Celtics get back to team ball in bounce-back win over Mavs

BOSTON -- What's the best way to bounce back from a lopsided road loss to a sub-.500 team without its star player? Going out and notching a lopsided road win against one of the hottest stars and the hottest team in the league.

That's exactly what the Celtics did Thursday night, shaking off Tuesday's loss in Oklahoma City and beating Luka Doncic and the Mavericks, 124-95, in Dallas. It was Boston's biggest road win of the season, and the Celtics did it by getting back to some team basketball.

The Celtics snapped Dallas' seven-game win streak with some supreme passing and a renewed sense on the defense end. They had the ball on the string on one end of the floor, and contested shots and cut off passing lanes on the other. It's the brand of basketball that got them to the Finals last season, and had them off to a scorching start to this season. 

While Jayson Tatum led the way with a 29-point, 14-rebound, 10-assist triple-double, it was a balanced Boston attack that saw everyone get involved on the offensive end. Boston recorded 29 assists on 41 made baskets, including 13 helpers on 16 made threes. Tatum's 10 dimes led the way, but six Celtics recorded at least three assists. 

The extra pass was alive and well on Thursday night, making life a lot easier on Boston scorers.

Six player scored in double digits for the Celtics, and Al Horford wasn't far off with eight points to go with his eight rebounds. Jaylen Brown had 19, mostly due to early foul trouble, while Malcolm Brogdon (15 points) and Grant Williams (12 points) did solid work off the bench. 

The bench stepped up in a big way early, leading the charge after Brown and Derrick White both picked up a pair of early fouls. Boston's reserves sparked a 22-11 first-quarter run, accounting for 18 of the team's points in that span. It helped the Celtics build a nine-point lead by the end of the quarter, and they led by 19 at the half.

While the offense cooled (or maybe just evened out) a bit in the second half, the Boston defense remained on point. After allowing 40-point and 48-point quarters to the Thunder two nights prior, the Celtics held Dallas to just 46 points in the first half.

Doncic entered the game on an absolute heater, with a trio of 50-points games his last six times out, including an incredible 60-point triple-double. He was held to a 23-point evening, as the Celtics defense sent one of the best scorers in the NBA to the level of a mere mortal.

On Thursday morning, Brown told Joe Mazzulla that he wanted to guard Doncic that evening. His early foul trouble made that tough in the first half, but Brown was excellent on Doncic in the second. The MVP candidate went just 7-for-23 from the floor, including 0-for-6 from three. Boston played some stellar perimeter defense overall, holding the Mavs to just 7-for-32 shooting from downtown.

Doncic can hit shots from just about anywhere, but what makes him so dangerous is his excellent passing to set up his teammates. He scores a ton, but those helpers have him creating almost 60 points per game this season. That was cut off on Thursday, with the C's holding Doncic to just three assists. 

The Celtics were embarrassed on Tuesday night to start this four-game road trip 0-2. It was a humbling game against a lesser opponent, a good reminder that the Celtics can't just show up and expect to win. 

They took that to heart, and responded with their best road win of the season on Thursday night.