BOSTON — The Boston Celtics returned from their road trip on Thursday night for an NBA Finals rematch against the Dallas Mavericks (though a very different version of the Mavs they played in the Finals last year). Anthony Davis did not suit up for his new club, and Jrue Holiday was sidelined for Boston. It was a game the Celtics should have won. But they didn't.
Instead, a Klay Thompson-led first-half frenzy earned the Mavs an early lead, and it only ballooned from there. The Celtics' offense was very ugly to start the game, highlighted by a bunch of missed layups, and they were unabel to recover. In the end, the Mavs earned a 127-120 win over the Celtics.
Here are three studs and three duds from the game.
Stud - Jaylen Brown
As the Celtics failed to get out of their own way time and time again, Jaylen Brown provided a steady hand on the offensive hand—a truth that has become a trend lately.
Brown’s efficient scoring from all over the floor was one of the only reasons the Celtics had a glimmer of hope for long stretches of this contest, as the Mavs were out-playing them in most areas of the game.
Dud - Jayson Tatum
While Brown gave the Celtics a nice boost in the scoring column, Jayson Tatum was part of the problem for the Celtics. He was loose with the ball, got pressured heavily by the Mavs, and missed a ton of bunnies inside.
It was a rough night for Tatum, as nothing seemed to be going his way for most of the game.
Stud - Derrick White
Though he may not have had the lights-out game that he’s prone to show off from time to time, Derrick White was still very solid in this game.
He started off by nailing a bunch of big shots for Boston in the first quarter, and while his scoring trailed off a bit, he was still very impactful throughout this game.
As Boston struggled to maintain their defensive intensity, White was there to provide his. He was one of the few beams of light in a very dark game for the Celtics.
Dud - Adjusting defense
Thompson and Spencer Dinwiddie absolutely destroyed the Celtics in this game, and it was largely due to the Celtics’ inability to adjust defensively.
Rather than up their pressure in the spots where they were getting killed, the Celtics trusted what they had going on. And that was the wrong call.
Time and time again, Thompson and Dinwiddiw made the Celtics pay for not pressuring them enough, and by the time they did, it was too late. Both players were hot.
Stud - Stay-ready group
This game was dead. The Celtics were down by more than 20 points. Then, with roughly 9:30 to go in the game, the stay-ready group game in: Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Jordan Walsh, Drew Peterson, and Neemias Queta.
And they looked great.
This group completely changed the energy of the game, and by the 4:30 mark, it was a 13-point game. By 2:20, the Mavs' lead was down to 10. They were hustling, their defensive intensity was impressive, and most importantly, they were hitting shots.
The stay-ready guys were the highlight of this game, and it wasn't particularly close.
Dud - Layups
The Celtics couldn’t make their layups in this game, and especially in the first half. They ended the night with an efficient showing in the box score, but they began the evening shooting 3-of-9 in the paint.
That’s not good enough.
And to make matters worse, whenever the Celtics would miss a layup, they struggled to get back in transition. That means every missed layup for Boston led to easy buckets for the Mavs on the run.