Mavericks Will Face Serious Obstacle Against Celtics Due to Luka Doncic’s Uncertain Situation.
When the Mavs take on Jayson Tatum and the Celtics, who own the best home record in the NBA, Luka Doncic might not be available.
Boston — Next Friday night on national television, the Dallas Mavericks will try to snap the remarkable nine-game winning streak of the Boston Celtics. The Mavs will conclude a four-game Eastern Conference road trip that started with victories over the Toronto Raptors and ended with defeats against the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
On January 22, the Celtics defeated the Lakers 119-110 on the road, despite Luka Doncic’s tremendous 33 points, 18 rebounds, and 13 assists. With 39 and 34 points, respectively, Tatum and Brown played a significant role in Boston’s victory. After the game, Irving announced he had suffered a thumb injury in his postgame press conference, which forced him to miss six games.
In a 136-125 victory over the Raptors on Wednesday, Doncic celebrated his 25th birthday with a fantastic performance that included 30 points, 16 assists, and 11 rebounds. This was his 11th triple-double of the 2023–24 campaign. Doncic, who leads the NBA in scoring right now, averages 34.4 points, 9.7 assists, and 8.8 rebounds per game on the season.
Regarding Doncic’s performance against the Raptors, Mavs coach Jason Kidd stated, “Just a normal game—triple-double.” “He was really good.”
Doncic has been a vital member of the Mavs, scoring at least 25 points in nine straight games, including two games in which he scored more than 40 points. He just finished 11 games in February with an average of 33.4 points, 10.3 assists, and 9.6 rebounds.
Given that Doncic has a sprained left ankle and is labeled as questionable, it is unclear if he will play. If he is able to play, one of his main goals for the Mavs’ performance is to maintain the caliber of defensive play he showed in the second half to shut out the Raptors. After trailing 67-66 at the half, he hopes to establish the necessary distance in the third quarter by outshooting the opposition 40 to 25. Doncic will be required to lead Dallas against a team that has an NBA-best 27-3 home record and a scoring difference of +10.5 points per game at TD Garden. This is assuming other players don’t make unexpected contributions.
Our squad is excellent,” Doncic remarked. Our defense was excellent, so we must continue playing that way.
In their most recent game, Kyrie Irving and P.J. Washington both contributed significantly: Irving scored 29 points and Washington added 23. Washington scored the most points in a game in his Mavs career with his performance. If Doncic is unable to play, Irving would take over as the team’s best option.
I was just trying to keep shooting open shots because the shots were coming in,” Washington remarked. “For me, it’s just finding a rhythm and getting comfortable in each and every game.”
For the Mavs in February, Irving averaged 27.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assists, demonstrating his sustained importance. The Mavs are 8-2 since his injury return on February 5. After the February break, he averaged 15.8 points per game, second only to Anthony Edwards (17.2) and Jalen Brunson (16.2). He was really good in the second half. With 15 of his 29 points coming in the fourth quarter, he helped shut out the Raptors and kept the game out of reach.
