DALLAS — Cooper Flagg runs the Dallas Mavericks. And the Boston Celtics knew that.
From the very start of the game, the Celtics bent their defense to account for Flagg. Derrick White was floating off his man, sinking into the paint, and was constantly ready to apply extra pressure to the 19-year-old rookie from Maine. And for the most part, this plan worked.
Flagg kicked out to the Dallas Mavericks’ catch-and-shoot guys, who often only managed to succeed at the first of those two verbs. Boston closed out hard and lived with the results.
Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard decided to go haywire. Brown took on any mismatch he could find. No matter who Dallas threw at him, it wasn’t enough. The same could be said for Pritchard, but he may have had ulterior motives.
In the wake of the (reported) Anfernee Simons trade, Pritchard was moved to the bench. Maybe Joe Mazzulla wanted to keep a high-level ball-handler in the second unit. Maybe he just wanted to see Baylor Scheierman in the starting five. Maybe it was a matchup decision. Regardless, Pritchard made the most of his minutes.
He stepped onto the court with a chip on his shoulder and a fire under his feet. He hunted the Mavs’ small guards like prey, constantly sniffing out chances to iso, and it worked to perfection.
Boston’s offensive rhythm flowed beautifully into the second half. The third quarter was highlighted by an impressive showing from Luka Garza, who feasted on the offensive glass and drained his shots from long range. He went from solid contributor to game-changer in a matter of minutes.
Garza’s hot streak led a massive third-quarter surge by the Celtics. They outscored Dallas 34-23 in the frame, with Garza scoring nine of those points (three triples).
The fourth quarter wasn’t quite as pretty as the rest of the game. Flagg figured something out, and it looked like the Celtics didn’t send as much help at him. That, combined with a sluggish offense and some uncharacteristic Boston fouls, gave Dallas a little bit of hope. The Mavericks got eerily close to a comeback.
But the lead Boston had built up was too much for the Mavs to overcome.
Big winner: Brown. Garza and Pritchard deserve shoutouts. They were awesome. But this game was dominated by Brown’s meticulousness.
Every step he took. Every dribble move, pump-fake, and pass. It was all calculated. He read the game beautifully as a scorer, but his impact stretched beyond that.
He opened the game by guarding Flagg, and he held his own. And as the night went on, he put his rebounding on full display, too.
It was an all-around elite performance by the All-Star starter.
Ouch, tough one: This was not a great Derrick White game.
His shot wasn’t falling, and at one point in the second half, he even passed up an open middy (likely because he had been missing all game).
White finally made a shot in the third, but it was clear that the misses were getting to him, at least a little bit.
His help defense was still a crucial part of Boston’s defensive game plan, and his plus/minus was amazing, but the shot was so off.
Big picture: The post-trade deadline Celtics will be just fine. That’s what this game should prove.
Losing Simons had the potential to seriously affect Boston’s scoring efficiency. It still could. But Tuesday night proved that they have the talent to make it work.
They’ll always find contributions. Garza’s threes. Pritchard’s iso buckets (perhaps even coming off the bench). Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman’s corner crashing. The Celtics have ways to create offense.
And most importantly, Jaylen Brown is still Jaylen Brown. He’s not going anywhere.
