Luka Doncic celebrated his 25th birthday in the best possible way leading his Dallas Mavericks to a 136-125 victory over the Toronto Raptors. It was a much needed win for the Mavs who had their hearts broken in the game before that, as they lost on a 59-foot buzzer beater three against Cleveland. Luka finished with 30 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds in the win over Toronto, but now his Mavs are facing the best team in the NBA. It’ll be a homecoming of sorts for Kyrie Irving who had a brief stint with the Celtics. Dallas comes into the game as a 10-point underdog, something we don’t see happen often. This has been a tough match-up for any team in the NBA, in the last 15 meetings Dallas has just 5 wins. However, they have been able to hold their own in games at TD Garden, covering the spread 10 times in their last 14 visits.
Only the Boston Celtics can stop the Boston Celtics this season. That’s a phrase you will hear a lot moving forward as the Celtics are running away with the best record in the Eastern Conference. They have an 8-game advantage over the 2nd seeded Cavs and Bucks, right now this team is on a 9-game win streak and has looked unstoppable after the All-Star break. They just dismantled the Philadelphia 76ers 117-99 at home, their 3rd win by double-digits since the restart. They’ve won 5 straight in their own arena, adding to their NBA best 27-3 SU record there. There are no injury concerns for head coach Joe Mazzulla and if it stays that way come playoff time, the rest of the NBA is in trouble. Boston is looking for a 6th straight win in games against Southwest Division opponents.
