Mavericks 99, Celtics 90

Game Highlights

Photo of the Game

Shawn Marion of the Mavericks soars through the air for a shot during Dallas' 99-90 win over Boston Monday night.
Brian Babineu/NBAE/Getty

By Marc D'Amico
Celtics.com

Key Moment

Tonight wasn't just a key moment... it was a key quarter -- and it was a quarter to forget for the Boston Celtics.

The Celts headed into the locker room for halftime with all of the momentum and a 50-41 lead. They also came out in the second half and had their first shot of the third period, a desperation 3-pointer by Paul Pierce as the shot clock expired, bank off the glass and in to extend that lead to 12. It looked like an omen for what was turning into a great game for the C's, but that's about when the tables began to turn.

Dallas caught fire and shot 80 percent from the field in the third quarter, outscoring the Celtics by a count of 34-18. Dirk Nowitzki was the key cog in that run, scoring a total of 13 points in the quarter, including nine points in a row for the Mavs. His hot touch was contagious, and the rest of the team began lighting it up as well.

Nowitzki and the Mavericks turned a nine-point halftime deficit into a seven-point lead after three quarters, and they continued to rally from there. Boston never cut the lead to less than four points from that point on.

Key Box Score Line

We already highlighted the nine consecutive points Dirk Nowitzki scored in the third period for Dallas, but that was only a fraction of the show he put on tonight. The Mavericks' big man totaled 37 points and displayed a shooting touch that anyone would be jealous of, let alone his fellow 7-footers. He put the Mavs on his back tonight and led them to a huge win on the road over the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Box Score Nuggets

• Paul Pierce scored a team-high 24 points for Boston.
• The Celtics scored only five points over the final 6:50 of the third period.
• The starting point guards combined for 29 assists (12 for Rajon Rondo, 17 for Jason Kidd).
• Each team scored 46 points in the paint.
• Boston shot only 8-of-16 from the free throw line.
• Neither team grabbed more than five offensive rebounds.
• Kendrick Perkins (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Jason Kidd (13 points, 17 assists) were the only players to record a double-double.
• Dallas took only seven 3-pointers, making four of them.
• The Mavericks shot 57.4 percent in the game, while Boston shot 50.6 percent.
• No Celtic reserve scored more than five points.