Mavericks vs Celtics Final Score 94-89: Mavericks Start Off Home Stand With An Ugly Win

Mar 17, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Vince Carter (25) drives to the basket past Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green (8) during the game at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

DALLAS MAVERICKS vs BOSTON CELTICS Recap- March 17

The Dallas Mavericks (41-27) started off their franchise-record eight-game home stand in ugly fashion, but hung on to defeat the Boston Celtics, who were without Rajon Rondo, 94-89 on St. Patrick’s Day at American Airlines Center.

Dirk Nowitzki led five players in double figures with 19, but shot just 6-of-17 from the field. Nowitzki did hit half his shots from three (4-of-8).

As a team, the Mavericks shot 42 and 33 percent from the field and from three. They held the Celtics to 36.6 and 41 percent shooting.

Dallas led 26-22 after the first quarter and 64-61 after the third.

The Celtics had runs of 13-0, 12-0 and 8-0 to keep it close.

Boston was led by Jerryd Bayless, who scored 19 points. Rookie Kelly Olynyk, who was drafted by Dallas last year, added 16 points and nine boards off the bench.

Former Maverick, Kris Humphries grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.

The Mavericks scored the final five points of the game.

Dallas now has won three straight and five of its last six.

Milestone Watch: Vince Carter entered tonight needing three 3-pointers to pass Rashard Lewis for 7th all time, and enters tomorrow in the same exact spot. Carter missed all five attempts from downtown. Dirk’s four treys tonight puts him at 1,446, eight shy from tying former teammate Michael Finley for 23rd. Shawn Marion finished tonight with two steals, and needs two more to pass Ron Harper for 18th all time.

Just When You Think It Couldn’t Get Any Uglier: The Mavs were 9-of-27 from downtown while the Celtics were 9-of-22. Dallas suffered on the boards with just 36 to Boston’s 57. The Celtics entered tonight 14th in the NBA at 43 a game. Boston had plenty of second-chance points, bringing down 21 offensive boards and held the Mavs to just six. Boston also had nine more fast-break points and seven more points off turnovers. On top of Dirk’s shooting night, Carter shot 4-of-13, Monta Ellis shot 4-of-11 and Shawn Marion finished 4-of-10.

The Luck Of The Irish: Dallas and Boston met just once on St. Patrick’s Day prior to tonight with the Mavs winning 99-93 back in 1998. Dallas entered tonight’s game 10-10 vs Boston all time in March and 11-11 all time on St. Patty’s Day. With the win, Dallas moves above .500 in both.

41, 14, 41: The Mavs won their 41st game and tied last season’s win total with 14 games remaining. They stand at a season-best 14 games above .500. And of course, Dirk led in scoring…aka Mr. 41. It’s a great night to be the number 1 or 4.

The Closer: Player of the game may just go to Devin Harris, who finished with 12 points, six dimes, three boards and two steals. If you missed the game, Harris had an array of acrobatic moves, circus shots and hustle plays. Harris is averaging 11 points and five dimes in 20 minutes in the past three games.

Home Sweet Home: The Mavs moved to 22-10 at the AAC and will play seven more in a row, starting with Minnesota on March 19 and Denver on March 21. Those two will be big games despite looking at their combine record. Dallas is 1-5 vs the two this season, 0-3 vs Denver.

Lucked Out: For the second straight night, the Mavericks had the luxury of not playing an all-star point guard. Russell Westbrook didn’t play against Dallas on March 16 while Rajon Rondo didn’t play tonight. Boston was dealing with a back-to-back and it was established that Rondo wouldn’t play in the second night of them for the rest of the season.

A Couple More Stats: Dallas won its 20th game of the year vs the Eastern Conference (20-9) with just one left in the Nets on March 23. The Mavericks have been playing better on the second night when it comes to back-to-backs. The Mavs moved to 9-6 in that category with the win tonight.

Fight For Fifth: 

5 Portland Trail Blazers (43-24)

6 Golden State Warriors (42-26)– 1.5

7 Dallas Mavericks (41-27)– 2.5

8 Memphis Grizzlies (39-27)– 3.5

9 Phoenix Suns (38-29)– 5

P.S: If you haven’t already, TheSmokingCuban has created a group on ESPN’s tournament challenge. It’s for all Maverick fans, and anyone can join. Group name is TheSmokingCuban. You can read more here…https://thesmokingcuban.com/2014/03/17/smoking-cubans-ncaa-bracket-challenge/