NBA Finals betting: Odds, bets for Celtics-Mavericks Game 2 - ESPN

The Boston Celtics look to protect home court tonight and take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals, while the Dallas Mavericks try to bounce back from a flat Game 1 and steal a win on the road.

The Celtics were dominant in the first game of the series, setting a new single-game Finals record with seven players making multiple 3-pointers. They were clearly sparked by the return of Kristaps Porzingis, who came off the bench to score almost a point-per-minute and make several highlight-worthy blocked shots.

Can they keep that momentum in Game 2, or can the Mavericks instead show the opener was more a case of a bad game than a bad matchup?

Let's discuss, with an eye on identifying betting angles of interest.

Mavericks +6.5 points (-105). The Celtics blew open Game 1, but the Mavericks have been one of the two best teams in the NBA since the Feb. 8 trade deadline and proved in the Western Conference playoffs that they are championship caliber. I expect Mavericks coach Jason Kidd to make adjustments for Game 2, attacking the Celtics' man-to-man defense with more ball movement instead of ISO and trying to get more players than just Luka involved in the scoring. If they can do that, as well as doing a better job of limiting the Celtics' production from behind the arc, I expect a much more competitive Mavericks effort on Sunday. According to BPI, the Celtics should be favored but by only a 4.1 point margin that is within the spread.

Mavericks and Celtics over 214.5 total points (-110). The total was low in Game 1, only 196 combined points, in large part because the Celtics held the Mavericks to only 89 points. While the Celtics are a strong defensive team, this result was an anomaly for both the Mavericks' offense and the Celtics'