The Dallas Mavericks will meet the Boston Celtics in New England on Friday night and may need several players to step up if the Mavs superstar Luka Doncic is unavailable.
Doncic is dealing with an ankle sprain he suffered during Wednesday’s 136-125 win over the Toronto Raptors, in which he recorded 30 points, 16 assists, and 11 rebounds for a triple-double. In the last meeting between the two teams, Doncic also recorded a triple-double, but the Celtics pair of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were too much to overcome. Boston won that game 119-110.
Boston continues to hang on to the NBA’s best record and comes into the game at 46-12. Even more impressive has been the team’s play at TD Garden, where they are 27-3 on the season. The Celtics are on a nine-game win streak after dismantling the Knicks and the 76ers, both teams in the thick of competition. Boston has not lost since February 1 in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, who are closing in on the Mavs in the Western Conference.
After dropping two games in a row, Wednesday’s win over the Raptors was just as important for the standings as it was for the team’s mentality heading into Friday night’s game.
“Good character,” Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said after Wednesday’s game, as reported by Fan Nation. “Intent, the energy pre-game was in the right place. We lost on a 50-footer. We could have easily been still thinking about that game. I thought the guys moved forward.”
The 50-footer Kidd mentioned is already being called the best shot of the season. Toronto’s Max Strus lobbed the shot at the buzzer from 59 feet, well behind mid-court. It was a clean shot and gave the Raptors an unlikely 121-119 victory. Rather than being crushed by the defeat, the Mavs rallied and collected the win in the back-to-back.
The Mavs sit in seventh in the Western Conference and continue to trail the New Orleans Pelicans. However, Dallas is still playing strong and has won eight of the last 10 games to stay ahead of the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers in the standings.
If Doncic cannot play, Kyrie Irving and PJ Washington will be called on to step up against the Celtics defense, which has a habit of brutally shutting offenses down.
Betting lines favor the Celtics with a predicted 123-111 final, as predicted by The Sporting News. BetMGM has the Celtics at -450 with an over/under of 236.5. The game tips off at 6:30 CT from TD Garden in Boston.
