Celtics vs Mavericks Final Score: Dallas Outlasts Boston 118-113

79. 113. 18. Final. 118

The Boston Celtics were in Texas to take on the restructured Dallas Mavericks after another offseason spent bringing in new free aents and players to fill out a roster. It was the new Mavericks players that made the impact at the beginning of the game.

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The Mavericks big signing this offseason was small forward Chandlers Parsons, who made his presence felt early. Parsons had 10 points midway through the first quarter as the Mavericks took a commanding 11 point lead. Parsons also threw an alley-oop pass to Tyson Chandler, who the Mavericks brought in via a trade this summer.

Tyson Chandler is no stranger to Dallas, having been a part of the 2011 NBA championship winning team, and he to played an integral role in the Mavericks hot start. He had a pair of dunks, and a huge swat at the end of the court where the Mavericks bench is located, bringing them to their feet along with the crowd.

Eventually Chandler Parsons got a break and the Mavericks extended the lead to 40-19 by the end of the first quarter, shooting a a blistering 72.7% (16 of 22) from the field.

The Mavericks onslaught continued into the second half, even though they rotated in some bench players. The Mavericks took a 67-41 lead into the break. Big halftime leads aren’t exactly new to the Mavericks, they had a 69-44 lead at the half against the Utah Jazz last Thursday, and went on to win that game 120-102.

The issue for the Dallas Mavericks have been those third quarters. In Saturday night’s road win over the New Orleans Pelicans, the Mavericks were outscored 37-20, with the Pelicans overcoming a 14-point deficit at halftime to take the lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks third quarter woes showed up against the Celtics again. Boston outscored Dallas 38-24, narrowing the gap to just 12 points. The Mavericks have been outscored 135-88 in third quarters so far this season. After scoring 40 points in the first quarter, the Mavericks put up just 51 in the second and third quarters combined.

With just over four minutes left in the game, a 31-point lead for the Mavericks had dwindled to four points.

Parsons cooled off midway through the game, but he turned it on late in the fourth quarter, scoring five points thanks to a big three-pointer and a wide open lay-up to help the Mavericks extend the lead back to 10 points with about two-and-a-half minutes left in the game.

The Celtics countered by calling a time out, then went on a 7-point run to narrow the lead to three points with just three minutes left in the game. The Mavericks called their own time out, and couldn’t score when play resumed.

Celtics guard Avery Bradley was fouled throwing up a three-pointer and went to the line, but was only able to convert two free throws. Monta Ellis, who had just fouled Bradley, made his amends by going down and getting a huge bucket.

Parsons biggest play of the game might not have even been a bucket, but fighting for the ball on the defensive end of the court. he stood his ground amidst three Celtics players trying to hold onto the ball, eventually went to the ground and the referees called a jump ball.

Parsons won the jump ball cleanly, giving the Mavericks a fast break and Monta Ellis was dragged down from behind by Celtics guard Rajon Rondo.

Ellis got the call and made the two free throws for a cushy five-point lead with less the 10 seconds left in the game.

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