DALLAS — Jayson Tatum recorded his second career triple-double to lead the Boston Celtics to a 124-95 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, recording 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists on Thursday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Strong second half for Tatum and Jaylen Brown
Tatum’s strong second half performance, in which he scored 18 of his points, helped the Celtics (27-12) snap their two-game losing streak and improve their record to 27-12.
Jaylen Brown also had a strong outing for Boston, scoring 15 of his 19 points in the second half and adding seven rebounds. Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart, and Grant Williams all scored in double digits for the Celtics, with Brogdon putting up 15 points and Smart and Williams each scoring 12.
Superstar Luka Doncic a bit sick
Luka Doncic led Dallas with 23 points and 9 rebounds, in 31 minutes of play, but the Mavericks were unable to keep up with the Celtics and saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end.
Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 18 points for Dallas (22-17), while Christian Wood recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Rookie Jaden Hardy provided a spark off the bench, scoring 15 points in the second half on 5-8 shooting, including 3-3 from beyond the arc. His points did come after the game was already out of reach, though.
The Celtics outscored the Mavericks’ bench 27-2 in the first half, and ultimately secured the victory with their strong shooting performance, finishing the game with a 48.8% field goal percentage and making 16 three-pointers.
“When we’re at our best, we play really good basketball on both ends of the floor with high effort for a long period of time,” said interim Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. “And then we go through a couple of games where we lose that. What I love about tonight was we did bounce back.”
The Mavericks struggled offensively, shooting just 37.8% from the field and missing 25 3-point attempts.
NEXT SCHEDULE
The Celtics will look to continue their momentum on Saturday as they wrap up a four-game road trip with a matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs swept the two-game series against the Celtics last season, so Boston will be looking for revenge.
The Mavericks, on the other hand, will host the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday. The Pelicans won the first meeting between the two teams in October.
