5 takeaways as Celtics follow familiar losing script to Luka Doncic, Mavs

The Boston Celtics fell to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday as Luka Doncic’s great performance brought them two games below 0.500.

Here is what happened.

The big picture

Doncic punished the Celtics in the first half with a monstrous 3-point burst, and the Celtics struggled to make up the difference, especially given their own deep struggles. In the fourth quarter, the Celtics cut the Mavericks’ lead and cut the deficit to two, but couldn’t complete the comeback as Dallas made the free throws necessary to close the game.

Game star

Luka Doncic – 36 points, 11 for 15 shots, 7 for 11 of three, 8 rebounds, 5 assists

Doncic hit a ton of tough shots and was the driving force behind the Mavericks’ offense. When they needed baskets on the stretch he delivered a truly absurd attack, including that well-contested 3-point that briefly took to the Celtics’ air.

It’s ridiculous. Boston didn’t do nothing wrong here, it was just fucking Luka pic.twitter.com/nW9HJHh3sp

– Mo Dakhil (oMoDakhil_NBA) April 1, 2021

It’s just a Tip Your Cap 3 pointer. Doncic racked up 24 points in the first half to build the Mavericks’ lead. He’s a superstar.

What this means

How many times can this story be written? The Celtics fell far behind with lackluster defense and lousy offense, while the opposing superstar went mad. They made up the difference by showing something close to the kind of urgency and cohesion that made them good in previous seasons. They ultimately lost because overcoming a 20-point deficit requires a long period of near-perfect basketball, and near-perfect basketball is difficult for any team to maintain.

To take away

1. Brad Stevens was far from impressed with the Celtics’ late return, calling it the “same old scenario,” adding that teams might know at this point that the Celtics are losing their resolve for 10 to 12 minutes per game.

“It’s probably our reputation at this point,” Stevens said.

If so, the Celtics are in trouble.

2. The Celtics tried a line-up with their top five players down the stretch: Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Evan Fournier. This group is quick, competent and aggressive, and against a Mavericks team that played Maxi Kleiber down center it made a lot of sense. There will be clashes in which this formation cannot function, and it was partly born out of necessity – Rob Williams and Tristan Thompson were both absent on Wednesday.

Still, early returns offered some encouraging signs.

3. Fournier, it turns out, can score and won’t miss any punches he takes in Boston. He finished with six 3-for-6 shooting points – a muted performance, but certainly better than his 0-for-10 debut. His role in the final lineup was largely gravity for the Celtics’ top players, but it was is a useful role to play.

4. The Celtics rely heavily on vault shooting. Jayson Tatum (25 points, shot 10 for 24) creates a large part of his attack behind the 3 point line. Jaylen Brown too. Kemba Walker has relied more and more on his 3-point shot as his athleticism appears to have declined a bit this year.

So it’s no surprise that the Celtics followed by 23 points in a game where their opponent shot 19 for 39 (48.7%) from 3 points, while the Celtics only managed 11 for 47. (23.4%). Creating something that comes close to a consistent offense remains a major struggle.

5. The Celtics are now 23-25 ​​years old. They will end the night half a game behind the Atlanta Hawks for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference, and significantly closer to Washington (five games ahead) than Brooklyn (nine games behind) in the standings.

This stretch must have been grueling, and many observers expected the Celtics to struggle. The Celtics, presumably, were hoping they would reunite, especially after a pair of fine wins after the All-Star break. There is still time for the acquisition of Evan Fournier to make a big difference, but with just 50 days to go to the end of the regular season, that time is running out quickly.