Inside The Celtics

Here's What Stood Out in the Celtics' Win vs. the Mavericks: Adhering to the Right Approach and Tatum's Triple Double Leads to 29-Point Victory

The challenge for the Celtics is consistently playing like they did against the Mavericks. Both within games and from one to the next.

Bobby Krivitsky

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
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The Celtics entered Thursday night's game in Dallas determined to get rid of the sour taste left from surrendering 150 points to a Thunder team missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Tuesday.

Boston stuck with an offensive approach that allows the Celtics to play at their best, working inside-out, generating paint touches, and moving the ball side-to-side.

Doing so led to 29 assists on 41 field goals and shooting 48.8 percent from the field, including 16/43 (37.2 percent) on threes that mostly came from a process the Basketball Gods were happy to reward.

The Mavericks were without Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber, and Josh Green, but still, Boston did an outstanding job executing its game plan defensively.

The Celtics made it a point to help without overcommitting to Luka Doncic, making it harder for him to generate points as a scorer or facilitator.

Doncic finished with 23 points on 7/23 shooting, went 0/6 from beyond the arc, and only dished out three assists. His team shot 37.8 percent from the field, including 7/32 (21.9) percent on threes.

The other MVP candidate in this matchup, Jayson Tatum, registered a triple-double, producing 29 points, 14 rebounds, ten assists, and two blocks.

Now, a deep dive into Boston's 124-95 victory over the Mavericks.

Celtics (Nearly) at Their Best Offensively in the First Frame

The Celtics' offensive process was excellent in the first frame. On their first possession, Boston worked the ball side-to-side, inside-outside, and Marcus Smart buried an in-rhythm three above the break. When that's how the Celtics are creating their shots, one will live with the results.

A few minutes later, Boston got the ball to Al Horford in the low post, producing two points at the basket. It's another wrinkle the Celtics should continue incorporating into the offense every now and then.

Adhering to the process that allows its offense to perform at its best, Boston continued to work the ball around and play inside-out.

Even on a play where it didn't create an open shot, on a second-chance opportunity, rather than settle for a three, Grant Williams dribbled into the post for two points from down low.

On the Celtics' following possession, Jayson Tatum quickly attacked off the catch from the elbow, getting to the cylinder for two points at the rim, helping the visitors stage a 10-1 run.

An open three for Sam Hauser from the left corner, followed by a transition layup by Tatum, expanded their advantage during that three-minute burst to 15-3, giving Boston a 22-12 lead.

As well as the Celtics orchestrated their offense in the opening quarter, they did commit four turnovers, including two offensive fouls by Jaylen Brown, who played for only 4:34 in the period.

Boston also got whistled for two delay of game's, both for disagreeing with foul calls that sent Luka Doncic to the free-throw line. While the Mavericks shot 26.3 percent from the field, including 1/9 (11.1 percent) from beyond the arc, going 9/12 at the free-throw line kept them within single digits, trailing 29-20 after one.

Grant Williams (seven points) and Brogdon (6 points) helped the Celtics' second unit outscore Dallas' 18-0, and Boston generated 14 points in the paint and seven on second-chance opportunities.

The Celtics also shot 50 percent from the field and drilled 5/12 (41.7 percent) of their threes.

Boston's Lead Balloons in the Second Quarter

Doncic subbed out after the first frame, then went into the locker room. Fortunately, after getting his ankle re-taped, he was available to return. He then took a seat on the bench with his sneaker off and a wrap around his ankle.

At the 10:42 mark, a Brown offensive rebound turned into Brogdon finishing a layup through contact. The bucket gave Boston an 18-8 edge in points in the paint for the game at that juncture. Brogdon also capitalized on the ensuing free throw, giving the visitors a 34-20 lead.

Less than two minutes later, after Christian Wood grabbed an offensive rebound, Brown, reaching in, trying to poke the ball out, picked up his third foul. Joe Mazzulla opted to keep him in the game.

Doncic returned with 7:25 left in the first half, with the Celtics ahead 41-28.

Derrick White capitalized on consecutive corner threes, both examples of playing inside-out basketball and working the ball side-to-side. The second one gave Boston a 55-37 advantage with 4:14 left in the quarter.

With 2:52 to go, Horford earned a trip to the free-throw line. Why did that stand out? Because it's the first time he's done so since Nov. 14 against the Thunder. Horford went 1/2 at the stripe.

In the final minute, Spencer Dinwiddie tried to put White on a poster, only to have his dunk attempt denied.

That helped the Celtics close out a period where they registered 35 points while holding the Mavericks to 26, taking a 64-46 lead into the break.

