Mavericks rally from 18 down in the first quarter to beat Celtics
The Dallas Mavericks rallied from 18 points down in the first quarter to beat the Boston Celtics 106-102 for their fifth straight win.
The Mavericks trailed 31-13 with 2:30 left in the first quarter. They outscored the Celtics 93-71 the rest of the way.
The Celtics had the ball down 2 with 14 seconds left, but Raymond Felton stole the ball from Isaiah Thomas. A basket would have tied the game.
During clutch time, the Mavericks outscored the Celtics 14-7. Deron Williams (No. 1 in clutch wins added, 2015-16) scored 9 of the Mavericks’ 14 on 2 for 2 shooting and 4 for 4 at the line. In the fourth quarter, Felton had 2 steals, both with the game within five points, and the Mavericks scored 4 points off them. With 4:29 left, Dirk Nowitzki stole the ball from Evan Turner, and Williams’ corner 3-pointer off it put the Mavericks ahead 94-91.
Nowitzki scored 23 points on 9 for 14 shooting, and Williams added 16 points and 6 assists.
For the Celtics, Thomas had 19 points and 6 assists but went 1 for 8 from 3.
The Mavericks shot 51.4% from the field and 35.0% from 3 to the Celtics’ 41.3% and 30.8%. The Celtics outscored the Mavericks 16-2 in 3 minutes with Bradley, Thomas, Sullinger, Crowder and Olynyk on the floor together. Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk fouled out.