Final: Celtics 109, Mavs 103 -- C's use strong second half to clinch road win

The Celtics knew they were going to have to lean on their top dogs heavily on Wednesday night in Dallas with Gordon Hayward and Marcus Smart ruled out due to a sore foot and eye infection respectively. Luckily for Brad Stevens, Kemba Walker (32 points), Jayson Tatum (24 points) and Jaylen Brown (26 points) were all up for the challenge, combining for over 75 percent of Boston's output as the C's rallied from a nine-point first half deficit and came away with an impressive 109-103 victory. Walker led the way with 12 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter while Brown pitched in with nine rebounds on top of his 26 points.

Kristaps Porzingis had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the hosts who played without Luka Doncic. Seth Curry added 20 off the bench for Dallas but it wasn't enough as the C's swept the season series with the win and snapped a two-game losing streak. Boston will try to make it two in a row at home on Friday against the Pistons.

First Half Notes

TWO UP

Kemba Walker in the first quarter:  Walker erupted for 16 points against a Dallas defense that struggled to have anyone stay in front of him. He’s now averaging over 13 points in the first quarter during his last three games.

Jaylen Brown: The swingman shook off a slow start by getting aggressive with his takes to the basket. He scored 12 first half points and made all six of his free throws, raising his season average to career-high 75 percent.

TWO DOWN

3-point shooting: A lack of reliable options from the outside took its toll on Boston as they missed 14 of 18 shots in the first half from beyond the arc.

Foul trouble with the bigs: The Celtics are down to two true bigs on the 15-man roster and both piled up fouls in the first half with Enes Kanter and Daniel Theis spending the end of the half on the bench with three.

• The Celtics will only have 11 players in uniform with Gordon Hayward being declared a late scratch due to a sore foot. Marcus Smart, Rob Williams, and Vincent Poirier are all out as well while Carsen Edwards remains on a G-League assignment.


• Tacko Fall will provide some additional depth at center with Poirier and Williams out but seems unlikely to play against the elite shooting Mavs unless Boban Marjanovic sees the floor.


• Brad Stevens said today that Romeo Langford and Javonte Green will see action with Hayward sidelined against a small Mavs team. Langford has played just one minute this season due to numerous injuries and G-League assignments.