Kemba Walker scored 29 points and Jaylen Brown added 25 on Monday night as the Boston Celtics won their eighth straight game with a 116-106 win over the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden in Boston.
Boston (8-1) never trailed in the first half running off the first eight points of the game and led by as many as 10 in both the first and second quarter. A 7-2 Dallas run late in the second quarter tied the game at the half on a Dorian Finney-Smith dunk with two seconds left. The Celtics would build the lead to 13 in the third quarter but another Mavericks run cut it down to five as the visitors scored 20 of the final 32 points. Dallas had took a small lead in the fourth quarter several times, the first on a Tim Hardaway Jr. floater in the lane at 88-86 with 7:23 left. Boston took the lead back for good 94-92 when Walker knocked down a three-pointer with 5:22 remaining. The Celtics took their biggest advantage 111-97 when Daniel Theis knocked down a pair at the foul line part of a 21-5 run to put the game away.
Walker added five rebounds and five assists to his point total including 8-14 from the three point arc falling one short of tying the Celtics record for makes in a game with Antoine Walker and Isiaiah Thomas (9). Brown had a double double adding 11 rebounds and three assists. Marcus Smart added 17 points, while both Theis and Brad Wannamaker both got into double figures with 11 and 10 respectively. Luka Doncic had a huge game for Dallas with 34 points, six rebounds, and nine assists. Dallas (6-4) lost for the first time on the road this season, while Boston is in first place in the Eastern Conference without one blemish since an opening night loss to Philadelphia.
Boston will host Washington on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. for their last home game before a five game West coast trip. It was also released on Monday that Gordon Hayward had surgery on his fractured hand that he suffered in Saturdays win over San Antonio. Hayward will be out six weeks.
