The Dallas Mavericks needed a 7-0 run to secure a victory over the Boston Celtics in early November. On Friday Night, the Mavs finished the game on an 10-0 run to secure a 101-97 victory in Boston over the Celtics. Dallas held Boston scoreless for the last 2:42 of the game. Jason Kidd hit a go-ahead three-point basket with two seconds left in the game to give the Mavericks the lead at 99-97. The win gave the Mavericks their seventh straight win, the longest active winning streak in the NBA. The Boston Celtics make up a chunk of the Eastern Conference All-Star team as Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo made the team and they will be coached by Doc Rivers.
Tyson Chandler was a huge factor for the Mavericks as he anchored the defense. He finished the game 14 points and 15 rebounds. Chandler has recorded a double-double in five out of his last six games. The Mavericks are now 10-2 when their big man nabs a double-double. All-Star snub, no problem.
Boston had won five of the last seven meetings over Dallas with the Mavericks have taken the two recent matchups including the game at the American Airlines Center on November 8, 2010. Dallas has defeated Boston nine out of the last 12 times on the road including a 99-90 victory on January 18, 2010. Before this season, the last time the Mavericks swept the Celtics in the regular season was in 2006-07.
The Celtics have a home record of 22-4. They are 16-0 against Eastern Conference opponents at home, but just 6-4 against Western Conference opponents. The Mavericks are now 15-8 against the Eastern Conference this season. Dallas is now 19-8 against plus-.500 teams this season. With the win, the Mavericks took sole possession of second place in the Western Conference. They now have a half-game lead over the Los Angeles Lakers. They have made up a lot of ground over the past two weeks (at one time, they were the fifth seed).
The scoring trends continued for the Mavericks. In the six wins leading up to the game against the Celtics, the Mavericks averaged 104.5 points per game, and held their opponents to 96.2 points per contest.
Did THAT Just Happen?!
- The revolving door that is the Mavs starting lineup continued as JJ Barea started at the shooting guard position and DeShawn Stevenson moved to the small forward position. The guard out of Northeastern University made his first start of the season. Barea lead the charge early for the Mavericks with nine of their first 18 points. The trade-off with the lineup move was Jason Kidd had to guard Ray Allen and Stevenson defended Paul Pierce. Barea gave the Mavs a surge in the first half but he was a non-factor in the second half of the game. The point guard finished the game with 11 points.
- Ray Allen had a chance to give the Celtics a 48-47 lead in the second quarter. He had a wide open three-point look and he missed it. The Mavs got the rebound and quickly ran up the floor and Jason Terry nailed a three-point basket, that is what we like to call the six-point swing.
- Tyson Chandler's effort led to a Block of the Year nomination. The Mavericks had a turnover and Rajon Rondo ran the break with Ray Allen. Jason Kidd did just enough to slow the 2-on-1 break and that led to Tyson Chandler running back into the play and he trapped Allen's layup attempt on the backboard. That secured a 50-47 lead with two minutes to go in the half for the Mavericks. Allen returned the favor by blocking Chandler's dunk attempt in the fourth quarter.
- The Mavs bench found itself being out-produced by the Celtics bench at one point. Dallas did have one of their key reserve players, JJ Barea, in the starting lineup. The Celtics bench was big in the second quarter as they chipped away at the Mavs lead. They made up four points on Dallas' seven point lead in the quarter. Jason Terry (17) and Shawn Marion (13) made up for all 30 points for the bench and they won the bench scoring battle, 30-24. Dallas is 26-7 when its bench outscores the opposing team’s reserves. The Mavericks are 22-2 when at least two reserves score in double figures.
- Kevin Garnett was in typical KG-form. JJ Barea grabbed Garnett to avoid an easy layp and Garnett took offense to a small guy doing that. The Celtics forward gave Barea a quick glance and shoved Barea out of the area leading to a technical foul. It appears that skirmish woke up the Celtics as they took the lead and eventually led to a back and forth game the rest of the way.
- The Mavericks had a case of "Can't Throw a Penny into the Ocean" as Jason Terry and DeShawn Stevenson had some ugly misses in the fourth quarter. Terry rushed a shot and that led to an air-ball, Stevenson followed that up with a wide open air-ball of his own.
Box Score Revelations
- Dallas started the game on fire as they shot 67% from the field (14-21). They also shot 83% (5-6) from three-point range. The Mavs could have had a larger first quarter lead if they could have been sharper on the defensive end of the court. Dallas allowed Boston to shoot 68% from the field (13-19). The shooting percentages came back down to earth over the course of the game. The Mavericks were able to shoot 49% from the field and 47% from long range. The Celtics held their last 10 opponents to 90 points per game, -1.5 points below their league-best average. The Mavericks did not care as they scored 101 points and moved to 24-1 when scoring at least 100 points in a game.
- Kevin Garnett led the charge for the Celtics as he went perfect from the field (6-6) and scored 12 first quarter points. His second quarter performance would be considered piss poor. Garnett wen 0-4 from the field in the second quarter. He finished the game with 16 points on 7-16 shooting from the field
- Dirk Nowitzki was relatively quiet early in the game as he had eight points in the first half. Nowitzki came alive in the third quarter went 4-6 from the field and scored 14 points. The big German finished the game with a game-high 29 points on 9-14 shooting from the field. Nowitzki’s 27.4 points per game versus Boston are his most against any opponent.
- Jason Terry scored 17 points. He became the 116th player in NBA History to reach the 15,000 point plateau. He needs 8 points to pass Mike Mitchell and take 115th place on the All-Time scoring list.
Tweetings From the Mavs Universe
- "I'm such a proud fan...@jjbareapr getting his first start! Let's go Mavs"
@arinettamb
- "The middle of the paint is open for business for both PGs for both Mavs and Celtics"
@Celts_GreenRoom
- "Lovin' the Mavs energy, Everyone came to play today!"
@G_BOA
- "That was easily one of the best blocks of the year by Chandler. Unbelievable play."
@TicketRadio
- "I will never understand why Jason Kidd, one of the smartest players in the NBA, takes so many shots with his foot on the 3-point line."
@espn_macmahon
BG's Baller of the Game:
Baller status has been granted to Jason Kidd. The point guard has had a knack for keeping his right toe on the three-point line to take away crucial points, not on Friday. Kidd showed incredible poise and control by getting Allen out of the play with a shot-fake and quickly resetting his feet to get behind the line to nail the tough jumper. He scored 10 points and added nine assists.
The Mavericks will hit the road after the game to take on the Charlotte Bobcats. Fans will be able to get a look at Stephan Jackson and Gerald Wallace, players who have been sources of trade rumors in Mavs-land. After opening the season 5-0 in the second half of back-to-backs, the Mavericks have lost three of their last four "second games." Dallas is now 7-3 in the first half of back-to-backs. They are currently 6-3 in the second half of back-to-backs. Based on the recent franchise history for the Bobcats...plenty of good seats should still be available. The game against Charlotte will tip off at 6:00 pm CST.
Twitter? I don't even know her! Oh......
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