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DIRK NOWITZKI, VINCE CARTER TOO MUCH FOR RAJON RONDO, CELTICS

By Mike Petraglia 
 
Jeff Green and the Celtics couldn’t turn the corner against the red-hot Mavericks Sunday night. (AP)

The red-hot Dallas Mavericks weren’t about to let the Celtics match their season-high win streak.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points and Vince Carter added 14 off the bench to help the Mavericks pull away for a 102-91 win Sunday night at TD Garden. The loss snapped Boston’s three-game win streak, which was one shy of the four straight at the beginning of the season.

That win streak in November put the Celtics at 4-4. Sunday’s loss dropped Boston to 18-34.

The Celtics were led by Jeff Green with 18 points while Rajon Rondo returned from a night off Friday and scored 15 with 12 assists. Green was rumored to be trade talks between Atlanta and Celtics vice president of basketball operations Danny Ainge while Rondo’s name was again in trade rumors involving the Knicks.

The Celtics could not overcome dreadful shooting Sunday night. They were down just six at the half, 44-38, despite shooting just 27.1 percent (13-of-48) from the floor.

The Mavericks pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring Boston 28-18 to take a 72-56 lead into the fourth. Avery Bradley (2-for-13), Jared Sullinger (4-for-13) and Green (6-for-15) highlighted the struggles of the Celtics. Sullinger extended his string of double-doubles to five games with 12 rebounds and 11 points, scoring a basket late in the fourth quarter to keep the streak alive.

Chris Johnson, signed to a multi-year deal on Friday, had a career high 14 off the bench for the Celtics.

Nowitizki had been averaging 28 points a game in his last six games entering Sunday’s contest but Dallas didn’t need him to be spectacular against a Celtics team that couldn’t find its offensive rhythm all night. Nowitzki was 7-for-16 from the field and his his three with 9:23 left in the fourth quarter put Dallas up, 81-58.

Dallas would build the lead to 24 in the fourth before a late Celtics run, sparked by the bench, cut the Mavs’ advantage down to nine, 98-89, with just over a minute left.

The Mavericks, who entered Sunday in the eighth and final playoff spot in the West, are making a push in the highly competitive conference. Sunday’s win on the parquet was their fourth straight and six in their last seven as they improved to 31-21.

The Celtics return to action Monday night in Milwaukee against a Bucks team that is currently leading the NBA Lottery race with a league-worst 9-41 record.
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Rapid Reaction: Mavs 102, Celtics 91

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

BOSTON -- Rapid reaction after the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Boston Celtics 102-91 on Sunday evening at TD Garden:

THE NITTY GRITTY
Rajon Rondo played a season-high 36:33 and mingled with another triple-double (15 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds) but the Celtics watched their three-game winning streak get snapped. Jared Sullinger extended his double-double streak to five games while putting up 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Chris Johnson gave Boston some late-game energy and finished with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting (making all four 3-pointers he put up). Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points and was a game-best plus-24 in plus/minus, while Jose Calderon added 18 points to pace the Mavericks.

TURNING POINT
Despite shooting 27.1 percent in the first half (13 of 48 overall), the Celtics were still within six at halftime. The game got away quickly after the intermission. The Mavericks embarked on a 13-3 run bookended by Samuel Dalembert layups as Dallas opened a 60-43 lead midway through the frame. Dalembert had seven rebounds, including four on the offensive glass, in the third quarter as the Mavericks generated nine second-chance points and put a stranglehold on the game.

BRADLEY IN FOCUS
Avery Bradley, who sat out Friday's win over the Sacramento Kings after twisting his right ankle, missed 11 of the 13 shots he put up and didn't play the final 20 minutes of the game. Bradley didn't looked particularly hindered by the ankle, but his shot was off and when the game started slipping away, the Celtics likely got cautious. Bradley finished with five points and a turnover; he was minus-11 in plus/minus.

