Key Moment
The Dallas Mavericks staged a brief run early in the third quarter to climb to within two points of the Boston Celtics. That was cute, wasn’t it?
Fifty-nine seconds later, the Celtics were already back up by eight and on their way to a blowout win.
It was The Jays who began the onslaught for Boston. They connected on back-to-back 3-pointers in a span of just 25 seconds to bump the team’s lead back up to eight with 5:03 left in the third. Jason Kidd could feel the momentum building for the C’s, so he called a timeout. It was certainly was too little, too late.
Fast-forward just 3:18 of action and the Celtics had pulled ahead by 13. Move to the 9:37 mark of the fourth and Boston was ahead by 17. Eventually, that lead ballooned to as many as 28 – which just so happened to account for the final margin of victory.
That’s all it takes for the Celtics to catch fire this season. A couple straight buckets and they’re off and running. Kidd knew it. He tried his best to stop it, but stopping these Celtics this season seems nearly impossible.
Key Player
The Jays were both dominant Friday night. It’s hard to choose between them for this slot, but we have to. Those are the rules. So tonight’s Key Player goes to No. 7, Jaylen Brown.
Why, you might ask, given that Tatum scoured 32 points to Brown’s 25? Well, it’s because Brown was even more efficient shooting the basketball, and he was perfect while handling it and dishing it out.
Brown shot a scorching 11-for-20 from the field, good for a 55 percent clip. He also dished out five assists on the night while not committing a single turnover. Add in his seven rebounds and steal, and you’ve got a wildly impactful night by the three-time All-Star.
What makes this effort even more impressive is the fact that Brown did it all in less than 31 minutes of action. He logged just 30:47 of playing time, during which Boston outscored Dallas by 16.
Box Score Nuggets
- All five Celtics starters logged between 11 and 32 points, led by Jayson Tatum’s 32.
- Derrick White led the Celtics with eight assists, while Jrue Holiday was right behind him with seven.
- Luka Doncic logged a triple-double of 37 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.
- White was a game-best plus-21 in the plus/minus category.
- White and Al Horford, each of whom blocked two shots, were the only players in the game to block more than one shot.
- Horford led all reserves with 12 points, while also adding in those two blocks, eight rebounds and three assists.
- Each team scored at least 60 points in the paint, with Boston notching 62, and Dallas totaling 60.
- Boston totaled 33 assists compared to Dallas’ 20.
- Kyrie Irving attempted four more shots (23) than he scored points (19).
- Each team committed single-digit turnovers: eight by Dallas, and nine by Boston.
- Kristaps Porzingis notched 24 points, six rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in less than 30 minutes of playing time.
- The Celtics scored at least 36 points during three of the four quarters.
- Payton Pritchard scored 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting.
- Newcomer Xavier Tillman was a plus-13 in just 15 minutes of action.
Quote of the Night
“Our ability to compete at a high level defensively starts with our ability to execute at a high level offensively, and vice versa.”
– Joe Mazzulla on the Celtics’ play at each end of the court
