The Celtics bounced back from their Lakers defeat with a commanding 122-107 win over the Mavericks on Saturday night, showing why they’re still the team to beat when it comes to three-point shooting.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing. Boston struggled early but found their rhythm from beyond the arc, putting on a shooting clinic that left Dallas searching for answers.
The Celtics launched an incredible 52 three-point attempts, converting 38.2% of them. They’re currently leading the NBA in three-point attempts this season.
For Dallas, it was another tough night against the team that knocked them out of last year’s NBA Finals in five games. But even in defeat, former Celtic Kyrie Irving had nothing but praise for his old team’s calculated approach.
“I like math because it has no emotions,” Irving said after the 15-point loss. “Outside of JT and JB, when those other guys get it going like D-White and Jrue Holiday, that’s what makes them special and makes them great.”
The defending champs haven’t quite matched last year’s incredible pace. They’re sitting at 32-14, good for second in the Eastern Conference – a solid but not spectacular start compared to last season’s 68-win campaign.
Kristaps Porzingis got brutally honest about the team’s intensity this year.
“We were a lion last season, and some games this year we’ve looked like a house cat,” the Celtics center admitted after Saturday’s win.
“We know the group that we have and we know that we’re going to bring it to the big games,” Porzingis added. “But we need to bring it consistently and keep building on top of good wins like tonight.”
Irving pointed out that Boston’s current record isn’t far off from where they were at this point last season. “Everyone kind of criticizes them based on what their season is this year, but if you look at their first 42 games, it’s pretty similar compared to last year,” he noted. “This is a well coached basketball team.”
The question now is whether these Celtics can find that championship intensity again. Last year’s playoff run saw them lose just three games en route to the title – the kind of dominance that’s tough to replicate.
