Tatum’s rare triple-double lifts Celtics past Mavs, 124-95
DALLAS (AP) – Jayson Tatum and the Celtics responded to a blowout loss with the Boston star’s second career triple-double in a blowout of Luka Doncic and the Mavericks.
Tatum had 29 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Celtics ended Dallas’ seven-game winning streak with a 124-95 victory Thursday night.
Jaylen Brown scored 19 points for the NBA-leading Celtics, who bounced back from a 150-117 loss at Oklahoma City when the Thunder were without 30-point scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“They showed me they can do it one time,” interim coach Joe Mazzulla said. “They have to do it over and over again.”
Luka Doncic scored 23 points after averaging 44.5 points the previous five games. The Mavs superstar did not play in the fourth quarter, which began with Boston leading by 24.
Doncic hit game-winning 3-pointers in Boston’s previous two visits to Dallas. There was never a chance for a third, or for the Mavs to extend their longest winning streak since their only championship season in 2010-11.
Doncic missed all six of his shots from long range as the Mavericks finished 7-for-32. Doncic was 7-for-23 overall and Dallas finished 38 percent two nights after Oklahoma City shot 59 percent against the Celtics.
“When we’re at our best, we play really good basketball on both ends of the court with great effort for a long period of time,” Mazzulla said. “And then we go through a couple of games where we lose it. What I like about tonight is that we bounced back.”
Tatum wasn’t much better than Doncic, going 8-for-22 from the field, but his teammates were. Boston shot 16-for-43 from 3, with eight players hitting at least one.
The sixth-year pro’s other triple-double came on April 19, 2021, when he had 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a 102-96 loss against Chicago.
Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon each scored 15 points, with Smart going 4-of-9 from deep while Brogdon was 3-of-5.
The Celtics never trailed midway through the first quarter, and Dallas got no closer than 13 after halftime. The Mavs were swept in the two-game season series after trailing at halftime in a 125-112 loss at Boston.
“It was like what happened in Boston,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “We couldn’t score. We got some good looks there early. The ball didn’t fall for us.”
QUICK START BENCH
Grant Williams scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half as Boston’s bench outscored Dallas 27-2. Tatum and Brown took over from there, adding 33 points after the break.
NO PAST, NO DOING
Doncic had nine rebounds but was limited to three assists as the Mavs tied their season high in assists with 15. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 18 but was just 6-for-15 as Dallas’ starters fired a 32%
ADVICES
Celtics: Little-used C/F Noah Vonleh was traded to San Antonio for a future conditional second-round pick. The Celtics included cash in the deal. Vonleh averaged 1.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 7.4 minutes in 23 games. … Smart was fined $35,000 for using inappropriate language with an official in the loss to the Thunder. Smart was assessed for his second technical and was ejected during the incident in the third quarter.
Mavericks: G Josh Green (elbow) and F Dorian Finney-Smith (adductor strain) remain out but will travel on a five-game road trip that begins Sunday in Oklahoma City. … Christian Wood had 12 points and 12 rebounds. … Rookie Jaden Hardy scored all 15 of his points in the second half with the game out of reach.
UNTIL THE NEXT
Celtics: A four-game road trip ends Saturday in San Antonio. The Spurs swept the series in two games last season.
Mavericks: Host New Orleans on Saturday. The Pelicans won the first meeting in New Orleans in October.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA i https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
#Tatums #rare #tripledouble #lifts #Celtics #Mavs
