Between Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics who do you think will win the NBA championship this season…
BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum hit five 3-pointers and scored 32 points, leading the Boston Celtics to a 138-110 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night. This win extended their season-best winning streak to 10 games, despite Luka Dončić recording his second consecutive triple-double.
Jaylen Brown contributed 25 points and seven rebounds, and the Celtics made 21 three-pointers in their second win of the season against the Mavericks, bringing their record to an NBA-leading 47-12. Kristaps Porzingis added 24 points, with seven Celtics reaching double figures.
Although Tatum only had two points in the first quarter, he achieved his 22nd game of the season with at least 30 points.
“We’ve evolved, recognizing that each game can be different,” Tatum said. “If it means passing the ball eight times in a row because it’s the right decision, then that’s what we need to do to win.”
Doncic achieved his 12th triple-double of the season with 37 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. He became only the eighth player to record a 30-point triple-double in Boston, with the last occurrence being by Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City on December 23, 2016.
Kyrie Irving contributed 19 points for Dallas but struggled with his shooting, making only 9 of 23 attempts. Irving, who had a rocky two-year period with Boston, faced a chorus of boos whenever he had the ball.
Additionally, the Mavericks’ inability to match Boston’s shooting proved problematic, as they went just 9 of 34 from beyond the arc.
“We know that if we play the game the right way, we have many options,” Brown said. “We trust the game plan and our ability to adapt, and we’ve been doing that consistently throughout the season.”
Brown mentioned that this is the time of year when the team tends to elevate their performance.
This was evident when Dallas cut the lead to 81-79 midway through the third quarter, only for Boston to end the period with a 21-11 run and then outscore the Mavericks 36-20 in the fourth quarter.
“You can’t afford to have empty possessions against them, and you can’t let them exploit defensive lapses,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “They will make you pay with their 3-point shooting, and that’s exactly what they did.”
Mavericks guard Dante Exum, who has been recovering from a knee injury, returned to play for the first time since January 26. He scored four points in 15 minutes of action.
Porzingis scored 10 of the Celtics’ first 15 points and hit four of their 10 3-pointers in the first half, helping Boston build a lead of up to 12 points by halftime.
Despite the early deficit, Dallas was only down by seven at the break, thanks to Doncic’s 23 points.
Tatum didn’t score until he made two free throws with 18 seconds left in the first quarter, but Boston still led 38-32 at the end of the period, having made seven 3-pointers.
