In a nutshell
There will be very few games where the Celtics build a double-digit lead and hold it throughout the game. It’s just the nature of this team. We rode that rollercoaster (albeit the ride was fairly tame) in tonight’s 114-93 victory over the Mavericks and super rookie Luka Doncic.
Jaylen Brown (21 points, 9-15 FG) treated us to another strong game. He’s shooting 64% and 47% 3FG over his last 5 games. Marcus Smart (17 points, 5-8 3FG) was dialed in. I’m curious what the Celtics record is when Smart shoots 60+% from 3.
What went right
Except for a hideous 0-10 stretch in the 2nd quarter, the Celtics offense looked really good. How good? 35 assists on 42 baskets, good.
With Marcus Morris out (neck) and DeAndre Jordan on the court, I didn’t expect Boston to win the rebounding battle (53-49).
Gordon Hayward (16 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists) also played well. The Twitter reaction to his near triple-double was borderline orgasmic.
What went wrong
The Celtics pushed their lead to 17 midway through the 2nd quarter only to see the Mavericks close the gap to 7 at the half and *one* early in the 3rd quarter. I know Boston won easy, but Dallas didn’t have much fight tonight and this *could* have been a 30 point blowout.
What the heck was that?
Celtics fans gave Dirk Nowitzki a nice ovation as he entered the game…
Boston fans gave Dirk Nowitzki a standing ovation 🙏 pic.twitter.com/zii4NlFzIR
— ESPN (@espn) January 5, 2019
…but Dirk looks really bad. He should have retired yesterday. It’s sad to watch a legend shoot 0-10.
Highlights
That's one heck of a finish by Brown 👀 https://t.co/BgB6nywtSV
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 5, 2019
Smart lobs it up, Horford throws it down! https://t.co/k5IcDER9ET
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 5, 2019
Smart rifles the outlet pass right into Hayward's mitts in tonight's @JetBlue Play of the Game! https://t.co/afvg1xXDzJ
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 5, 2019
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