National Basketball Association
Preview
Dallas at Boston
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, February 6, 2025
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

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

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Day Night Div Conf
Dallas 26-25 L3 14-10 12-15 1-5 25-20 5-4 19-17
Boston 36-15 W4 16-9 20-6 5-2 31-13 6-2 26-9
Last Meeting
Dallas Boston
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
1/25/25 BOS 122 DAL 107 107 49 44.3 122 51 42.7
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Dallas K. Irving 22 47.8 0
Boston J. Tatum 24 36.4 4
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Dallas D. Gafford 15 8 7
Boston L. Kornet 10 4 6
Assists Player  
Dallas K. Irving 5
Boston J. Brown 6
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Dallas K. Irving 1006 48.5 147
Boston J. Tatum 1353 45.0 256
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Dallas P. Washington 361 71 290
Boston J. Tatum 445 32 413
Assists Player  
Dallas K. Irving 196
Boston J. Tatum 294
Quickchart Matchup
Dallas Dallas Off vs  Boston Boston Defense
Dallas Off vs Boston - Points For 115.3 Points For
Dallas Off vs Boston - Points Against 108.4 Points Against
Dallas - FG% 47.6 FG%
Boston - FG% 45.1 FG%
Dallas - Reb 44.9 Reb
Boston - Reb 44.8 Reb
Boston Boston Off vs  Dallas Dallas Defense
Boston Off vs Dallas - Points For 117.2 Points For
Boston Off vs Dallas - Points Against 113.4 Points Against
Boston - FG% 45.8 FG%
Dallas - FG% 45.8 FG%
Boston - Reb 44.8 Reb
Dallas - Reb 44.4 Reb