Who’s playing
Dallas Mavericks @ Boston Celtics
Current records: Dallas 34-25, Boston 46-12
How to watch
- When: Friday March 1, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. ET
- Or: TD Garden – Boston, Massachusetts
- TV: ESPN
- Follow: CBS Sports app
- Online broadcast: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket cost: $154.00
What there is to know
The Mavericks have quite a challenge ahead of them as they are expected to be run off the field. Their road trip will continue as they take on the Boston Celtics at 7:30 p.m. ET on March 1 at TD Garden. Both teams enter the match strengthened by their victories in their previous matches.
Last Wednesday, Dallas earned a 136-125 victory over the Raptors.
The Mavericks’ success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Luka Doncic led the charge by posting a triple-double with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists. Doncic is on a roll when it comes to points, as he has now scored 26 or more in the last nine games he has played. Kyrie Irving was another key contributor, scoring 29 points and two steals.
Meanwhile, the Celtics entered Tuesday’s game with eight straight wins (a stretch in which they’ve outscored their opponents by an average of 18.1 points) and came away with even more momentum. They got past Philadelphia with points to spare, winning the game 117-99. Winning is a little easier when your shooting is 13.3% better than the opposition, like the Celtics was.
The Celtics’ victory was a true team effort, with many players putting in strong performances. Perhaps the best of them was Jayson Tatum, who had a double-double with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Another player who made the difference was Jaylen Brown, who scored 31 points and six rebounds.
Dallas has been on a roll lately: they’ve won eight of their last ten games, which was a nice improvement from their 34-25 record this season. As for Boston, they improved their record to 46-12 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home.
Friday’s game is shaping up to be a shooting masterclass: the Mavericks simply can’t miss this season, having made 48.1 percent of their shots per game. However, it’s not like the Celtics are struggling in this department as they have made 48.6% of their shots this season. Given these competing forces, it will be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
The Mavericks fell short against the Celtics in the teams’ last game in January, losing 119-110. Can the Mavericks avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We’ll know soon enough.
Odds
Boston is a big 10-point favorite against Dallas, according to the latest NBA Odds.
The line drifted a bit toward the Celtics, as the game opened with the Celtics as 7.5-point favorites.
The over/under is 235.5 points.
See NBA Pick for every game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get Picks Now.
History of the series
Boston has won 6 of its last 10 games against Dallas.
- January 22, 2024 – Boston 119 vs. Dallas 110
- January 5, 2023 – Boston 124 vs. Dallas 95
- November 23, 2022 – Boston 125 vs. Dallas 112
- March 13, 2022 – Dallas 95 vs. Boston 92
- November 6, 2021 – Dallas 107 vs. Boston 104
- March 31, 2021 – Dallas 113 vs. Boston 108
- February 23, 2021 – Dallas 110 vs. Boston 107
- December 18, 2019 – Boston 109 vs. Dallas 103
- November 11, 2019 – Boston 116 vs. Dallas 106
- January 4, 2019 – Boston 114 against Dallas 93
