Celtics at Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks attempt to defeat Boston for the seventh
consecutive time when they host the Celtics on Monday. Dallas maintained
its recent dominance over the Celtics by rallying from an 18-point
deficit to post a 106-102 victory in Boston on Nov. 18.
The Celtics have won three consecutive games and opened a three-game road trip with a 119-117 victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday. Boston ended a three-game road losing streak with the win and is 11-9 away from home. Dallas was annihilated 112-83 by the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday and has lost four of its last six games. "There was a level of frustration but everyone was trying to do the right thing," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said after the whipping. "San Antonio goes hard and they can make you look bad. We got beat and that's the name of that tune."
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (22-19): Point guard Isaiah Thomas scored 32 points in the win over Washington has topped 30 points in three of the past five games. Thomas has made 17 3-pointers while averaging 29.6 points during the stretch, but it isn't the offensive splurge that is impressing coach Brad Stevens. "He's just going; he's got a nice rhythm. We've got guys who are looking for him," Stevens told reporters. "I'm more encouraged by the fact that he's becoming a good defender. He's really worked hard on that."
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (23-19): Forward Dirk Nowitzki had a rare subpar performance against the Spurs and scored a season-low four points on 2-of-10 shooting. "I have to get Dirk better looks — we have to run some things to put him into better positions," Carlisle said. "I take the blame for that." The output was Nowitzki's lowest since the tallied just one point in 10 minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 29, 2012 — a contest he left in the second quarter because of a back injury.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The November victory was the Mavericks' 10th in the past 11 meetings.
2. Dallas C Zaza Pachulia is just 4-of-17 from the field over the last two games.
3. Boston SF Jae Crowder had 22 points and scored the decisive basket against the Wizards and is averaging 21.3 points in the past four games.