LOOSE BALLS
Brandon Bass picked up three fouls in the first six minutes and was limited to less than 15 minutes of total floor time. ... Joel Anthony was a healthy DNP; rookie Vitor Faverani was inactive with a knee injury. ... The two teams combined to shoot 42 percent (21 of 50 overall) beyond the 3-point arc.

WHAT IT MEANS
The Celtics (18-34) came crashing back to Earth a bit after a winning streak that feasted on some of the league's basement dwellers. Boston visits Milwaukee on the second night of a back-to-back on Monday, then hosts the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday before getting a week off from game action at the All-Star break.

112288

Just an average day at work for this kid Johnson: 14 pts, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal in 15 minutes. Oh did I forget 4-4 from beyond the arc.

Are you kidding me..................this is a steal of the season in the NBA!

112288

112288,
Actually it's 4-4 3pt for CJ.
Also, he was on the floor the last several minutes of the game.
Great outing for him last night.

AK

Yes correct shooting 4-6 from the field.

112288

Taking the short-term view, the Celts were beaten once again by a better team. But, from the perspective of the aches and pains of development, there were some good things.

• Sully had another double-double, which appears to be a pretty regular occurrence. I'm having a difficult time thinking back to the last Celtic who better combined (1) the ability to carve out space underneath and (2) the ability to maximize the use of that space. Sully's time guarding Dirk was a sobering reminder of the fact that, when Sully gives away a lot of height, a good opponent can shoot over him. But that fact just serves to remind me that (1) it'll be a godsend when Sully can focus more exclusively on the PF position and (2) he has to work on using that same bulk to push taller opponents away from the basket. That's what Russ used to do with Wilt, and Russ had more of a physical deficit in that battle than Sully has in most of his. And Russ and Sully share great basketball intellect.

• How could Bayless score no field goals but still represent a glimmer? By handing out 8 assists, that's how. I think he's rounding into the kind of guard who can play backup PG and also make Rondo more dangerous as a ball distributor by representing another ball distributor threat when on the floor with Rondo.

• Rondo just missed a triple-double by two rebounds. I don't care all that much about triple doubles, but I believe rebounds are the physically toughest of the the three major stats to achieve. Which suggests to me that Rondo successfully turned yet another page on the way back.

• With Rondo's 12 and Bayless' 8 leading the way, the Celts assisted on 27 of their 33 made field goals. That's 82%, boys and girls—a monster figure.

• In terms of stats, the Celtics actually matched up with the Mavs pretty well, except in one department. Offensive rebounds: Celts 11, Mavs 10 (double figures in this category are no longer unusual for the Celtics); Fast break points: Celts 17, Mavs 5; Points in the paint: Celts 30, Mavs 30; Three-pointers: Celts 11-27, Cavs 10-23. The one category in which the Celts suffered most by lagging behind was shooting percentage: 36% for the Celtics and 45% for the Mavs.

• In terms of intangibles, it was only because of some pretty strong Celtics defense in the first half that the Mavs didn't shoot even better. They played the inside-out game beautifully for open outside shots; they constantly stationed themselves under the hoop and didn't allow the Celts to move them out; they played the pick-and-roll game with aplomb; and their guards in particular often penetrated at will.

• Jeff Green had his third consecutive double-figure game (ranging from 17 to 36). Let's hope that's a continuing trend.

• Bass, Olynyk, Humphries, Wallace, Bradley and Pressey also played. Enough about them.

• Let's see, did I forget anyone. Oh yeah, young Mr. Johnson played at the end of the third and all of the fourth: 15 minutes, 14 points, 4-4 from three point land, 3 offensive rebounds, 1 absolutely gorgeous block, 1 steal, 0 turnovers as usual. And those stats don't begin to describe his effort level. I'm repeating (from another thread) most of the following season-to-date rankings for Chris among Celtics who matter:

#1 in free throw percentage (it doesn't get a whole lot better than his 100%)
#1 in lack of turnovers per minute
#1 in three-pointer percentage
#4 in field goal percentage
#5 in points per minute
#5 in offensive rebounds

So, for a basically depressing game, the glimmers were rather blinding.

Go Celtics!

Sam