The Celtics beat the Mavericks and Cooper Flagg 110-100 in their first matchup of the season Tuesday in Dallas. It was a mostly-comfortable night for the C’s as they held off the Mavs to improve to 32-18 on the season.
Jaylen Brown set the tone with his stellar first quarter play, making him Tuesday’s “Name to Know” Player of the Game. The Name to Know Player of the Game is sponsored by John’s Sewer and Drain Cleaning, the Name to Know when your drains don’t flow.
Brown finished with 33 points, 11 rebounds and three assists, shooting 15-for-29 from the field. He scored 15 points in the first quarter alone, helping the C’s in a back-and-forth start to the night. Brown showed off his shot-making all game, though he didn’t get to the free throw line much despite all that.
The Celtics led for most of Tuesday’s game following the first quarter. The Mavs showed some signs of life, but they couldn’t put together the comeback effort.
Flagg was tremendous as the youngest player in the NBA finished with 36 points, nine rebounds and six assists on the night. It was the first time he played against his childhood team after growing up in Maine.
The Celtics tweaked their lineup with Payton Pritchard coming off the bench for the first time this season. Anfernee Simons was traded earlier Tuesday for Nikola Vucevic, meaning the C’s are thin at the guard spot.