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The Dallas Mavericks hang on late against the Boston Celtics, winning 113-108. Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 36 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Jayson Tatum scored 25 in the Boston loss.
Things started out well for the Mavericks, with scores spread across the squad. Dallas had some early chances to build up their strong offensive start, but were unable to forge a double-digit lead. Reserves got the Celtics back into the game after the Mavericks took a 14-7 lead, but Kristaps Porzingis’ strong defensive play resulted in some good baskets for Dallas on the other end and they rebuilt the ‘advance to 22-16. The Mavericks pushed the lead to 10 with two minutes left in the quarterback, but a sloppy attacking play saw the Celtics shoot into the five. Dallas took a 30-25 lead in the second quarter.
The five-point lead steadily grew for Dallas in the next frame. Hot three-point shots from everyone, led by Doncic, put the Celtics on their heels. Boston just couldn’t find the touch or much of the pulse in the second quarter and the Mavericks punished them on several occasions. Despite a few late failures and quick break points from the Celtics, 13 first-half lines propelled the Mavericks to a 64-45 halftime lead.
Although they looked sleepy during the first half of the frame, the Celtics finally came to life in the final six minutes of the quarter, fending off the Dallas duds and scoring in transition. But the Dallas offensive machine managed to keep the Celtics at bay, hitting three times in a timely manner or scoring in the lane. Jayson Tatum came in late, but a Tim Hardaway Jr. three on Dallas’ final possession gave the Mavericks a 90-75 lead in the fourth.
Of course, things took a turn for the worse for the Mavericks early in the fourth, allowing Boston to reduce the lead to single digits in the opening three minutes of the frame. Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic sat for part of the quarter as Dallas’ lead slowly evaporated. Doncic managed to pick up a technique after an offensive foul and the Celtics reduced the lead to seven. Dorian Finney-Smith responded with an open wing three and Brunson took a charge from Tatum, then Tatum got three seconds into the paint call as the Mavericks held a 10-point lead over several possessions. Still, the Celtics kept coming, reducing the lead to six. But Boston was unable to connect on several looks down the home stretch and although they came incredibly close late due to Dallas mistakes, the Mavericks came away with a 113-108 victory.
Now a few thoughts
Three points made the difference in the game
The Mavericks were absolutely on fire, logging in on 19 of 39 from beyond the arc, while the Celtics hit 11 of 45. That plus-24 margin made the difference in a game where the Celtics tried to come back all the way in the fourth down 15. Dallas played a really bad fourth quarter, with turnovers, a bad offense and weird substitutions from Rick Carlisle. The three pointers were just enough to help the Mavericks escape.
Josh Richardson must do more
Richardson is a sloth who has been more offended than lately and it’s starting to drive me crazy. He had a point-stuffing game, scoring eight points on 3 of 9 shots, catching six tables and distributing four assists. But he’s also had three turnovers and for a guy who doesn’t handle much he needs to do better. Luka Doncic gets a bigger pass because he handles the ball so much (although his eight turnovers have been terrible on their own), but Richardson has been in quicksand for a number of games now. He has to shake up the funk and start connecting on his hits or else he’s not doing enough to justify the minutes he’s getting.
Kristaps Porzingis looks like another man defending in March
The Dallas defense played in the first half and until Boston woke up in the third quarter was pretty inspired. And this was led by a formidable effort from Porzingis both on the edge and on patrol in the paint.
I’ve been tough on Porzingis because he’s capable of more and there’s a list of reasons he hasn’t played that way all the time. The fact that he moves at all is great to see; he’s so big when he decides to move down the lane and disrupt the flow of the other team’s discs with his length, the results are obvious to see.
Carlisle keeping him on the sidelines for what must have been fourth-minute restriction reasons nearly cost the game in Dallas, but the larger point is he can get away with an ineffective offensive night (just 6 for 15 and 9 points) if it goes. threaten at the other end. I really liked watching him play.
Bonus thought: do your free throws
18 of 25 isn’t going to cut it for the Mavericks. Doncic missed four on his own, Maxi Kleber missed one and Porzingis missed two. Glad it didn’t bite them.
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