Three-point barrage carries Celtics over Mavericks in NBA Finals rematch, 122-107

Posted by author January 26, 2025 NBA

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The Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics met in Dallas on Saturday for their first matchup since last season’s NBA Finals. Dallas was missing many key pieces, including starters Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively II, while Boston was wrapping up a four-game road trip.

With two starters out, the Mavs started Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, and Daniel Gafford, while Boston went with Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kristaps Porzingis. It was Porzingis’ first visit to Dallas since he was traded away.

It was a good start for the Mavericks, as they got out to an early 16-6 lead behind some baskets by Spencer Dinwiddie. It was an interesting defensive strategy in the first few minutes for the Mavs, as they had Daniel Gafford guarding Jrue Holiday, PJ Washington on Kristaps Porzingis, and Kyrie Irving on Jayson Tatum.

Boston then settled into the game, getting improbable shots from Jaylen Brown, then Jayson Tatum gave the Celtics their first lead on a three-pointer, closing out a 19-8 spurt. Kyrie Irving would give the Mavericks the lead once again, as they’d take a 29-25 lead into the second quarter.

Dallas started the second just 1/8 from the floor, allowing the Celtics to take a 41-33 lead behind four three-pointers. A minute later, that lead was into double-digits as Derrick White converted at the free throw line for his first points of the game. The Mavericks were turning it over a little too often while Boston wasn’t turning it over at all.

The Celtics were making it a point to go fast when possible, taking the ball out of the basket quickly and scoring early fastbreak points. Dallas also had no answer for Kristaps Porzingis, who had eight points in the quarter as the Celtics took a 59-49 lead into halftime. The Mavericks scored just 20 points in the second, shooting just 8/22 from the floor. The biggest difference had been that Boston had taken twice as many three-pointers by halftime.

Dallas could get the lead down to five in the first few minutes of the second half, following a nice jumper by Kyrie Irving, but their defensive rotations were lacking as Boston had free shooters throughout the third quarter. Derrick White scored 11 straight points for the Celtics, which put them back up by 11 midway through the period.

Boston then extended the lead up to 18 on a 9-2 run, which would eventually be pushed to 21 following a three by Payton Pritchard. Dallas was getting caught ball-watching far too often, especially on the glass. Quentin Grimes was giving the Mavericks some signs of life on offense, including a massive poster over Luke Kornet, but the team’s biggest issues were on defense. By the end of the third, the Celtics were ahead 96-76.

An 8-2 run near the start of the fourth quarter got the Mavericks back within 13 points, as the bench had finally woken up. The Dallas bench only had four points in the first half, but they were providing much-needed baskets.

To try and slow Boston’s offense down, Dallas went to a zone defense again, and it didn’t work. The Celtics have too many players capable of scoring in different ways. Quentin Grimes kept Boston’s lead from getting too out of hand as he cleaned up a missed free throw from Daniel Gafford to get the lead down to 11 in the final four minutes.

That would be the closest the lead would get, as Dallas couldn’t knock it under 10 points, and Boston would go on to win 122-107.

The biggest reason Boston won this game was their three-point barrage. They shot 20/52 from three, which is a solid percentage, but Dallas shot just 8/22. Making 14 fewer three-pointers is a massive hill to overcome, and the Mavs couldn’t get it done in this one.

Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks with 22 points, but it took him 23 shots to get there. Quentin Grimes wasn’t far behind with 20 points, all coming in the second half. Daniel Gafford (19 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks), PJ Washington (17 points), Spencer Dinwiddie (12 points), and Jaden Hardy (10 points) were also in double figures for the Mavs.

Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 24 points, but it took him 22 shots to get there. Derrick White (23 points) and Jaylen Brown (22 points, eight rebounds, six assists) were hot on his tail. Kristaps Porzingis (18 points) and Jrue Holiday (17 points) were also in double-figures, the first time this season that all five Celtics starters scored 15+ points.

The Mavericks will host the Wizards on Monday night.

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