Mavericks at Celtics
The Boston Celtics continue a busy stretch in which they play six games in nine days when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. After opening the stretch with a home victory over New York and a road win against Indiana on consecutive nights, the Celtics - who host Golden State Friday and travel to Detroit the next night - fell 106-105 at New Orleans on Monday.
It appeared as if center Al Horford was going to return from a concussion either against the Pacers or the Pelicans, but he was sent home to Boston and there is now no timetable for his return. The Mavericks also are waiting for one of their big men to come back, as forward Dirk Nowitzki has missed four games in a row with an Achilles injury. "The biggest issue is still running," Nowitzki told reporters after Dallas lost 93-77 at New York on Monday. "I'm not a big runner at this stage in my career, but I can't really go up and down yet. I haven't run in full practice. So it's not quite there yet, but the good thing is it's getting better." The Mavericks are 2-2 without Nowitzki after opening the season 0-5 with him in the lineup for three of them, but they got only two players into double figures against the Knicks to sink to 1-5 on the road.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), CSN New England (Boston)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (2-7): Harrison Barnes scored 20 points and J.J. Barea added 17 in the loss to New York and they shot a combined 16-of-33, compared to 16-of-50 for the rest of the team. In addition to Nowitzki, Dallas has also missed Deron Williams (calf) in the last four games, although coach Rick Carlisle said there is a chance the point guard returns against the Celtics. No player had more than four assists versus the Knicks and the Mavericks entered Tuesday's action tied for 28th in the league with 18.3 per game.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (5-5): Isaiah Thomas continued his strong start with 37 points Monday night, giving him at least 20 in each of his first 10 games, which is one shy of tying Sam Jones for the second-longest streak to start a season in franchise history. Fellow guards Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart combined for 34 points as the perimeter game was strong, but the Celtics were outrebounded, recorded zero blocked shots and allowed Pelicans forward Anthony Davis to finish with 25 points and 16 rebounds. Reserve swingman Gerald Green has seen zero minutes in the last two games and hasn't scored since Nov. 6 against Denver.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Dallas has won seven straight meetings and 11 of the last 12.
2. Barnes is averaging 27.5 points over a four-game hot stretch.
3. Celtics C Kelly Olynyk is 2-of-14 from the floor over the last two losses and 12-of-24 in the last two wins.