Boston Celtics @ Dallas Mavericks
Saturday, January 25, 2025 at 5:30 PM ET
American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX | Game ID: 22400635
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DAL 29 20 27 31 107BOS 25 34 37 26 122
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Tatum, White help Celtics pull away to beat Mavericks 122-107 in first meeting since NBA Finals
DALLAS -- — Jayson Tatum scored 24 points, Derrick White added 23, including Boston’s first 11 of the third quarter, and the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 122-107 on Saturday night in the first meeting between the teams since the NBA Finals.
Jaylen Brown added 22 points as the defending champions bounced back from a 21-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, their most lopsided defeat this season.
The Celtics shrugged off an early 16-6 deficit and led by as many as 25 points in the third period. White scored 16 in the period.
Kyrie Irving scored 22 points, Quentin Grimes added 20 off the bench and Daniel Gafford had 19 points and matched a season high with 15 rebounds for the Mavericks, who are 5-11 since superstar Luka Doncic was sidelined with a calf strain on Christmas Day,
The teams will complete their two-game season series Feb. 6 at Boston.
Takeaways Celtics: Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 points in his first game back in Dallas following the Feb. 10, 2022, trade that sent him from the Mavericks to Washington. Porzingis sat out his four previous visits, including Games 3 and 4 of last year’s finals, with injuries.
Mavericks: Down to two centers, backup Maxi Kleber fractured his right foot and left the game late in the third quarter. Kleber will be re-evaluated next week.
Key moment With Dallas trailing by 21 points in the final minute of the third quarter, the home fans had to fend off the first of multiple “Let’s go Celtics! Let's go Celtics!" chants.
Key stat The Celtics, NBA leaders in 3-pointers made (17.8) and attempted (48.9) per game, went 2 of 8 in the first period but finished 20 of 52.
Up next Both teams will be home Monday, the Celtics against Houston and the Mavericks vs. Washington.
DAL KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
BOSAH A. Horford
DW D. White
JB J. Brown
JH J. Holiday
JS J. Springer
JT J. Tatum
JW J. Walsh
KP K. Porziņģis
LK L. Kornet
PP P. Pritchard
PO Porzingis
SH S. Hauser
DALDG D. Gafford
JH J. Hardy
KE K. Edwards
KI K. Irving
KT K. Thompson
MK M. Kleber
OP O. Prosper
PW P. Washington
QG Q. Grimes
SD S. Dinwiddie
BOS/DAL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur