answers and too many weapons for the Mavericks to answer, particularly at TD Garden where Boston have been impeccable all year.

The Mavs have responded to each play-off loss with a victory this season, and they are 3-0 on the road in game two's so far, and Boston have lost two game two's at home in April and May, which should offer some encouragement.

Ultimately what I think game two will come down to, is whether Dallas can answer the Celtic's flurry of scoring runs. They answered the first one in game one, getting Boston’s 29-point lead down to eight.

However, they didn’t answer the 14-0 one at the end of the third quarter, and then the game was over.

Over 214.5 points @ 10/11

As mentioned above, game one was a night to forget for Dallas offensively. I'm expecting a much-improved scoring output in game two from the Mavs, and Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving hold the key to that.

Dallas will make adjustments accordingly, to try and throw something new at this Celtics defence. However, Boston have so many weapons on offence that I believe they’ll be fine matching whatever the Mavs conjure up.

Jayson Tatum has had an excellent season for Boston, and he only managed 16 points in game one, so I'm anticipating that he will have a better performance in game two.

All in all, I believe both teams will look to increase the pace of the game after attempting just 82 and 84 shots from the field respectively in the series opener, which is why I'm taking the over on total points.

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