The Celtics started off tonight’s game like a house on fire—and then burned to the ground, losing to Dallas 106-102. They scored the first 7 points of the game and at one point had Dallas more than doubled up 31-14, as Avery Bradley singlehandedly went on a 12 point run that put the Garden crowd into hysterics.
Of course that couldn’t last. Boston’s run was predicated on circus-level shooting percentages that, realistically, couldn’t be sustained for the whole game.
As it turned out, things cooled off considerably in the second quarter. Boston sustained a double digit lead for almost the entire quarter, but it felt like a better team than Dallas would’ve closed that gap pretty quickly.
During the second quarter the Celtics’ offense sputtered and they stopped playing consistent defense. It didn’t help things that the officials, who had called a pretty loose first quarter were suddenly whistling everything. The Mavs spent most of the second quarter shooting the bonus, ending the half with 17 free throw attempts on 15 Celtics fouls. Still, the Celtics had a nine point lead at the half.
Boston’s sloppy play continued coming out of the half, and Dallas tied the game on multiple occasions in the third, but couldn’t close the deal. Boston started to play better after what seemed like Stevens’ thirtieth “what’s wrong with you guys?” time out, finishing the quarter on a mini run. At the end of the third, with another 12 minutes off the clock, Dallas had only narrowed the deficit by a point. Still, it felt like the Celtics were playing with fire. Good things happened when they drove to the basket, but they either couldn’t or wouldn’t sustain the effort needed to wear down the Mavs’ defense and take advantage of their superior depth.
Dallas chipped away at the lead in the fourth quarter. They didn’t have their first lead until 4 minutes remained in the game, but they never trailed after that. Brad’s penultimate “What’s wrong with you guys?” time out, called as the Mavs increased the lead to five, didn’t work. Sully responded with a quick three, and the Garden crowd tried to breathe some life into the Celtics, but Dallas, which has the league’s best late game defense, only extended the lead.
Stevens called one last timeout, and, finally, the C’s responded, going on some kind of crazy run to close within two twice within the final minute, but it was too little, too late. Derron Williams sank some free throws and Raymond Felton missed some free throws, and it was all over.
The Green:
- The first quarter, for a change. Boston didn’t make a wrong move, it seems like.
- Boston finished with 12 steals. This is a team that, when it’s on, is going to take your lunch and eat it before you know what happened.
- Kelly Olynyk boldly squared up and took a charge barely a minute after getting called for his fifth foul.
The Gross:
- The second, third and fourth quarters.
- Boston’s sloppy rotations and Wes Matthews’ wide open looks
- Settling for perimeter shots. Remember how Boston had all that depth in the front court? Yeah, well, aside from a few spots, Boston did nothing to break down the Mavericks’ defense. Dallas, like most teams, is not as deep as Boston, but it’s pretty hard for Boston to turn that into an advantage if all Dallas has to do on defense is stand around waving their arms.
Greenlights:
A much needed hoop by K.O. https://t.co/MjMb9H94H2
— KWAPT (@KWAPT) November 19, 2015
Isaiah with the drive and dish to Kelly. There was nowhere near enough of this tonight.
AB with the loud follow: https://t.co/EkwspmlcOV — KWAPT (@KWAPT) November 19, 2015
Bradley cleans up a Sullinger miss. With extreme prejudice.
Sweet pass Lee: https://t.co/3UjVz4WLz6
— KWAPT (@KWAPT) November 19, 2015
David Lee with the best pass you’ll see all night.
@RedsArmy_John Love Dirk. pic.twitter.com/gigaiZNbub
— Bill Dapkus (@billydaps) November 19, 2015
Kelly tries to Dirk Dirk, it doesn’t work. Dirk loves it.
The Grid:
- Boston ended the game shooting 41% after shooting better than 50% in the first quarter
- Boston was whistled for 28 fouls, with both Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk fouling out.
- The C’s are only a game above .500 again, after another bad loss at home.
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