The Celtics lost 89-73 to the Mavericks on Monday. This loss is yet another step backwards for the team that was making positive steps in the right direction just a few weeks ago. Since, they have lost some players and some games and are back below .500 on the year. Their current record stands at 15-16 while their away record sinks to 4-8 on the season. The Celtics were simply horrible from the field and scored less than 20 points in three quarters of the game.

The Celtics did have some success in the contest. The one Boston player who seems determined to get the team back on top, Paul Pierce, led the team with 20. Pietrus also added 12 rebounds and led in assist with 4. The team was outscored 34 to44 in the first half and 39 to 45 in the second half. They scored just 15 to start the game and had little success after that point.

The Mavs were led by Nowitski who led all scorers with 26. He also added 16 rebounds to lead the team while Kidd led the team in assist with 8. The Mavericks are now 21-12 on the year and 13-5 at home. Dallas scored 20 points or more in every quarter but the fourth. The most they scored in a single quarter was 26 in the third. The Mavericks are now 2.5 games back of the Spurs for the lead in the division. This has been a great surprise as the team started off very slow while building chemistry with new players.