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DALLAS – After the 113-104 defeat against the Mavericks last night, the Celtics have yet to look in the mirror again. And it's fair to assume that they did not like what they saw: a team of .500 to 20 games of the season that has not yet succeeded.
"Well, I thought we were a slow step all night," Brad Stevens said after the Mavs left 16 points and 19 points in second chance. "I thought they were putting us on the heels, they were moving the ball, they were whipping it, they were running their stuff with a lot of speed, so I thought we were hanging on a bit."
The Celts, now 1-1 on the three-game trip that ends tomorrow night in New Orleans, have shown a good measure of fighting in this one, but again, it was mostly a counter-game. stroke. They let the Mavs take the first step.
"They were comfortable starting the game and that set the tone early," said Marcus Smart after scoring three of four points and scoring 19 points. "That 's how it has been all year for us: the teams come out of the grid, set the tone, the guys feel comfortable, and in this league it' s hard to stop guys when they are hot. "
Al Horford was back from a game to rest his left knee and Stevens decided to keep Marcus Morris in the starting lineup, despite the presence of Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum (21 points) and Jaylen Brown, who finished the evening. with a wound on the back after a late fall (negative x-rays).
But, at first glance, Stevens would have done better to clean up the NFL's waiver wire and introduce free unemployment protections. Cleary, the Celts needed someone to scour the perimeter and scare the long game of the Mavericks.
The visitors were in fact lucky to come out of the first quarter with a deficit of 32-26, knowing that the Mavs have drained their first seven points, Harrison Barnes and Luka Doncic have each scored three. It was only when Devin Harris arrived and hit a pair that Maverick did not draw lots.
"For us, as a growing team, as a maturing team, we need to understand that the first possession counts, the way we start the game and get into it." said Irving.
The frustration around the Celtics is obvious.
"It's time to have this resilient attitude," Irving said. "There is really no time to wait at this point."
"Words can not even explain it," added Smart. "We feel like we're being seen again, we keep saying and doing the same thing after every game, and it gets really annoying, I mean, I do not even know what to say to you." this stage.
"In times like this, guys and teams tend to point fingers and follow their own path, but it's a very united group, and we care about everyone in that locker room So we're going to stay together, it's just now that we're all trying to pull together our ideas and find out what we need to do to change that. "
After the Celts quickly fell behind 11 in the second period, Irving came back and scored nine in six minutes. Both teams shot 50% of the ground during the quarter, but the Cs did a better job of getting to the edge and, as a result, to the free throw line. Irving and Morris' hoops at the last minute brought them back to 59-56 at halftime.
Things got interesting on a few fronts at 3:14 of the third period when DeAndre Jordan dipped to the limit and was finally called for a non-unsportsmanlike technique as hanging on the ledge. The fact that he had already chosen a technician in the first half to argue with a non-call gave the Mavs a few moments of tension while the piece was reviewed on video, with the possibility that he ejected – so to speak. (Non-sporty technicians do not count for both necessary for ejection.)
Adding to the plot, the fact that Doncic returned to defense immediately after the score, Doncic collided with Brown and dropped sharply. The players felt frightened when the players met near the center field. When this situation was also examined, Brown was judged too bent on Doncic and his techniques were considered unsportsmanlike.
A few minutes later, the Celts started running 6-0, Irving giving Tatum a slippery pass for a dunk to complete and give the first lead of the night at 74-73. But the Mavs reacted by taking an advantage of 87-82 in the last quarter.
There, Dallas moved away, the Celtics have failed to maintain their pace of fire.
"We had two or three balls to take a lead in the third, and then they reversed the trend," said Stevens. "I did not think we played as well as needed on both sides, early in the fourth quarter and late in the fourth quarter."
The problem, according to the players, is that they do not have the same collective advantage as last season.
"We do not impose our fear or will on other teams," Smart said. "Last year, the teams, when they came to play against the Celtics, knew that they were going to fight, and this year, the teams are looking forward to tackling us and, you know, it's all about it. When you guys are no longer afraid of you, you can not do anything about it, we have to change it, we have to go out and be the first to hit the guys in the mouth. back.
"Once we understand that, things will start to change, but by then we will continue to be ass."
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