Recap: Celtics 73 at Mavericks 89

Earl K. Sneed recaps the Dallas Mavericks' victory over the Boston Celtics Monday night as the defending champions bounced back from a tough loss in New York on a historic night for Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd.

DALLAS — The Boston Celtics seemed like the perfect opponent for the Dallas Mavericks to see Monday night.

Limping in on a three-game losing streak, the Celtics entered the American Airlines Center down three of their main contributors. While point guard Rajon Rondo served the first contest of a two-game suspension, big men Kevin Garnett (personal reasons) and Brandon Bass (sore left knee) were also ruled out of Monday night’s showdown. Meanwhile, the Mavericks looked to bounce back from Sunday’s 104-97 loss in New York after having their season-high six-game win streak snapped.

With that said, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle stressed to his players the importance of not overlooking the shorthanded Celtics even with the Los Angeles Lakers looming on Wednesday in the final game before the All-Star break.

“Nothing is ever for sure in this league,” Carlisle simply told his players before the nationally-televised matchup.

The coach and his team then tried to get back in the win column in front of their hometown fans by sweeping the two-game season series after a 90-85 win in Boston back on Jan. 11. And on a historic night for both Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd, the Mavericks (21-12) had no problem sprinting to a runaway 89-73 victory.

“I mean, they obviously had some guys out and that’s always dangerous,” Nowitzki said after the win. “You always talk about those being the setup kind of games that’s easy to lose, when they’ve got a couple guys out and you don’t approach the game the right way mentally. But we talked about it before the game, especially after coming off a loss, and we definitely took this one the right way.”

With Nowitzki becoming the third player — joining Clifford Robinson and Rasheed Wallace — in NBA history to record 1,000 blocked shots and 1,000 made 3-pointers in his illustrious career after a rejection on Celtics guard Avery Bradley, it would be the start of a historic opening quarter for the 11-time All-Star. Nowitzki then moved ahead of Celtics great Robert Parish (23,334 points) for 20th on the all-time scoring list with an and-1 jumper over Chris Wilcox.

“It’s nice, obviously, but it doesn’t mean that much to me right now,” Nowitzki said. “As I always keep saying, it’s gonna be great when my career is over, looking back at all the stuff that I did. But, for now, I’m just gonna keep on working.”

“For those people that didn’t think he was a top 20 all-time player, I think this is good evidence of that,” Carlisle added.

And after Nowitzki reached both career milestones, the Mavs entered the second stanza with a 20-15 lead.

Still playing without reserve guards Delonte West (fractured right ring finger) and Rodrigue Beaubois (personal reasons), the Mavs got a lift from the backup backcourt of Dominique Jones and Jason Terry in the second quarter. Running the point, Jones found Terry with a penetrating drive and kick for a three to put the Mavs up 25-17 with 9:48 left in the half. Then it was Kidd’s time for history, collecting a steal to move ahead of Michael Jordan (2,514) for second on the league’s all-time list.

Kidd now sits only behind John Stockton’s 3,265 career steals.

“Mike is everybody’s idol and he played both ends of the court. So, just being able to pass him in something is an honor in itself,” Kidd said modestly. “When you talk about defense, he played both sides of the ball. So, Stockton and Jordan are the two best at what they do. When you talk about guards, those two are the best all time.”

But it was Nowitzki that exploded for 10 straight Dallas points and a double-double in the first half, leading his team to a lead as large as 14 and a 44-34 halftime advantage.

Nowitzki’s 21-point, 10-rebound first half was all the Mavs needed for the double-digit lead at the midway mark. Meanwhile, the Mavericks’ 40.9 percent shooting just bettered the Celtics’ 40.5 percent from the field through two quarters in the battle of the two best field goal defenses in the league.

Nowitzki didn’t slow down in the third period, scorching the net with a three to put the Mavs up 18, 54-36, with 8:45 left in the quarter. He then deferred to his supporting cast as the lead ballooned to as much as 24, before the Mavs headed to the final period with a 70-53 margin in their favor.

The Celtics (15-16) continued to fire in the fourth, however, as sharpshooters Paul Pierce and Ray Allen began to heat up. But Dallas quickly responded with back-to-back scores by Jones and new addition Lamar Odom to put their team up 80-59 with 8:47 remaining. Celtics coach Doc Rivers soon pulled his starters before Carlisle followed suit as both teams’ reserves finished the game.

“I thought coming off of yesterday the guys were really up for this,” Carlisle concluded. “Sometimes you can have a letdown when a team’s missing a couple of star players. I thought we did a good job not allowing that to happen and then just playing with consistency from start to finish.”

Leading his team to the victory was Nowitzki, who registered a game-high 26 points on 10-of-24 from the field to go along with a season-high 16 rebounds.

“Ever since I took that week off, it’s been steady progress of me feeling better and moving better,” Nowitzki said. “So, I’ve just got to keep attacking for this team and keep things going in the right direction.”

Off the bench, Terry added 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting while Shawn Marion made it three Mavs in double figures with 11 points. Kidd, meanwhile, filled up the stat sheet with six points, eight assists, two rebounds and three steals.

“Just at the right place at the right time, understanding guys’ tendencies, watching film early on in my career and just being lucky enough to get in the way of some passes,” Kidd said when putting his night and career in perspective.

Pierce led three Celtics in double figures with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting and Allen added 15 points on 6-for-15. But the Mavericks finished the night outshooting the visitors, 40.4 percent to 39.2 percent, in addition to a 51-44 rebounding edge. The Mavs finished with a 32-18 advantage in points in the paint as well and feasted off the Celtics’ 17 turnovers, scoring 25 points at the other end compared to Boston’s 13 points off only 10 Maverick giveaways.

“Our identity this year is that we’re a defensive team,” Carlisle added. “You look at our stats and you look at our record, you look at when we’ve struggled and when we play well. Our defense and rebounding is defining who we are. We have great respect for Boston, so it’s nice to be in that company, but we still have a ways to go.”

The Mavs return to action at the American Airlines Center Wednesday night when they host the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers lead the season series 1-0 after a 73-70 win over the Mavs on Jan. 16 in L.A. The game will air nationally on ESPN and locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 8:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.

“We’ve got one more game against the Lakers, who are playing well. So, we’ve got to end the first half on the right note by getting the win,” Kidd said while looking forward.

Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).

Dr. Pepper Family Nights are here! Plans include four Mavs tickets and four McDonald’s extra value meals, starting at $49. Visit mavs.com or call 214-747-MAVS for a schedule of games and to purchase tickets.