BOSTON – With the stroke of a keyboard, Daniel Gafford gained 18 and-a-half games in the standings when the Dallas Mavericks
acquired him in a Feb. 8 trade with the Washington Wizards.
At the time of the trade, Gafford and the Wizards were 9-41 and had lost 10 of their previous 12 games. On the flip side, the Mavs were 28-23 at that and in the midst of dethroning the Knicks in New York when the trade became official.
Although he enjoyed his time with his teammates in Washington, Gafford was thrilled to be with a team in the middle of a heated playoff race.
“When you’re playing with a team like how I was before (with the Wizards), any win felt good and every loss felt terrible,” Gafford told Mavs.com.
“But coming to a team like (the Mavs) — whether you’re winning or losing – it’s always that next game mentality. You celebrate the wins, we celebrate what we did that night and then we get ready for the next one on down the road.”
For the Mavs, the next game on down the road is Friday at 6:30 p.m. at TD Garden against the powerful Boston Celtics. It’s a Celtic team that has the NBA’s best record at 46-12 and best home record at 27-3.
In other words, Friday’s game is an epic challenge for Gafford and the Mavs.
“We have to just come in locked in,” Gafford said. “They’re a real dominant team. We’re going to see a lot of different things that we haven’t seen.”
Prior to getting traded to the Mavs, Gafford and the Wizards were slated to play the Celtics in Boston on Feb. 9.
“I haven’t gotten a chance to play them once this year,” Gafford said. “The first game that I had a chance to play them (during a 126-107 loss at home on Oct. 30), I was injured, and the second game I got traded.
“So now I finally get a chance to play against them, so we’ll see how it goes.”
In the seven games he’s played with the Mavs since the trade, Gafford is averaging 10.6 points and 6.4 rebounds while being a serious force inside in helping protect the rim. He additionally appears to be just the perfect ticket the Mavs needed to help them punch a ticket to the prestigious playoffs.
Gafford enters Friday’s game after contributing 13 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench during Wednesday’s 136-125 win over the Toronto Raptors.
“I’m just taking it one day at a time, one game at a time,” Gafford said. “I’m not trying to rush anything.
“If you be in a rush for a lot of stuff it really doesn’t go your way, so having patience is the key. That’s just the main thing for me.”
*This is the finale of a grueling four-game, week-long road trip for the Mavs. After playing the Celtics on Friday, the Mavs will host Philadelphia on Sunday, Indiana on Tuesday and Miami on Thursday before hitting the road again to play at Detroit on March 9 and at Chicago on March 11.
*This is the middle game of a three-game home stand for the Celtics, who will entertain the Golden State Warriors on Sunday before going on a five-game trip against Cleveland, Denver, Phoenix, Portland and Utah.
*Mavs point guard Luka Dončić, who is questionable for Friday’s game with a left ankle sprain, continues to produce numbers that have historical implications. Those 30 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists Dončić collected during Wednesday’s 136-125 win over Toronto happened on his 25th birthday. And that’s the only time in NBA history that a player has manufactured a 30-point triple-double on their birthday.
*Boston the NBA’s best point differential (+10.5). The Celtics also are fourth in the NBA in scoring (120.7 ppg), and fourth with the fewest points allowed (110.2).
*The Mavs have won eight of their last 10. But they know if not for that improbable 59-footer at the buzzer by Cleveland’s Max Strus that 
stunned the Mavs, 121-119, on Tuesday, Dallas would have nine wins in its last 10 games.
*Streaking has been a major part of what the Celtics have been able to accomplish this season. In all, they have put together a pair of five-game winning streaks and a pair of six-game winning streaks. In fact, the Celtics are currently on a nine-game winning streak. Granted, six of those wins are against teams with a losing record. The teams Boston beat during this current streak who have a winning record are the Miami Heat (110-106 on Feb. 11), the New York Knicks (116-102 last Saturday) and the Philadelphia 76ers (117-99 this past Tuesday).
*Mavs guard Kyrie Irving averages 25.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg and 5.2 apg and is shooting 49.5 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
*The last time the Celtics lost a game was Feb. 1 at home by the score of 114-105 against the Los Angeles Lakers, who were without injured All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis at the time.
*The Mavs had five players score at least 10 points in Wednesday’s win in Toronto. In addition to the 30 points they got from Dončić and the 29 points from Irving, the Mavs also got 23 points from P.J. Washington, 16 points from Tim Hardaway Jr. and 13 points from Daniel Gafford. The Mavs are 20-9 this season when they have at least five players score 10 or more points in a game.
*The Celtics have cornered the market on All-Stars, which is why they’re one of the elite teams in the NBA and are heavily favored to be hoisting the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy when the NBA Finals are over in June. Celtic starters Jayson Tatum (27 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 4.9 apg), Jaylen Brown (22.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg), former Mavs center Kristaps Porzingis (20.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.8 bpg) and Jrue Holiday (13 ppg, 44.3 percent on three-pointers) have all been named to the All-Star team at least once in their career. Boston’s other starter, Derrick White, is averaging career highs in scoring (15.6 ppg) and three-point shooting (40 percent).
DALLAS MAVERICKS (34-25) at BOSTON CELTICS (46-12)
When: 6:30 p.m., Friday
Where: TD Garden, Boston
TV: WFAA, UniMás 49, ESPN
Radio: 97.1 FM The Freak; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)
X: @DwainPrice
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