Celtics Handily Defeat Mavs Despite Luka Doncic's Triple-Double
BOSTON — Ending a four-game Eastern Conference road trip, the Dallas Mavericks (34-26) faced the Boston Celtics (47-12) at TD Garden, resulting in a 138-110 loss. The Mavs closed the road trip with a 1-3 record, with the sole win coming on Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors.
"It wasn't the game that we wanted, but we learned a lot about ourselves," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. "Some things to correct, but it's going in the right direction now, a little closer than you'd think from the scores."
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Luka Doncic had a dynamic performance, recording 37 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. Dallas had five players score in double figures, but none other than Doncic reached the 20-point threshold. Kyrie Irving had 19 points but shot 9-23 overall and 1-7 from deep. P.J. Washington (17), Dereck Lively II (15 points), and Tim Hardaway Jr. (10 points) all scored 10 or more.
A significant theme was the disparity in perimeter shooting results. The Mavs shot 9-34 (26.5 percent) from the perimeter, while the Celtics finished shooting 21-43 (48.8 percent) from deep. The depth of Boston's scoring punch was significant. Jayson Tatum went scoreless in the first quarter but finished with 32 points and eight rebounds. Jaylen Brown (25 points) and Kristaps Porzingis (24 points) added 49 points combined, while seven players reached the 10-point threshold for Boston.
The Celtics began the game deploying Porzingis on Washington to have a wing to switch 1-5 ball screens early on, enabling the presence of a weak-side rim protector, before toggling between having a big guard the center. Boston was able to space out on offense with Porzingis playing the five, putting a lot of pressure on Dallas to guard in the half-court.
Boston converted at a high clip on all shot attempts but was especially hot from the perimeter, making four of the team's five first attempts. These results were sustained for much of the first half. Meanwhile, the Celtics frequently switched to putting Luka Doncic into isolation rather than enabling the ball to move. With so many impactful on-ball defenders, particularly Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, hunting a favorable matchup using screens is difficult.
"That's why they're the No. 1 or No. 2 defense in the NBA," Doncic said. "They have offense and defense. I think that's the best team in the NBA right now. And it's tough on both ends, for sure."
Doncic set the tone early for the Mavs to weather the storm created by Boston's early momentum after starting out trailing 13-5. Irving missed his first few shots but began to find a rhythm in mid-range to aid Doncic.
Midway through the first period, the Mavs deployed two bigs, with Al Horford playing next to Porzingis. With both bigs being perimeter shooting threats, Horford made a 3-pointer with 4:12 left in the first quarter, which extended Boston's lead to 30-19, marking the first double-figure advantage of the night. Despite Doncic's 16 points in the first quarter, the Mavs trailed the Celtics with a score of 38-32.
"He was just popping and shooting that thing, you know? He's been a great addition to them," Doncic said about Porzingis. "I talked to him for a little bit, and he's really happy that he's here. So, I'm happy for him, too."
An airball from Hardaway and a turnover and blocked finish attempt by Derrick Jones Jr. caused the Mavs to sink back down by double figures, trailing 48-36 with under nine minutes before halftime. The disparity in depth between the two teams was apparent, creating a thin margin for error for Dallas.
Doncic helped guide the Mavs back to trailing by just six points midway through the period after connecting with Lively for a few dunks. However, after a quiet first quarter, Jayson Tatum heated up to sustain the Celtics' early lead, pushing the Celtics to briefly regain a double-figure lead after scoring nine straight points.
The Mavs trailed the Celtics 66-59 at halftime, with Doncic providing 23 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Irving had 10 points and three rebounds but was shooting 5-13 overall and 0-6 from deep. Despite Doncic being 3-6 from deep, Dallas was 5-20 as a team at the break. Lively chipped in nine points and two steals. Boston already received four double-figure scorers at the break, shooting 25-48 from the floor and 10-22 from the perimeter.
Coming out of halftime, the Mavs deployed a zone defense, mixing up their coverages to have more success in containing the Celtics in the half-court. Dallas later deployed smaller lineup combinations, with Hardaway on the wing, but were punished on the boards. Boston outscored the Mavs 36-31 in the third quarter.
"Yeah, just understanding that they have struggled against playing small," Kidd said of playing small. "If your bigs cannot guard the perimeter, it will be a shootaround for them. So we felt comfortable going small."
After Doncic passed out of a turnaround jumper to find Washington for a 3-pointer, the Mavs came within four points. Washington converted multiple times to keep Dallas within that threshold. Doncic dished out a pair of flashy no-look assists in transition, with one to Irving and another to Lively, making it 77-74 with the Celtics being up with 7:20 remaining in the third quarter.
At one point, the Mavs came within two points, resulting from a putback dunk by Lively. The Celtics immediately responded, going on a 6-0 run with a pair of makes from beyond the arc. Boston capitalized on a cold stretch from Dallas, building its lead to 14 with 35.0 seconds remaining in the third quarter after a step-back 3-pointer by Tatum, scoring his 27th point.
"Everybody basically is a laser, everybody can shoot, everybody can make it, so it's tough," Doncic said of the Celtics. "It's a different coverage than any other games. We have almost five out all the time, so it's tough. We should've done better in our schemes... It's tough to guard those players."
After Brown's flashy 360 layup, followed by 3-pointers from Brown and Derrick White, the Celtics pushed their edge to 18 early in the fourth quarter. Boston continued to control the momentum after a timeout, going up by as many as 21 points. With 3:55 remaining in regulation, Horford converted on a 3-pointer to help achieve a game-high 24-point advantage, ensuring a victory.
Next, the Mavs return on Sunday to take on the Philadelphia 76ers at American Airlines Center to begin a three-game homestand.
