Mavericks at Celtics
Two teams looking to extend winning streaks to season-high lengths collide Sunday when the Dallas Mavericks visit the Boston Celtics. Dallas has won four straight and its last three by an average of nearly 18 points, establishing some distance in the Western Conference's eighth and final playoff spot over ninth-place Memphis. "At this point, we're shoring it up," coach Rick Carlisle told the Dallas Morning News. "We're doing better but we can't start feeling too good."
Boston hasn't exactly played the upper echelon of the league of late but wins over Orlando, Philadelphia and Sacramento have the Celtics on the verge of a season best four-game surge. Forward Jared Sullinger notched a career-high 31 points to go with 16 rebounds to lead Boston over the Kings last time out and coach Brad Stevens told the Boston Herald that this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what Sullinger, who has 11 double-doubles in his last 20 games, can do. "As he continues to improve," Stevens said, "I just think that the sky's the limit. I really believe that he can be a consistent double-double guy."
TV: 6 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Southwest (Dallas), CSN New England (Boston)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (30-21): Dallas has placed a concerted emphasis on rebounding of late and the approach has yielded impressive results. The Mavericks have controlled the boards in three straight games and are plus-31 in rebounding in their last seven, leaving guard Vince Carter feeling as though the team is starting to put it all together for the first time this season. "We're clicking on all cylinders on both sides of the floor," Carter said."We have slippage sometimes but everybody's doing what needs to be done for the good of the team."
ABOUT THE CELTICS (18-33): Point guard Rajon Rondo has played in eight games since returning from offseason knee surgery but rested in the win over Sacramento after a vintage performance against Philadelphia on Wednesday left him battling soreness. Rondo, who totaled eight points, 11 assists and nine rebounds as Boston knocked off the 76ers, is expected to play against Dallas, according to Stevens, who told reporters, "He's played nine games in 20 days and he hasn't done that in a year. It's a culmination of things - nothing structural." Jeff Green, who leads the Celtics with an average of 16.3 points, has notched a pair of 30-point games in an eight-game span in which the forward is averaging 19.5 points.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Mavericks G Monta Ellis, who ranks second on the team in scoring (19.5), is day-to-day after straining his right hamstring in Friday's win over Utah.
2. Sullinger's effort against the Kings made him only the second Celtic to score 30 points or more this season, joining Green, who has accomplished the feat three times.
3. Dallas' scoring average of 104.6 points places it among the NBA's top 10, while Boston is in the league's bottom five, averaging 95.1.