Luka Doncic hit a long three-pointer with just 0.1 seconds left on the clock Tuesday night, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 110-107 win over the Boston Celtics at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Both teams held first half leads by as many as five in a closely contested matchup, with Boston (15-16) taking a slim 56-55 halftime advantage. It was more of the same for most of the second half, and Doncic started to get hot some in the third as Dallas (15-15) would take an 80-76 lead to the fourth quarter. Jalen Brunson would help the Mavericks make a run scoring 13 points in the final quarter. With the Celtics leading 85-84 with 8:30 left, Brunson helped spark a 17-4 spurt by the hosts to make it 101-89 capped by his three-pointer with just 3:47 left. Less than a minute later the guests would begin a 12-0 run to pull into their last lead of the night at 105-104 on a Jaylen Brown jumper with 37.6 seconds remaining. Doncic though hit a tough step back three-pointer over Daniel Theis to regain the Dallas lead 22 seconds later, before Brown would tie it with a shot in the paint with 9.5 seconds to go. Doncic would win it with about a 27 foot bomb leaving no time and no options for the Celtics to try and tie it.
Brown finished with 29 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Jayson Tatum had 28 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Kemba Walker was the only other double digit scorer for Boston with 21 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Doncic had a game high 31 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists to lead Dallas in the win. Brunson finished with 22 points. The Mavericks have now won seven of their last 9 games, while the Celtics dip below .500 for the first time since December 27 (third game of the season) and are now 3-7 in their 10 games. Boston is in Atlanta to face the Hawks Wednesday night.
