The Dallas Mavericks visited the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night to continue their 5-game road trip. The Mavericks beat the Celtics (113-108) in what became a close game in the fourth quarter. The Celtics, who trailed by at least 15 points for most of the game, were unable to finish with the win. The Mavericks have now swept the Celtics in the season series for the first time since 2015-2016. The Celtics are now 23-25, and the Mavericks 25-21.
A High Scoring Game for Doncic
It is no secret that Luka Doncic is one of the leading scorers for the Dallas Mavericks. This season alone, Doncic is averaging 28 points per game, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists. The last time the Celtics went up against the Mavericks in Dallas, Doncic was clutch. Doncic made two clutch three-pointers in the fourth quarter during that matchup. In the first half, Doncic and the Mavericks were full of energy and putting up back-to-back points. On Wednesday night, Doncic had 24 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Doncic went 8/9 from the field in the first half, only missing one shot.
Also, in the first half, the Mavericks shot 13/23 for three-pointers. In the second quarter alone, 23 out of 34 points came from the three-point line. Things started to slow down a bit for Doncic in the second half as the Celtics tried to shut down his offense. Although they were able to limit his scoring, he still came out shooting and landing his shots. Doncic ended the game with 36 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Really helping to lead the Mavericks towards this win, he went 11/15 from the field and 7/11 from the three-point line. Being a clutch player again, Doncic hit 2 go-ahead three-pointers in the final 16 seconds of the game.
Celtics Fall Behind
The Celtics were unable to keep up with the Mavericks on Wednesday night. The Celtics fell behind as many as 23 points during the matchup. After the first half, the Celtics were facing their 2nd biggest halftime deficit this season. They had a slow start, and their energy was low. Celtics were without Rob Williams as well on Wednesday due to illness. One thing the Mavericks had over the Celtics was height. From the start of the game, it was clear that the Celtics are a much smaller team. Despite having shorter players, many of them continued to drive to the basket.
It was not until the fourth quarter that the Celtics were able to cut the large deficit. The Celtics were able to cut a deficit of 17+ points to under 5 late in the fourth quarter. The top scorers on Wednesday night for the Celtics were Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Tatum ended his night with 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Brown came out of Wednesday night’s matchup with 24 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 steals. The Celtics went 11/47 for three-pointers and had 18 bench points. Following this intense matchup, the Celtics will now drop to 0-2 on their 7-game homestand. This is now the 7th game the Celtics have lost out of their last 10.
Up Next
The Celtics hope to end this 2-game losing streak on Friday, April 2nd, at 7:30 pm where they will host the Houston Rockets. The Mavericks hope to continue their 2-game winning streak as they continue their 5-game road trip. The Mavericks will go up against the New York Knicks on Friday, April 2nd, at 7:30 pm.
