Mavericks Forward Breaks Foot vs Celtics

The hits just keep coming.

Veteran Dallas Mavericks power forward Maxi Kleber apparently broke his foot during his team's 122-107 home loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday night, sources inform Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Another injury blow to Dallas: Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber has suffered a broken right foot and is sidelined for an extended period, sources tell me and @espn_macmahon. pic.twitter.com/6KaEDU5ikL
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 26, 2025

Saturday's encounter was the teams' first meeting since the Celtics wiped the floor with the Mavericks in a five-game NBA Finals series. Boston is now 7-1 against Dallas, including the Finals, since it acquired six-time All-Defensive Team guard Jrue Holiday and one-time All-Star center Kristaps Porzingis in the summer of 2023.

Kleber played just 11:09 off the bench against Boston, going 0-for-6 from the field (0-for-3 from deep) and 1-of-2 from the foul line for a total of one point. He also pulled down one board, dished out one dime and blocked one shot.

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On the year, the 6-foot-10 Kleber had been a deep reserve rotation option until major injuries to big men Dereck Lively II and Dwight Powell made him head coach Jason Kidd's first big man option off the bench.

Across 34 contests, he's been averaging 3.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.5 blocks a night.

Kleber is just the latest in a series of ailments for the Mavericks. All-Star point guard Luka Doncic has been out since Christmas, and isn't expected to return until around the All-Star break next month. Guard Dante Exum has been out all year with a wrist injury, while starting center Dereck Lively II has been dealing with a right ankle stress fracture. Power forward/center Dwight Powell is struggling with a right hip strain.

All of Boston's starters scored 17 or more points. Six-time All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum led the way with 24 points on a less-than-efficient 8-of-22 shooting line from the field (4-of-12 from long range), along with 4-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe. The 6-foot-8 Duke product also grabbed six boards, passed for three assists, and swiped three steals.

Three-time All-Star small forward Jaylen Brown, who's been struggling a bit of late, scored 22 points on 10-of-21 shooting from floor and 2-of-6 shooting from the foul line, while grabbing eight rebounds and passing for six assists.

After the game, Jaylen Brown spoke to gathered reporters in the visitors' locker room of American Airlines Arena about how the reigning champs are trying to stay resilient through what has looked like a pretty tough stretch of basketball across the last month and change, as captured by Noa Dalzell of CLNS.

Asked Jaylen Brown about why the Celtics have managed to stay so calm even after tough losses:

“Just life. One of my favorite quotes is, ‘winter always turns to spring, no matter what.’ So, when things are not going your way, just stay the course. The tide will turn.
We've had… pic.twitter.com/ST7WXTXlTj
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) January 26, 2025

“Just life," Brown said. "One of my favorite quotes is, ‘Winter always turns to spring, no matter what.’ So, when things are not going your way, just stay the course."

"The tide will turn," Brown continued. "We've had enough experience to know what that looks like, so can't complain when it's not going your way. You just got to have more detail, be more focused, embrace it and then get ready for it to switch the flip.”

With the victory, Boston improves to a 32-14 record on the year.

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For all the latest news and notes on the reigning champs, stay tuned to Celtics On SI.