The Dallas Mavericks (21-42) played the Boston Celtics (42-21) on Friday, losing 120-100 at TD Garden. The game was a dual return of sorts, with Cooper Flagg coming back (near) home and Jason Tatum making his season debut after 298 days on the shelf following an Achilles injury last season.
The first half was close, but things started to slip away in the third quarter before coming completely unraveled in the late stages
35.3%: Combined shooting percentage in an ugly first quarter
The Mavericks have made a habit of falling behind big in the first quarter. Friday
night flipped the script, but just barely, as Dallas led 22-21 after the first frame. Despite carrying a lead after 12 minutes, nothing was pretty for either team to start things off. Dallas connected on 8-of-23 shots, with Boston hitting 10-of-28. Compounding things, the Mavericks only had two starters in the scoring column; Flagg with six and Khris Middleton with three. Max Christie, P.J. Washington and Dwight Powell combined for zero first quarter and only 19 for the game.
+13: Boston’s rebounding differential
Without Daniel Gafford and Marvin Bagley, Dallas rolled out a center tandem of Powell and Moussa Cisse. The two combined for 12 rebounds, but no single player broke double figures as Flagg led the way with eight. Boston meanwhile had two starters combine for 27 boards en route to out-rebounding Dallas by double digits as a team. Giving a team that many more opportunities to possess the ball is a recipe for disaster.
58/42: Dallas’ bench-scoring vs. starter-scoring
The Mavericks bench-players outplayed the starters by a big margin. You may think that was because more bench players than starters actually played, however if you factor out Ryan Nembhard’s five points in the closing minutes, the other five bench players still chipped in 11 more points than the starters. Flagg and P.J. Washington combining to go 9-for-32 from the floor was certainly a big factor in the disparity.
4: Quarters in a basketball game
The Mavs must have thought the game was over after three quarters, because they really didn’t show up in the fourth until it was far too late. The box score looks borderline presentable, but the reality is that Dallas sat on seven fourth-quarter points for more than six minutes. Dallas couldn’t get much to fall throughout the night (40.9% field goals), but especially so in the fourth quarter as Boston easily pulled away.
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