Recapping the Boston Celtics’ hard fought victory over the Dallas Mavericks
In a home tilt for the Boston Celtics, “Title Town” showed grit, grind and strong waves of confidence in a 116-106 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
On Monday Night, the Boston Celtics improved to a league best record of 8-1 on the season in a 116-106 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
The game started sluggishly on both sides, with Boston repeatedly missing opportunities and the Mavericks starting the game 2 for17 from downtown. Along with this, the C’s second leading scorer Jayson Tatum had the worst game of his career, shooting 1 for 18 from the field for five points.
Kristaps Porzingis got into foul trouble early, and was largely shut down by Boston, scoring one point and accumulating three fouls in the first half. There were numerous possessions where Porzingis would get the ball in the post against Marcus Smart, and couldn’t move him to get an open shot. He finished 1 for 11 from the field for four points.
Tied at 54 going into halftime, the Celtics went on a 15-3 run to start the second half, extending their lead to 12. Young Mavs star Luka Doncic then answered, hitting a pair of James Harden-esque step back threes.
Look for him to haunt the Boston Celtics for years to come.
In the second half, Kemba Walker took over the load of the Boston Celtics’ offense, hitting 7 of his 8 threes. After struggling in the first half, Walker finished with 29 points while going 8 for 14 on threes. He showed Boston fans he can have the same effect of Kyrie Irving when closing out games, yet still can maintain chemistry with his teammates so that the locker room doesn’t implode.
Jaylen Brown had another stellar performance, getting his first double-double of the year with 25 points and 11 rebounds. He found great success driving against the Mavericks wings, getting to the free throw line seven times. He also played a game-high 38 minutes, probably because of Gordon Hayward’s injury.
In their first game without Hayward, and a non-existent Jayson Tatum, coach Brad Stevens went deep into his bench, playing 12 out of his 13 active players (everyone except rookie Romeo Langford). With Hayward having surgery and being out for at least six weeks, look for this trend to continue, as Stevens looks for answers to fill his absence. He should be back by Christmas.
Brad Wanamaker, the leading scorer off the bench, played 21 minutes and got 10 points to go along with four rebounds and two assists; one of his best games of the year. Look for him to get more playing time because of the Hayward injury, as Hayward was playing lots of the backup ball-handler minutes.
26-year-old rookie Javonte Green also got many of Hayward’s minutes, scoring nine points in 13 minutes off the bench. He plays similar to Boston Celtics’ wing Jaylen Brown, as he possesses elite athleticism and isn’t afraid to show it off. He was also the only bench player to hit a three pointer.
It was the first game since opening night for center Enes Kanter, and he played only six minutes and scored two points. He’ll get more touches on the second unit once he gets fully caught up with the offense.
For the Mavericks, nobody could stop Luka Doncic, as he dropped 34 points on 11 for 21 shooting from the field. He also managed to grab six boards and dished out nine assists. He was getting anywhere he wanted on the floor, yet the Boston Celtics still found a way to win by limiting his supporting cast. Key starters for Dallas such as Seth Curry, Kristaps Porzingis, and Dorian Finney-Smith only combined for 15 points on 6 for 26 shooting from the field
In injury news, Daniel Theis hurt his finger in the first few minutes of the game, and seemed pretty limited after that. Kemba Walker left for the locker room in the last minute of the game after a collision with Doncic. He seemed to be favoring his shoulder/neck area. Stevens called it “whiplash” after the game, indicating it shouldn’t be anything serious.
Next. 3 side effects of Gordon Hayward’s hand fracture. dark
Improving to 8-1, the Boston Celtics deserve to be in the discussion with the top teams in the league, as they are repeatedly showing they can match up with anyone, even with the awful game from Jayson Tatum to go along with the absence of Gordon Hayward.