Guard Derrick White dribbles up the court during the first half of the Celtics’ 122-107 win over the Mavericks on Saturday night in Dallas. LM Otero/Associated Press
DALLAS — Jayson Tatum scored 24 points, Derrick White added 23, including Boston’s first 11 of the third quarter, and the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 122-107 on Saturday night in the first meeting between the teams since the NBA Finals.
Jaylen Brown added 22 points as the defending champions bounced back from a 21-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, their most lopsided defeat this season.
The Celtics shrugged off an early 16-6 deficit and led by as many as 25 points in the third period. White scored 16 in the period.
Kyrie Irving scored 22 points, Quentin Grimes added 20 off the bench and Daniel Gafford had 19 points and matched a season high with 15 rebounds for the Mavericks, who are 5-11 since superstar Luka Doncic was sidelined with a calf strain on Christmas Day,
The teams will complete their two-game season series Feb. 6 at Boston.
TAKEAWAYS
CELTICS: Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 points in his first game back in Dallas following the Feb. 10, 2022, trade that sent him from the Mavericks to Washington. Porzingis sat out his four previous visits, including Games 3 and 4 of last year’s finals, with injuries.
MAVERICKS: Down to two centers, backup Maxi Kleber left late in the third quarter with a sprained right ankle.
KEY MOMENT
With Dallas trailing by 21 points in the final minute of the third quarter, the home fans had to fend off the first of multiple “Let’s go Celtics! Lets’s go Celtics!” chants.
KEY STAT
The Celtics, NBA leaders in 3-pointers made (17.8) and attempted (48.9) per game, went 2 of 8 in the first period but finished 20 of 52.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Join the Conversation
We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It’s a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. Read more...
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
For those stories that we do enable discussion, our system may hold up comments pending the approval of a moderator for several reasons, including possible violation of our guidelines. As the Maine Trust’s digital team reviews these comments, we ask for patience.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday and limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs.
You can modify your screen name here.
Show less
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your CentralMaine.com account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.