Anthony Davis could make his debut for the Mavericks on Thursday when Dallas hits the road to wrap up its two-game season series with the Boston Celtics.
The Mavericks are 0-2 since trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package that included Davis, who is working his way back from an abdominal muscle strain that he sustained on Jan. 28.
“I’ll go through a workout today, see how I feel, and depending on that, get another one in (Wednesday),” Davis said Tuesday. “And then depending on that, see how I feel. If not Thursday, then more than likely Saturday at home (against the Houston Rockets).”
Davis has averaged 25.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.3 steals in 42 games (all starts) this season.
Max Christie, who was also acquired by Dallas in the Doncic trade, played in Tuesday’s 118-116 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers and scored 15 points in 32 minutes of action.
“I was just playing hard, to be honest, and reacting to what was going on,” Christie said. “The (team) concepts are kind of foreign to me, so I’m just playing off reaction. It helped that I was making my threes, too.”
Dallas will attempt to end a three-game losing streak on Thursday. Boston beat Dallas 122-107 on Jan. 25. It was the first game between the teams since they met in the 2024 NBA Finals.
Quentin Grimes came off the bench to score 20 points in the first game against Boston, but he was shipped to Philadelphia for forward Caleb Martin on Tuesday. Martin is averaging 9.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 2024-25.
The Celtics are coming off one of their best defensive efforts of the season on Tuesday, when they extended their winning streak to four games by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-105 on the road.
Boston had 10 steals and six blocked shots in the win. The Celtics held the Cavaliers to a season-low-tying field-goal percentage of 39.6.
“It was a battle at both ends,” Boston big man Kristaps Porzingis said. “Their defense was there and we had to bring ours. It was a physical battle. We had just enough to edge them.”
Boston limited Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland to 15 points in the first quarter.
“I thought we did a good job just taking away some of the margins, some of the easy baskets that they’re able to create because of the type of players that they have and the type of offense that they run,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.
Boston will play road games against the New York Knicks and Miami Heat and a home game against the San Antonio Spurs before the NBA’s All-Star Weekend begins on Feb. 14. Boston’s current winning streak is its longest since it won seven games in a row in November.
“I’m very happy we have four wins in a row now because it’s a tough, tough stretch right before the All-Star break,” Porzingis said. “It’s important for us to finish strong going into the All-Star break, get some rest, then have that really good home stretch of the regular season to peak at the right moment.”
–Field Level Media
