Powell knew it was a matter of time before VanDerveer became the winningest coach

Mavericks forward Dwight Powell said he knew it was only a matter of time before Stanford women’s coach Tara VanDerveer would pass Mike Krzyzewski and become the NCAA’s Division I all-time winningest basketball coach.

“I feel like it was inevitable,” Powell told Mavs.com on Monday. “Her resume speaks for itself. The teams that she’s been at the helm of have done an amazing job, and she’s developed players in an amazing way.

“The culture that they’ve created there is one I think a lot of teams should take a look at in terms of not only winning, but developing their players into good human beings and contributing members of society, which I think is one of the big things of a great head coach is her players are successful after (their careers). I think that’s huge.”

With Sunday’s 65-56 victory over Oregon, VanDerveer won her 1,203rd game. That’s one more than Krzyzewski collected during a career mostly spent coaching Duke from 1980-2022.

Powell, who played for Stanford from 2010-14, said VanDerveer was always offering a helping hand when he was there, even to the men’s program.

“She’s a great person,” Powell said. “She’s like a true teacher, a true leader. She gave her time to us as well on the men’s side and shared whatever knowledge that she could to help us in different situations and guide us, while making herself available with everything that they had going on speaks to her character.

“She’s a great human being. It’s an amazingly storied program, and congratulations to her and everyone that’s been involved over the years. I’m sure the winning will continue.”

PORZINGIS MISSES MONDAY’S GAME: One night after scoring a game-high 32 points and blocking a game-high five shots during a 116-107 road win over the Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis sat out Monday’s game against the Mavericks.

Porzingis, who is averaging 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds this season, has been a key reason why the Celtics own the NBA’s best record to 34-10.

“Offensively, the matchups and coverages are different, so whether he gets the ball or not, teams have to defend us a different type of way because of his threat of being an inside-out presence,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said of Porzingis. “So, the matchups and coverages are constantly changing.

“It also had to force us to grow as a team, because we have to learn that they’re constantly changing matchups on us. We saw that a little bit in the Denver game (last Friday) and a little bit last night, and we were able to use what we saw in the Denver game to better attack matchups in the Houston game.

“Defensively, (Porzingis) gives us the ability to play small and still protect the rim, and then play alongside another big. The minutes with Luke (Kornet) and the minutes with Al (Horford), it just gives us a lot of versatility.”

The Mavs acquired Porzingis in a Jan. 31, 2019 trade with the New York Knicks. And after the Mavs traded Porzingis to the Washington Wizards on Feb. 10, 2022, he has never played a game in Dallas due to injuries.

MAVS’ FOUR-DAY BREAK: Due to the death of Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic, the Mavs were off four days before hosting the Boston Celtics on Monday. Milojevic died last Wednesday of a heart attack, and the NBA postponed Friday’s game in San Francisco between the Mavs and Warriors.

Prior to Monday 119-110 loss to Boston, the Mavs’ last game was Wednesday in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

“I don’t want to call it a break, but the unfortunate incident that give us this time that hopefully we used it wisely,” coach Jason Kidd said. “I think (the four-day break) helps everyone.

“Our team has gone through the injury bug. Even the guys that are playing are banged up, too. Hopefully this time is giving everybody an opportunity to re-charge.”

BRIEFLY: Guard Seth Curry (left ankle sprain) and forward Dante Exum (right plantar sprain) sat out Monday’s game and are both listed as day-to-day. “He had a really good day yesterday in practice, so he did everything, so we’ll see,” coach Jason Kidd said, referring to Exum. “Today he did some spot shooting. He feels good, so we’ll see tomorrow how he feels and hopefully he’s back soon.” Exum hasn’t played since he was injured in the Jan. 1 game in Utah. . .Former Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott sat courtside at Monday’s game. Elliott played for the Cowboys from 2016-22, was an All-Pro in 2016, 2018 and 2019, and won the NFL rushing titles in 2016 and ‘18. He also played this past season for the New England Patriots. . .Monday was Slovenian Night at the Mavs’ game. The Dunking Devils — from Luka Doncic’s home country of Slovenia — performed at halftime. . .Before the game, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla heaped praise upon the Mavs’ bench, pointing to the energy that they bring. “You can get so caught up in focusing on Luka (Doncic) and Kyrie (Irving), but it’s really like the growth of that second unit and then the importance that those guys bring,” Mazzulla said. “Grant (Williams), obviously, being included, and Tim Hardaway Jr. Derrick Jones Jr. has done really well this year — just game winning plays, making momentum type plays. It’s a high-level game from that standpoint when you focus on (Doncic and Irving), but their role guys kind of make a difference for them.”

X: @DwainPrice