25 Jan 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) drives to the basket as Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) defends during the first half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 24 points and Derrick White added 23 to lead the visiting Boston 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 win.
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 dropped six of their last eight games. Quentin Grimes had 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 met in the 2024 NBA Finals. Boston has won five straight against Dallas in 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 held 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 of the half to trail 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 after a Sam Hauser 3-pointer with 1:57 left 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, going 6 of 9 from the floor. It was the most points he scored in a quarter this season.
Dallas was within 11 points on a Grimes layup with 3:44 to play but failed to get any closer.
The teams will meet again on February 6 in Boston.
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