Tatum entered intermission with 11 points, seven rebounds, and six of Boston's 17 assists.

The Celtics' second unit, continuing to make its mark on the game, outscored Dallas' bench 27-2 in the first half. Brogdon (11 points) and Williams (ten points) led the charge, including an impressive old-school three-point play by the latter, spinning to the cup for two points through contact.

Both Teams Trade Blows, But Boston Strikes Last in Low-Scoring Third Frame

It took the Celtics until the 9:15 mark to register their first point of the third quarter. They built a 5-0 run on free throws from Tatum and Brown, then extended it to seven on a Tatum layup with 7:44 remaining, representing Boston's first field goal in the frame.

While that run was happening, Jason Kidd missed a chance to challenge a questionable call that may have resulted in Brown's fifth foul. Instead, it was Doncic's fourth personal.

But Dallas countered Boston's burst with a 7-0 run, including an alley-oop from Dinwiddie to Wood that cut the hosts deficit to 14.

But the Celtics stuck with the approach that allowed their offense to perform at its best, staging a 9-0 run keyed by beautiful ball movement. That included Brown driving into the paint, making a kick-out pass to Grant Williams in the corner, and Williams quickly swinging the ball to Brogdon for a three from the right wing.

That shot extended the lead to 81-59 with 3:08 left in the quarter.

With 1:30 left, Robert Williams, who rarely gets into it with the officials, received a technical for voicing his displeasure with a foul against Marcus Smart he felt should've been a charge on Doncic.

Even after getting the technical, Williams, now by coach Mazzulla, was staring back at the official.

The period ended with McKinley Wright IV fouling Smart on a three. That got Kidd to use his challenge, but it was to no avail. Smart capitalized on all three free throws, giving Boston an 89-65 lead entering the final 12 minutes.

Tatum Registers Triple-Double as Celtics Deliver Knockout Blow

The short-handed Mavericks staged a 19-6 run in four minutes, closing the gap to 103-88 with 5:02 left. Jaden Hardy scored ten of those points, knocking down multiple threes and getting to the basket off the dribble for a pair of layups.

The Celtics then dialed up a beautiful play to get the ball to Tatum after he set a flair screen, slipped to the basket, and gathered a bounce pass from Brown, stationed at the right elbow, as Tatum cut into the paint. The latter then finished a layup through contact and cashed in on the ensuing free throw, giving Boston a 106-88 advantage with 4:37 to go.

That sparked a 13-0 run that included an alley-oop from Tatum to Brown in transition. 

And as the Celtics closed out their win in Dallas, Tatum drove, kicked the ball to White in the far-side corner, and while the latter passed up a potential (contested) shot, he went baseline for a floater that gave Tatum his second career triple-double.

In Boston's 124-95 win over the Mavericks, Tatum finished with 29 points, 14 rebounds, ten assists, and two blocks. It's his tenth-straight outing with at least 25 points. According to ESPN Stats & Info, He joins Jaylen Brown and Isaiah Thomas as the only Celtics players in the last 30 seasons to score 25 points in ten-straight games.

It was the cherry on top of a feel-good night they needed after giving up 150 points in Tuesday's loss to a Thunder team missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The challenge remains for the Celtics to play like this consistently, within games and from one to the next.

Up Next

The Celtics' four-game road trip concludes with a matchup against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. The game tips off at 6:00 pm EST. Inside The Celtics will have content related to the game coming out before, during, and afterward. And follow @BobbyKrivitsky on Twitter for updates and analysis from pregame to post.

Further Reading

The Reasons Behind the Celtics Trading Noah Vonleh to the Spurs

Jayson Tatum Breaks Down What Celtics Need to do to Get 'Identity' Back After Blowout Loss

Celtics Star Jaylen Brown Opens up After Being 'Embarrassed' by Thunder

The Top 5 Plays from Tuesday's Celtics-Thunder Game

Here's What Stood Out in the Celtics' Loss vs. the Thunder: Turnovers and a Lack of Defensive Resistance Leads to a Blowout

Teams Showing Interest in Celtics Guard Payton Pritchard (Report)

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Bobby Krivitsky
BOBBY KRIVITSKY

Bobby Krivitsky's experiences include covering the NBA as a credentialed reporter for Basketball Insiders. He's also a national sports talk host for SportsMap Radio, a network airing on 96 radio stations throughout the country. Additionally, he was a major-market host, update anchor, and producer for IMG Audio, and he worked for Bleacher Report as an NFL and NBA columnist.

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