Keys to the Game: Celtics 124, Mavericks 95

Boston put the Mavericks away over the final five-plus minutes of Thursday night's matchup in Dallas.

The Celtics had controlled the contest trough the first 31 minutes but Dallas still remained within striking distance at 72-59 following Luka Doncic's cutting layup at the 5:16 mark of the third. It was at that moment that Boston put its foot down and pulled away for good.

The C's closed out the rest of the period on a 17-6 run to pull ahead by 24, which marked their largest lead of the game to that point.

Jaylen Brown initiated the run just nine seconds after Doncic's layup by canning a 3-pointer at the other end. Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon then drained triples a minute apart to make it three consecutive 3s by the C's, which made it an 81-59 game.

Smart still had six more points in him during the frame, which accounted for Boston's final points of the quarter. He made another 3-pointer at the 1:17 mark before closing out the period's scoring with three free throws.

Boston continued to breeze during the final frame after Dallas pulled Doncic from the game. The Celts pulled ahead by as many as 30 before polishing off a 124-95 victory.

Malcolm Brogdon seems to be back on track, and that's a very positive sign for the Boston Celtics.

After four straight single-digit scoring performances from Dec. 23 through Jan. 1, Brogdon has now strung together consecutive games of at least 15 points. Thursday night, he notched 15 in Dallas while shooting 4-of-8 from the field, 3-of-5 from long distance, and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. He also contributed four assists and three rebounds while committing only one turnover.

Brogdon came out of the gates hot, which played a role in igniting a full game of offensive dominance from the C's. He made two 3-pointers and also assisted on a bucket by Grant Williams during the first quarter after Jaylen Brown and Derrick White got into some early foul trouble.