This season, who is winning the Dallas Mavericks vs. Boston Celtics head-to-head series?
Before we look ahead to Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics, let’s take a look back at the season series.
With Game 1 of the NBA Finals at TD Garden on Thursday night featuring two of the best backcourt tandems, the Boston Celtics are headed for a disastrous series. There have only been two meetings between the two finalists this year, and if past performance is any indication of what’s to come, the Celtics may win the Larry O’Brien Trophy an unprecedented 18 times.
The initial encounter took place in January.
The Mavericks began to turn things around around the time of the games, but the Celtics won both the home and away series. The games were played after the new year.Given that the Celtics were the best team in the regular season and only dropped 18 games, this shouldn’t be too surprising.
Having defeated the Houston Rockets the previous night, Boston was playing their second game of a back-to-back series. Despite Luka Doncic’s 33-point triple double and Kyrie Irving’s additional 23 points, the Celtics defeated the Mavs 119-110 in Dallas.
Dallas’ defense, which had not yet undergone its midseason makeover and was therefore a far more resilient unit guarding its rim, was no match for Boston’s superstar backcourt of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Tatum led all scorers with 39 points and 11 rebounds, followed by 34 more from Brown as the duo went 24/43 from the field.
The first quarter saw a close game, but the Celtics seized the lead and held it for the next three quarters, keeping the Mavs at a distance. While the Mavericks kept floundering in the West, Boston would go on to win 15 of their next 17 games and widen their advantage over the remainder of the East standings.
At TD Garden, one of those victories during the run of 15 in 17 games came against the Dallas Mavericks. A week had passed since the All-Star Game, and Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington had recently joined the Mavs.Even if those transactions would have a significant impact later in the season, the two midway games were insufficient to defeat the Boston Celtics.
Dallas is not the same place these days.
While Jayson Tatum received plenty of assistance from his supporting cast, Kyrie was kept silent during Doncic’s incredible 37-point triple-double performance against Boston. Tatum finished with 32 points and 8 rebounds, but Jaylen Brown added another 25, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Kristaps Porzingis scored a game-high 24 points.
The Celtics won the game handily, blowing the lead in the fourth quarter.The Mavs suffered their first loss in a three-game winning streak as they easily defeated them 138-110 to record their tenth straight victory.
Following that three-game losing streak, Dallas would win 15 of their final 19 games to finish the season. The club that the Celtics faced in January or even March is not the same as this one.Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic appear to be gelling more than ever, and Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington are now essential components of the team.Will it be sufficient to defeat the Boston Celtics, a formidable team?
