In this rematch between last season’s NBA finalists, Kyrie Irving knew exactly what the Dallas Mavericks were in for after the world champion Boston Celtics were embarrassed by 21 points to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
“Well, they lost a couple of games and (Celtics coach) Joe Mazzulla got into their (rear ends) a little bit and then you get the results you have tonight going against us and playing with a verve and playing with confidence and taking care of the ball.
“Yeah, they made adjustments. That’s what great teams do, especially when they’re champions in the league.”
The Celtics made enough adjustments in Saturday’s nationally televised game to build a 25-point lead before cruising to a 122-107 triumph over the Mavs at American Airlines Center. The Mavs exhibited a lot of grit but ultimately saw their record drop to 24-22 entering Monday’s home game against the Washington Wizards.
This was the first meeting between the Mavs and Celtics since Boston beat them in five games in last season’s NBA Finals. The Celtics were too strong from downtown as they converted 20-of-52 three-pointers for 38.5 percent, and didn’t commit any turnovers until the third quarter.
The game lost a little bit of its luster because the Mavs were without Luka Dončić (left calf strain), Dereck Lively II (right ankle stress fracture), Naji Marshall (illness), Dwight Powell (right hip strain) and Dante Exum (right wrist surgery). And when the Mavs – Daniel Gafford and Maxi Kleber are their only two active centers – lost Kleber to a right foot fracture in the third quarter, an exasperated Mavs coach Jason Kidd said: “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Yes, it’s as if the Mavs are trying to patch everything together these days with super glue, as they’ve all but worn out the next-man-up mentality.
“I’m the next man up,” said Gafford, who finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. “We just got to keep a cool head about it.
“It’s nothing to really get flustered about. It’s going to take time, of course. But if we have patience and we lock into the things we have to do, I feel like we’ll be OK.”
The Mavs were OK early Saturday as they led, 29-25, after the first quarter behind six points apiece from Gafford and Irving. But the Mavs were 0-of-7 from the floor with two turnovers on their first nine possessions of the second quarter, and the Celtics started cranking up their vaunted three-point game.
A three-pointer by former Mavs center Kristaps Porzingis, followed by a dunk from Jaylen Brown, capped a 16-4 run and put Boston ahead, 41-33, with 6:26 remaining before halftime. And with 4:18 left in the third quarter, Derrick White had personally outscored the Mavs at that juncture of the quarter, 16-14, to increase Boston’s lead to 81-63.
White was 1-of-7 from the field — including 1-of-5 from three-point land — with five points in the first half. But in the third quarter he was 6-of-9 from the floor – 3-of-5 from downtown – and tallied 16 points.
“In the first half they missed some threes they normally make and I thought there in the third quarter (White) started to make the threes,” Kidd said. “The same shots that they had there in the first half (White) started to make them.”
It was around that time when Kleber was injured and subsequently hobbled off the court. After that, the floodgates opened for Boston, and consecutive three-pointers were drilled by Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, Tatum and Hauser again, and the Celtics’ lead mushroomed to 93-68 lead with 1:56 remaining in the third quarter.
“They handled our pressure, they adjusted to our zone coverage and they started to get open shots,” said Irving, who finished with 22 points and five assists. “And when you start getting open shots and open looks — and you’re getting wide open ones — it’s a pretty easy game from there.
“We just got to be better on our end to bring that physicality, especially in the half court. They’re a heavy iso team, so they made a lot of shots down in the fourth quarter when we couldn’t get back into the game.”
The Mavs got no closer than 11 points to the Celtics in the fourth quarter.
“I’ve been studying (the Celtics) a lot,” Irving said. “Outside of (Jayson Tatum) and (Jaylen Brown), when those other guys get it going like D-White, and he’s hitting some tough threes and hitting nothing but the bottom of the net – and Jrue Holiday is hitting some tough ones – that’s what makes them tough. That’s what makes them great.
“Everybody kind of criticize them based off what their season is this year. But if you look at their first 42 games t’s pretty similar compared to last year.”
Tatum scored 24 points for Boston, White had 23 points, Brown collected 22 points, Porzingis scored 18 points and Holiday added 17 points. For the Mavs — in addition to Irving and Gafford — Quentin Grimes popped in 20 points, P. J. Washington collected 17 points and eight rebounds, Spencer Dinwiddie fouled out with 12 points and Jaden Hardy tallied 10 points.
The Mavs came into this game off an impressive 121-115 win at Oklahoma City this past Thursday. And they were flexing their muscles early in the game, including in the second half when Grimes threw down a hammer dunk right in Luke Kornet’s face.
“We’re going to need for (Grimes) to be able to score,” Kidd said. “I thought in the first half we had some great looks at the rim that we just missed, so that led to them scoring on the other end. If we can make half of those layups, I think the game is maybe different.
“I’m not saying we are going to win, but we have to capitalize on that when we do touch the paint and get those rim looks. We got to be able to finish and we just didn’t do that. But I thought Q was aggressive in that fourth quarter, and we’re going to need that. We need some offense as much as we need defense if we’re going to try to win.”
The Mavs also need some more healthy bodies to assist them in their quest to win games. The injury to Kleber — he’ll be re-evaluated this week — is another gut punch to a team that have been besieged by injuries this season.
“It’s tough, but we got to keep going,” Gafford said. “It’s rough to see (Kleber) go down like that.
“It’s going to be tough when it comes to the injuries, but that next man mentality is the main thing we have to focus on. It’s going to be a challenge, but we’re all for challenges at this point.”
The challenges for the Mavs may get a bit easier, since Dončić is scheduled to be re-evaluated on Monday. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll play against the Wizards. But if he does:
“It’ll mean a lot,” Gafford said. “He’s one of our main guys. It’s going to be great to have him back in the lineup if he’s playing Monday or if he’s playing the game after that (on Wednesday in New Orleans).”
X: @DwainPrice
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