Dallas Mavericks (22-16) vs Boston Celtics (26-12)
Game Info: Thursday, January 5, 2023 at 7:30 pm (American Airlines Center)
Betting Odds: Dallas Mavericks +3 -- Over/Under: 225 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Boston Celtics pay a visit to the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center on Thursday night.
The Boston Celtics have been in a rut as they’ve lost five of their last nine games and they will be hoping to snap a two-game skid after getting blown out by the Thunder in a 150-117 road loss on Tuesday. Jaylen Brown led the team with 29 points on 11 of 18 shooting, Jayson Tatum added 27 points on nine of 17 shooting while Malcolm Brogdon and Payton Pritchard each scored 17 points. As a team, the Celtics shot 45 percent from the field and 12 of 40 from the 3-point line as they failed to match the intensity of the Thunder early on and committed a total of 17 turnovers, most of which came in the second quarter where they leaked 40 points and in the third quarter where they allowed a ridiculous 48 points. Marcus Smart finished with just seven points before getting ejected from the game.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks are in a groove right now as they have now won seven in a row after sneaking past the Rockets in a 111-106 road win on Monday. Luka Doncic led the team with 39 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, Christian Wood and Tim Hardaway Jr each scored 21 points while Spencer Dinwiddie chipped in with 11 points. As a team, the Mavericks shot just 42 percent from the field and 13 of 43 from the 3-point line as they got off to a sluggish start and scored just 18 points in the first quarter to have them trailing going into halftime, but they flipped a switch and dominated the second half by 67-51 to escape with the narrow win despite getting just 11 points from their bench players.
Looking at the betting trends, the Celtics are 0-4-1 ATS in their last five road games, 1-4-1 ATS in their last six games following a loss and 3-8-1 ATS in their last 12 games overall. The Mavericks are 0-6-1 ATS in their last seven games playing on two days rest, 6-13-1 ATS in their last 20 games against a team with a winning record and 10-22-2 ATS in their last 34 games overall.
Head to head, the under is 4-1-1 in the last six meetings overall and the Celtics are 12-5 ATS in the last 17 meetings in Dallas.
The Dallas Mavericks will again be a little shorthanded as Dorian Finney-Smith and Maxi Kleber are still out, but they are coming into this meeting as the team in better form with the Celtics stuck in a rut at the moment. The Mavericks are playing some of their best basketball of the season thanks largely to Doncic who has been putting up ridiculous numbers lately, while the Celtics have been well below their best lately and they just had 150 points put on them by the Thunder. The Celtics really need a win to get their season back on track and I’m not surprised to see them favorites here, but this is a great opportunity for the red-hot Mavericks to make a statement here and I think they get it done in front of their home fans.
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Peter’s Pick Dallas +3
AUTHOR: Peter Tran
Mitch's Take...
