DALLAS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 24 points and Derrick White added 23 to lead the visiting Celtics to a 122-107 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
Tatum and White each made four 3-pointers, while the Celtics were 20 of 52 (38.5 percent) from 3-point range as a team in the victory.
All five Boston starters scored at least 17 points. Jaylen Brown tossed in 22, Kristaps Porzingis finished with 18 and Jrue Holiday had 17. Holiday was 5 of 10 from 3-point range.
Kyrie Irving scored 22 points for the Mavericks, who have lost six of their last eight games. Quentin Grimes scored 20 points off the bench for Dallas, and Daniel Gafford had 19 points and 15 rebounds.
It was the first meeting between the teams since they faced each other in the 2024 NBA Finals. Boston has won five straight against Dallas during the regular season and won four of five games in the Finals last season.
Dallas led 16-6 just four minutes into the game and had a 29-25 advantage after one quarter. The Celtics built a 15-point lead in the second quarter, but the Mavericks scored the final five points in the half to trail 59-49. Boston had no turnovers in the first half.
The Mavericks scored the first six points of the second half to make it 59-55, but the Celtics owned the rest of the quarter. Boston led 93-68 following a Sam Hauser 3-pointer with 1:57 remaining in the third.
The Celtics made eight 3-pointers in the third and had a 96-76 lead heading into the fourth.
White scored 16 points in the third, when he was 6 of 9 from the floor. It was the most points he scored in a quarter this season.
Dallas was within 11 points after a Grimes layup with 3:44 to play but failed to get any closer.
The teams will meet again Feb. 6 in Boston.
–Field Level Media