Luka Doncic lists 3 things that must happen for Mavericks to win Finals

The Dallas Mavericks find themselves in adjustment mode following their 105-98 loss in Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals.

While Dallas looked tougher on the defensive end of the floor, forcing Boston into shooting woes from beyond the arc in Game 2, it still wasn't enough for the Mavericks to tie the series.

Dallas struggled even more from downtown, shooting just 6-26 from 3-point range. Shooting as a whole was a huge problem for the Mavs.

Luka Doncic lists 3 things that must happen for Mavericks to win Finals

Dallas goes back home with a chance to make this a series, but before that, they need to clean up some business.

Doncic has done his part to be effective on the offensive end, putting up yet another 30-point triple-double, this time in a loss.

The Celtics did their part to defend home court, Dallas must do the same.

Only five teams in NBA history have come back from a 2-0 deficit in the NBA Finals, one of those teams involving Dallas on the losing end against the Miami Heat in 2006.

Here are a few things that Doncic touched on after Game 2 that must be better for the Mavs to win this series.

3. Shoot free throws more efficiently

Free throws eventually add up on a team once the final buzzer sounds. That certainly was a ginormous difference at the end of Game 2.

In a seven-point loss, Dallas shot 16-24 from the free-throw line. Boston only missed one free throw, and went 19-20 as a team for the entire game.

There have been many instances in a game where free throws are a key difference, and while there were other factors that led to a Boston victory, there was no doubt that free throws were a main discussion following Game 2.

Despite being Western Conference Champions, the Mavericks have been known to be the worst free throw shooting team in the playoffs, and it came back to bite them in the end.

Boston is already one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the league, and as a team, they excel at free throws as well. Dallas cannot lose the battle by a large margin on both the 3-point game and the free throw game.

Come Game 3, the free throws have to go down, and the team knows that has to happen to get back in the series. Doncic took the blame for his missed free throws and went as far as to say that his missed free throws "cost (Dallas) the game," in Game 2.