Short-handed Mavericks go to Boston and handle Celtics

Field Level Media|published: Thu 6th February, 22:17 2025

Feb 6, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) shoots the ball against Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) in the second quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images

Klay Thompson scored 25 points and Spencer Dinwiddie added 22 off the bench as the undermanned Dallas Mavericks earned a 127-120 road victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday in a matchup of teams that met in last year's NBA Finals.

Daniel Gafford had eight points and 15 rebounds for the Mavericks, who shot 55.7 percent from the floor (49 of 88) and ended a three-game losing streak.

Anthony Davis (abdominal strain) missed his third straight game since he was acquired by the Mavericks in a multi-team trade that sent Luca Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Davis said he is hoping to make his Dallas debut on Saturday against the visiting Houston Rockets.

The Mavericks were also without Caleb Martin (hip strain) and P.J. Washington Jr. (personal reasons), but were able to end Boston's four-game winning streak. The Celtics trailed by 27 with just under nine minutes left in the game.

Jaylen Brown tossed in a team-high 25 points for the Celtics, who received 21 points from Payton Pritchard and 17 points apiece from Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis.

The Celtics played without starting guard Jrue Holiday (shoulder). The loss dropped Boston's home record to 16-10.

The Mavericks went 15 of 33 on 3-point attempts and received 57 points from a trio of bench players: Dinwiddie, Naji Marshall (20) and Max Christie (15).

Among the starters Kyrie Iving finished with 19 points and Dante Exum had 15.

Dallas led 32-23 after one quarter, stretched its lead as high as 18 points in the second quarter and were ahead 67-56 at halftime. Thompson scored 23 points in the first half, when the Mavericks shot 58.3 percent from the field.

The Mavericks outscored the Celtics 37-27 in the third and led 104-83 entering the fourth. Dallas led by 27 before Boston went on a 14-0 run in the fourth but ran out of time after getting the deficit into single digits in the final seconds.

The teams split their two regular season meetings. In Dallas, Boston won 122-107 on Jan. 25.

--Field Level Media

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