Just how bad was it for Dallas? The Celtics scored 74 points in the first half on 65% shooting, and broke 100 points with about a minute left in the third quarter. The Celtics shared the ball throughout the game and consistently made the extra pass, which led to a multitude of open looks that the Celtics' perimeter players (mostly Ray Allen and Eddie House) were more than happy to knock down. Ray Allen finished with an efficient 23/5/7 on 9 of 13 shooting (4 of 5 from behind the arc) and Eddie House, who may have to assume the nickname of "the microwave" came off the bench and finished with 23 points of his own. As a team, the Celtics made 16 three-pointers and actually finished shooting a better percentage (59%)from downtown than they did from inside the arc (54%).
While the Celtics' shooting was impressive, the way that the Celtics created shots for each other without turning the ball over was a huge breath of fresh air for Boston. The Celtics had 34 assists as a team (Rajon Rondo contributed 14 with only two turnovers in a near triple double performance of 13/7/14 with 4 steals as well) with only six turnovers, and it seemed that everyone was keyed into the game and determined not to waste a single opportunity. The ball consistently found the open man, and the Celtic players had their way with the Dallas defense, making unimpeded cuts to the basket for lay-ups and finding open space coming off of screens all day long.
On the other side of the ball, the Celtic defense bothered Dallas from start to finish and forced them into bad shots and turnovers all game long. Kevin Garnett deserves a special nod here for his inspired performance against Dirk Nowitzki, who was forced into a dismal 4 of 17 shooting performance and finished with only 18 points (he went 10-12 from the charity stripe). Garnett is perhaps the only player in the NBA who can match Dirk's length and quickness, and KG used his physicality to bother the lanky German on both sides of the ball (Garnett finished with 23 points on 11-17 shooting in only 25 minutes). Despite solid contributions from Jason Terry (27 points on 10-18 shooting) and Josh Howard (18 points), the Celtic defense stifled the Mavericks as a team and humbled them with their teamwork, effort and intensity on the defensive end.
By the way, that's eight wins in a row for the Celtics, who are now back atop the standings in the Eastern Conference at 37-9, sitting a game ahead of Cleveland and 2.5 games ahead of Orlando, who lost for the second time in a row today against the Heat. So allow me to reiterate, there is no need to panic just yet, and despite the hysteria of a significant slice of the media, there is no need at this point for the Celtics to make any kind of desperation trade that might turn the Celtics into, well, the Dallas Mavericks (although adding a minor piece would be all right with me).
And although today's win was an impressive one for the Celtics, I think that it ultimately says more about how far Dallas has fallen than how dominant the Celtics are. Watching the game today, it was hard to believe that this same Dallas team was in the Finals less than three years ago riding an NBA best 67 wins in 2006. Back then they were a good defensive team that played with toughness and desire under Avery Johnson, and Dirk Nowitzki was the best player in the game and couldn't be stopped by anyone (except perhaps David Stern and the NBA refs who handed that series to Miami on a silver platter). Now they're a bad defensive team that is inconsistent on offense and doesn't really seem capable of beating the better teams of the Association, and Nowitzki is easily bothered by most defenses and can't seem to recapture the form that made him the league MVP just a few seasons ago. While they were never my team, per se, I did root for Dallas and could really appreciate their brand of basketball and the energy they played with, so it's actually quite sad for me to see them in such an epic and colossal free fall. So it goes.
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