And one league analyst who knows as much about the Celtics as anyone recently tipped his hand that he thinks Boston does have some reason to be concerned about their recent spate of mediocre play -- Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix.

Individually, Irving’s numbers were better against the Celtics on Saturday, but for the Mavericks the result was all too familiar. They will see the Celtics again, in Boston, on Feb. 6, trade deadline day. Perhaps they will have Doncic back, or nearly back, by then.

As well as Kyrie Irving has played, the hobbled Mavericks have been a bottom-seven offense over the past month, minus Luka Dončić.

The Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics met in Dallas on Saturday for their first matchup since last season's NBA Finals. Dallas was missing many key pieces, including starters Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively II, while Boston was wrapping up a four-game road trip.

DALLAS — Jayson Tatum scored 24 points, Derrick White added 23, including Boston’s first 11 of the third quarter, and the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 122-107 on Saturday night in the first meeting between the teams since the NBA Finals.

After the game, Porzingis discussed his return to Dallas and his thoughts on the team's current push to return to the NBA Finals at the first time of asking. He also discussed Kidd's current roster and how Luka Doncic's recent injury has put them in a tough position.

This afternoon, the Dallas Mavericks will host the defending NBA Champions, the Boston Celtics, in a game that tips at 4:30 CST at the American Airlines Center.

The NBA champion Boston Celtics dominated the Dallas Mavericks in a Finals rematch on Saturday as the Houston Rockets took the Cleveland Cavaliers down a peg and Victor Wembanyama ended

The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Boston Celtics in an NBA Finals rematch on Saturday evening, 122-107. While it was a disappointing result for the Mavs, there was one shining moment for them.

On Saturday night, the Dallas Mavericks hosted the Boston Celtics in Texas for a rematch of the 2024 NBA Finals. However, they were blown out by a score of 122

The Colorado native has not been himself for a significant chunk of the recent 2024-25 regular season, leading fans and analysts both looking for answers to explain White's scoring and shooting slump.