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BOSTON -- We’ve come to expect the best from Kemba Walker in the second half of games.
But on Monday, Kemba Walker had the flame thrower warmed up all game, resulting in a strong all-around scoring night that once again fueled a Celtics victory.
This time it was the Dallas Mavericks going down as the Celtics (8-1) maintained their position atop the NBA standings with a 116-106 victory.
Boston began the game with a strong showing, only for Dallas to make it a game and take the lead briefly.
Everything changed in the third quarter.
Boston broke open a 54-all tie in the third with a 15-3 run primarily behind the scoring of Jaylen Brown who finished with a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds.
But down the stretch with the game up for grabs, it was Walker taking over the action with his shot-making or setting up teammates for easy baskets or potential free throws.
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He would lead all Celtics with 29 points to go with five rebounds and five assists.
We saw Walker showcase more than just the ability to score with 4:53 to play when he connected with Daniel Theis who took a hard foul resulting in a Flagrant-1 foul against Dallas’ Luka Doncic.
Theis made the second of the two free throws. And with Boston retaining possession on the flagrant foul call, Walker drained a 3-pointer leaving a wannabe defender on the play, Maxi Kleber, wobbly.
Kemba wasn’t done.
Moments later, he drilled another 3-pointer - his eighth of the night - leading to a Dallas time-out with 4:11 to play and Boston on top 101-94.
From there, the Mavericks could never cut enough into Boston’s lead to make things mildly interesting.
In addition to Kemba Walker delivering yet another strong performance for Boston, here are three other takeaways from the Celtics’ 116-106 win over the Mavericks.
JAYLEN BROWN
While it may not be on the wish list of Jaylen Brown for this season, if he continues playing as well as he has of late we’ll start talking about him as one of the league’s most improved players this season. With Gordon Hayward (left hand fracture) out roughly six weeks after surgery earlier in the night and Jayson Tatum (5 points, 1-for-17 from the field) having his worst shooting game of the season, it was Brown that put the team on his back offensively for long stretches on Monday. He would finish the night with 25 points on 9-for-15 shooting to go with 11 rebounds and three assists.
LUKA DONCIC
The Boston Celtics had the better team most of Monday’s game against Dallas. But the best player? That was Luka Doncic. His scoring off the dribble and from 3-point range made him a tough cover for most of Boston’s defenders. Combine that with his ball-handling and court vision on a 6-foot-7, 230-pound frame and it’s not all that surprising to see him put up big numbers in several categories against a defense that has been playing as well as the Celtics this season. He would finish with a near triple-double of 34 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds.
MARCUS SMART’S DEFENSE
We have seen first-hand Marcus Smart’s ascension to being one of the better defenders in the NBA. Most of his success has been because of his ability to defend both guard positions at an elite level. But this season, with the Celtics being so limited with their bigs, Smart has been called upon to defend some power forwards and centers like Dallas’ 7-2 Kristaps Porzingis.
Smart’s basketball savvy and good use of his lower body strength never allowed Porzingis to get into any kind of rhythm. And the end result was an atypical night for Porzingis who could not take advantage of the 10-inch height advantage he had over Smart. For the game, Porzingis had just four points on 1-for-11 shooting from the field along with five personal fouls - the last of which was an offensive foul when he caught Smart with an elbow to the jaw. And Smart did his thing on offense as well, finishing with 17 points and six assists.
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