Final: Mavericks 95, Celtics 92 - Another late 3 by the Mavs sinks Boston

GAME 69
Boston Celtics (41-27, 24-11 home, 5th East) vs. Dallas Mavericks (41-26, 18-14 road, 5th West)
TD Garden
3:30 PM - ABC

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Robert Williams

Dallas: Luka Doncic, Jalen Brunson, Reggie Bullock, Dorian Finney-Smith, Dwight Powell

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Aaron Nesmith remains out with a sprained ankle

- Tim Hardaway Jr. (foot) and Theo Pinson (finger) are out for Dallas

- Dallas has the league’s second best defensive rating since January 1 (106.9). Boston has the best (103.5).

“They’re a little bit different than what we saw the first 10 games of the season,” Ime Udoka said before the game. “Since their trade, they’ve really picked up offensively. Obviously Doncic is the head of the snake as far as that so, we’ve got to pay attention, be on point with him. … We’ve talked about March, starting with Atlanta, and then Morant, and Durant and Irving, and all these guys. We’re looking forward to March, and this is another step in that direction.”

- Boston is favored by 7.5

GOING A LITTLE DEEPER

It’s Kevin Garnett number retirement day

The TD Garden is all decked out for the big night, which caps a big weekend for the Celtics. They have used this number retirement as a sort of alumni weekend bringing back some of the team’s greats and members of championship teams. 

The headliner, of course, is Garnett, who will not only be in the house but in the locker room.

“I think he may see the guys and have a brief message for them,” Udoka said. “So that will be good for them to see.”

It will be good for fans to see a win. The last time the Celtics retired a number, Paul Pierce had to sit through a 22 point loss to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

“The first thing would be to take care of business. Everything is more enjoyable if you win,” Udoka said. “That’s the focus first and foremost. I want to enjoy the festivities afterwards.”

Jayson Tatum was there for the Paul Pierce number retirement, but as he marches through another potential All-NBA season, the odds of his own number 0 to join Pierce and Garnett tick upwards. 

“Jayson, All-Star break, being around top 75, and anytime they’re here in the building, which they have been the last few days, it’s good for that to rub off on our guys and see that tradition and history and winning ways that have been here,” Udoka said. “We’re focused on Dallas and continue to do what we’re doing and afterwards, you can take a deep breath and kind of look up and appreciate it.”

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Better energy at the start: I think we know how this team looks when they come out focused and energized and what they look like when they don’t. The first five minutes of this game will tell us all we need to know about how this game will go. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if they came out too hyped for an ABC game in front of Kevin Garnett. 

2. Make Luka Doncic one-dimensional: This is a standard thing to watch for against a dynamic superstar like Doncic. The Celtics aren’t going to be able to take everything away from him, but they can try to limit him a little. 

“What we want to do is keep bodies in front of him at all times,” Udoka said. “Where he is really good is picking apart the gym when he has the options in the pick and roll, try not to do traditional drop coverage where he can rely on lob threats, layups, picking guys apart in the corner. So we want to keep bodies in front of him, make him beat us 1-on-1 but also switch it up with matchups and coverages because he's a guy that can get really comfortable if he sees one thing over and over.”

3. Robert Williams vertical spacing: This could be a big game for Robert Williams taking advantage of Powell roaming, looking to help and block shots. They can challenge his pick and roll defense, where he has to be aware of Williams. Powell isn’t good enough to defend both, so we could see some real strong drive with Powell stuck in no-man’s land. By the time he decides to step up, we could see lobs and dump-offs to Williams for dunks. 

GAME THREAD

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