It was a tale of two halves in many ways for the Boston Celtics, who eked out a win against the Dallas Mavericks (116-106) as they returned home from a three-game road trip to notch their eighth straight victory of the 2019-20 season.
That is, unless you were Jayson Tatum, who struggled from the field throughout the game. Entering Monday’s contest averaging 21.3 points per game on 43.2 percent shooting from the field, Tatum knocked down just one of his 18 field attempts (for five total points).
The Celtics defense suffocated Dallas in the first half as fourth-year wing Jaylen Brown continued to thrive as a slasher, showcasing an impressive combination of explosiveness, patience and ball-handling that made him difficult to stop. The Georgia native scored 25 points and notched his second straight double-double, continuing to make the Celtics look wise for extending his contract before the deadline.
However, while Tatum failed to find the mark from the floor, so too did All-Star point guard Kemba Walker.
Getting off to yet another slow start, Walker scored just five points in the first half before a barrage of three-pointers in the second half led to him finishing the game with 29 points (on 8-14 shooting from deep).
On the other side, Mavs star Luka Doncic played well throughout the game (he scored a game-high 34 points and dished out a game-high nine assists) and began to both score and facilitate at an even higher level in the second half. What was a tied game a halftime — but one that Dallas had never led in to that point — turned into one that the Mavs briefly led in the fourth quarter.
Walker, along with Brown, Marcus Smart and rookie Javonte Green — guards used to replace the downhill attack of the injured Gordon Hayward — made plays late in the game to give Boston the lead back. Walker would suffer whiplash late in the game that prevented him from playing the final minutes but by then, the Celtics already had the game in hand.
Boston was helped by the Mavericks going 3-9 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter but they battled for a tough win against a dominant player, and without one of their best players.
Next up for the Celtics is a matchup with the Washington Wizards on Nov. 13.
