The Dallas Mavericks continued their winning streak against the Boston Celtics’ strong defense. In an entertaining and in the end dramatic thriller, the Mavs prevail with 95:92. Luka Doncic is once again the best man, but in the end Spencer Dinwiddie ruins Kevin Garnett’s party.
Boston Celtics (41-28) – Dallas Mavericks (42-26) 92:95 (BOXSCORE)
Since the beginning of the year only the Suns have a better record than Dallas and Boston, both teams did not disappoint in the top game. For a long time, the Mavs and Celtics delivered a defensive thriller before a few seconds before the end Dinwiddie scored the game winner for the Mavs and thus the last of his 18 points (plus 5 rebounds and 4 assists).
The best man among the guests from Texas, who have now won 13 of the past 16 games, was Doncic again. The 23-year-old had 26 points (8/16 FG), 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Dorian Finney-Smith delivered important shooting (19, 4/7 threes), Jalen Brunson also cracked the double digits (14). Maxi Kleber remained offensively pale, but defensively made a good game overall (0 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks).
Meanwhile, Boston’s five-game winning streak ended, Jayson Tatum scored only 4 points in the second half and was still the best Celtics scorer with 21 points at 7/23 FG. Jaylen Brown had 14 points (6/16 FG), Al Horford had 17, 6 rebounds and 5 steals and Marcus Smart had 15 points. The poor shooting rate of only 37.5 percent (DAL: 44.6 percent) was ultimately not enough for Boston, despite numerous second chance points.
The evening was dominated by Kevin Garnett, whose number 5 Celtics jersey was pulled under the ceiling of the TD Gardens after the game. In honor of the 2008 champion, the Celts lined up with special number 5 warm-up shirts, many of the 2008 title heroes were present – even Ray Allen, who apparently put aside his alleged beef with KG.
Celtics vs. Mavs: Brown with hammer dunk over Kleber
During the first time out, the entire arena rose to a standing ovation when Garnett was first shown on the video cube. Many more emotional scenes were to follow. Boston also got off to a good start on the floor and gained an early lead. But numerous turnovers caused problems for the offense, and the home side only managed 20:18 in the second round.
Doncic said goodbye to the dressing room for a short time. After a drive, he landed weirdly and immediately grabbed his left thigh, but was able to continue after a break. Overall, the fans on both sides did not see any offensive fireworks, instead the defense determined what happened. Garnett must have been proud.
In the middle of the second quarter, both teams had a field shot rate of less than 30 percent, then Doncic reported back with a layup. On the other side, however, Brown started a personal dunk show, including an absolute hammer slam over glue. This scene not only ripped KG out of his seat, but shook the entire arena. The momentum was now on the side of the Celts, Tatum taking Boston to +12. A buzzerbeater from Dinwiddie at the end of the first half made it 38:47 from Mavs’ point of view.
Game winner! Mavs win Crime against Celtics
The resilience of the Texans this season should be known by now, with Dallas providing the next proof after the break. On offense, the ball ran much better in the third quarter and the threes finally came (6/9 triples in the third period, 5/17 in the first half).
Led by Doncic, the Mavs made it exciting again with a 20:6 run, and a three by Finney-Smith finally made the comeback perfect. After 38 points in the first half, Dallas also gave the Celts 38 points in the third quarter alone (Boston: 26), the Mavs went into the final section 76:73.
In the minutes without Doncic, the Mavs offense had problems again, Payton Pritchard (8) gave the Celts the lead again with several threes. The mostly defensively oriented, sometimes chaotic, but always entertaining game finally had an exciting final phase ready. Downtown’s Finney-Smith and long-off Tatum traded buckets and Boston went up +3 into the final two and a half minutes.
Doncic provided the answer with a stepback three-pointer, shortly afterwards Kleber cleared a Brown drive. The Celtics tried really hard to stop Doncic, but after a drive he served the completely free Dinwiddie on the three-point line. With nine seconds left, the guard put the Mavs ahead 95-92. In direct return, Doncic apparently fouled Smart in a three-point attempt, but the referees took the call back after a long coach’s challenge.
Boston nevertheless secured possession on the jump ball, after a time-out Boston had 3.5 seconds to save himself in overtime. Tatum got the Wilson, his heavy long-range shot from the turn landed only on the ring, there was no foul whistle – victory for the Mavs!
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