The Boston Celtics (26-12, 11-7 Away) travel to face the Dallas Mavericks (22-16, 15-5 Home) Thursday in a game that could see a lot of points. Boston was dismantled by the Oklahoma City Thunder 150-117 at Paycom Center on Tuesday. Jaylen Brown had a standout performance in the losing effort with 29 points.
The Celtics are the first seed in the Eastern Conference, one game ahead of the Brooklyn Nets.Dallas won their seventh in a row on Monday at Toyota Center, beating the Houston Rockets 111-106. Luka Doncic had 39 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, leading the team.
The Mavericks are 2.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference, currently sitting in fourth. The teams are meeting for the last time this season. After winning the only previous season meeting against Dallas 125-112 at TD Garden in November 2022, Boston will be pursuing a season sweep.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 37 points and 13 rebounds. Doncic had 42 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds in defeat.Tatum and Brown, averaging 30.8 and 27.2 points per game, respectively, have led the Celts in scoring this season. Tatum is fifth in the NBA in scoring. Tatum also has grabbed 8.1 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Marcus Smart is dishing 7.4 assists per game.
Doncic has powered the Mavs’ offense, averaging 34.3 points per game. He is the No. 1 scorer in the NBA. Doncic has also put up 8.9 assists, fourth-most in the league, and 8.8 rebounds per game. The Celtics and the Mavericks rank as two of the most productive offenses in the NBA, first and fourth in offensive efficiency, respectively.
The Celtics are 3-7 in their last 10 trips to American Airlines Center. Dallas has won four straight at home this season.Boston is 5-5 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +0.6 (116.5-115.9). Dallas has gone 8-2 over the last 10, scoring 116.7 points per game on average while allowing 111.2 (+5.5 margin).
CELTICS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points per game:
Malcolm Brogdon: 9.0 | 13.1 | -4.1
Rebounds per game:
Jaylen Brown: 4.4 | 7.1 | -2.7
MAVERICKS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Reggie Bullock: 13.5 | 9.8 | +3.7
Kemba Walker: 2.7 | 13.1 | -10.5
Points per game:
Luka Doncic: 43.4 | 34.3 | +9.1
Kemba Walker: 2.0 | 8.8 | -6.7
Rebounds per game:
Luka Doncic: 12.0 | 8.8 | +3.2
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Dallas Mavericks (+120)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
