The Dallas Mavericks (24-19) defeated the Boston Celtics (22-20) 118-113 in OT at American Airlines Arena on Monday.
The battle between two playoff caliber teams produced fireworks on Monday with a neck-and-neck second half and overtime period that eventually went in favor of the home town Mavericks. With :34 remaining in the 4th quarter, Jared Sullinger blocked Raymond Felton’s floater, resulting in a Jae Crowder fast break layup to take a one point lead. A pair of Dirk Nowitzki free throws and Deron Williams free throws followed on the next two possessions, giving Dallas a three point advantage with :14.5 left. Boston inbounded and worked the ball to Jae Crowder, who pulled up for a 3-point shot and was fouled on his follow through by Raymond Felton. Felton writhed on the ground after what looked to be a vicious, yet accidental, eye poke. Crowder sank all three from the charity stripe, forcing overtime.
The overtime period was dominated by Deron Williams, who scored 10 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers and an assist to Dirk Nowitzki in the corner for a third straight trey. Williams hot hand resulted in 20 points (7-of-17 FG, 2-of-5 3PT, 4-of-4 FT), five rebounds and six assists in 36 minutes. Nowitzki turned back the clock and led all scorers with 31 points, to go along with 11 rebounds. Wes Matthews helped the Mavs to get a solid first half lead with 15 points on 3-of-8 from behind the arc, but was mostly positioned in a defensive role down the stretch.
The Mavericks will take a day off before hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves (13-29) on Wednesday.
Brad Stevens continues to draw up crafty plays and facilitate a growing offense in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics produced six players in double figures, led by Isiah Thomas’ 20 points, four rebounds and seven assists. The 5’8” point guard sliced and diced his way through the Mavericks defense, often disappearing amongst the big men and either finishing at the rim or dishing it out to Avery Bradley behind the arc. Bradley scored 19 points on 4-of-8 shooting from deep, while Marcus Smart turned in an all around, stat stuffed performance with 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Boston would not quit after Williams and Nowitzki all but sank their chances, as Kelly Olynyk and Jared Sullinger turned in a couple of buckets towards the end of the overtime period, but it was not enough to come away with a win.
The Celtics will head north and visit the Toronto Raptors (26-15) on Wednesday.
