Mavericks at Celtics
THE STORY: The Dallas Mavericks have finally reached the .500 mark and look to get over the break-even point when they visit the Boston Celtics on Wednesday. Dallas defeated the woeful Detroit Pistons 100-86 on Tuesday for its fourth win in five games following a porous 1-4 start. The defending NBA champions started slowly after the abbreviated training camp and are now finding their groove. Boston hasn’t played since having a four-game winning streak snapped with an 87-74 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Friday. The Celtics were abysmal offensively by matching a franchise low with 25 first-half points. “It was awful to watch,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said afterward. “I just thought offensively we were horrible.” The contest is the fourth of a five-game homestand for the Celtics. Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki broke out of a shooting slump with 18 points on 9-of-10 shooting against Detroit. He had gone 5 of 22 over the previous two games.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, Fox Sports Southwest (Dallas), Comcast Sports Net (Boston)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (5-5): Delonte West excelled at distributing the basketball while starting in place of injured Jason Kidd against the Pistons. West had 10 assists and five steals – both figures are season highs – and committed just two turnovers in 26 minutes. West has scored in double figures five times and his value to the team will increase if he can thrive at the point when the aging Kidd can’t play. Kidd has missed two straight games with a back injury and is unlikely to play against Boston.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (4-4): Veteran guard Ray Allen is playing superbly and was the lone bright shot against Indiana when he scored 23 points and was 4-for-5 from 3-point range. Allen was 7 of 11 from the field while the rest of his teammates were just 19 of 55. Allen was hot despite sitting out with the flu two nights earlier against New Jersey and has four 20-point performances in seven games. He has made 10 of 12 3-point attempts after hitting 6 of 7 against Washington on Jan. 2. Allen is averaging 20.4 points and shooting a torrid 63.4 percent from behind the arc.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Dallas is 9-3 in its last 12 visits to Boston.
2. Nowitzki is averaging 27.4 points in 24 career games against the Celtics.
3. Celtics forward Mickael Pietrus (knee) will be available for the first time this season.