The final score does not indicate how badly the Celtics actually played. This one, especially the third quarter, was uuuuuuuugly.
The Celtics (18-34) three-game winning streak came to an end tonight, as they fell to the Dallas Mavericks (31-21), 102-91.
Boston trailed by only one after the first quarter and only six at the half, but then Dallas decided to show up.
Dallas was led by Dirk Nowitzki's 20 points. The Mavericks had six players in double-figures.
The good:
* Rajon Rondo tallied 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting with 12 assists and 8 rebounds. Rondo was the only Celtic starter to shoot 50% or higher.
* Chris Johnson played a very efficient game off the bench. He made some big three-pointers in the closing minutes during the Celtics' late comeback attempt. In 15 minutes, Johnson scored 15 points on 4-of-7 from the field (including 4-of-4 from beyond the three-point line) with 3 rebounds, a steal, an assist and a block. He brought a tremendous spark.
* Although it wasn't the case in the third quarter, the Celtics limited Dallas' effectiveness in the paint. Dallas only scored 30 points in the paint, well below their season average of 44.
The bad:
* The Celtics' offense was off all night. They took a lot of jumpers and did not drive to the basket. They had no rhythm, no flow, no nothing.
* The Celtics' defense was porous. Again, the numbers don't necessarily back it up, but Dallas got a lot of easy buckets, especially in the second half.
* Through the first three quarters, the Celtics shot 29% from the floor. That's bad.
* Here's some numbers on the Celtics' horrific third quarter: the C's were outscored, 28-18. They were outrebounded, 17-6, and 7-0 on the offensive glass. Dallas scored 9 second-chance points to Boston's 0. Lastly, Dallas scored 12 points in the paint to Boston's 4.
Boston gets right back at it tomorrow night when they travel to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks. Tipoff is 8:00 pm.
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