The shorthanded Dallas Mavericks (27-25), missing three starters from a roster shaken to its core, somehow went into TD Garden on Thursday and showed the Boston Celtics (36-16) how it’s done. The new-look Mavs marched onto that famous parquet court and marched out with a remarkable, cathartic 127-120 win just five days after general manager Nico Harrison imploded the franchise’s future by dealing Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Dallas survived a scoreless stretch of 4:35 in the fourth as Boston tried to pull off what would have been a devastating comeback, but the Mavericks had just enough left in the tank to survive. Let’s see how the Mavericks graded out individually in one of the most improbable wins of the season.

Kyrie Irving: C+

19 Points / 3 Rebounds / 4 Assists / 4 Steals (40 Minutes)

Irving was active defensively in the passing lanes and getting to loose balls, gobbling up three steals in the game’s first 10 minutes. His third led to Spencer Dinwiddie’s first made 3-pointer to put Dallas in front 27-21, but it looked like Irving tweaked his back in the process of bending over to get the ball.

Irving returned to the game in the second quarter but appeared to defer to teammates more than he would have under normal circumstances. He shot just 2-of-9 for four points in the first half, and the Mavs, as currently constructed, can’t win if that’s Irving’s level of production.

Irving broke through early in the third with a good-looking spot-up 3-ball from the left wing to put Dallas up 75-58, but he got bottled up by Derrick White at the top of the key for his first turnover of the game later in the frame. In the midst of a tough night, he sized up Sam Hauser, shook him out of his shoes at the top of the key and nailed a dagger 3-ball to give the Mavs a 114-90 lead with 9:35 left to play. After a Boston timeout, Max Christie found him open along the right wing for another massive 3-point blow to the Celtics’ comeback hopes.

Dante Exum: A-

15 Points / 5 Assists (20 Minutes)

Exum picked his moments and gave the Mavs what they needed in some decent-sized spots. He nailed three of his first four 3-point attempts and dished five assists through three quarters of play. Exum’s biggest play of the game may have come with just over a minute left in the third when he forced Jayson Tatum into an offensive foul with some spectacular 1-on-1 defense. The next time down, he drained his fourth 3-ball of the game from the right corner to give Dallas a 99-80 lead.

Klay Thompson: A

25 Points / 3 Rebounds / 4 Assists (29 Minutes)

Thompson went 2-for-3 from 3-point range in the game’s first 4:03 as the Mavericks went up 12-4 early. He opened the second quarter with a nice side-stepping fadeaway perimeter jumper to give the Mavs their first double-digit lead, up 34-23, then hit his third 3-ball, in secondary transition, a minute later to put him at 16 points and put Dallas up 38-23.

After scoring 23 in the first half, Thompson took a mundane defensive rebound into the open floor and turned it into a nice transition find for Daniel Gafford. Gaff finished with an emphatic slam to give Dallas a 77-58 lead with 9:30 left in the third. He only scored two points in the second half, though.

Kessler Edwards: C+

3 Points / 3 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 1 Block (15 Minutes)

Edwards completed a strong drive in transition, absorbing the contact from Jaylen Brown en route to a 3-point play that gave Dallas a 52-34 lead midway through the second quarter. He had trouble keeping up with both Derrick White and Jayson Tatum at times on defense, though, and who can blame him on that front, to be honest? He just found himself in some spots that were a little bigger than he was ready for.

It’s telling that he started the game but played only 15 minutes. White’s 3-point play over Edwards with four minutes left in the first half pulled Boston to within 14, down 58-44.

Daniel Gafford: B

8 Points / 15 Rebounds / 5 Assists / 2 Blocks (34 Minutes)

Daniel Gafford set a new single-season franchise record for most consecutive games with a block (23) after notching 2 blocks in tonight’s win against the Celtics.

His 23 straight games with a block surpassed Lorenzo Wright, who had 22 consecutive games. pic.twitter.com/U24V57u5sz

— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) February 7, 2025

Gafford had trouble containing Kristaps Porzingis early in the game, but he was as physical as ever inside. His put-back over Porzingis made it 54-37 Dallas midway through the second, but he missed the free throw to complete the 3-point play. He piled up 10 rebounds and halftime to hold down the middle. Gafford had a knack for keeping the offensive rebound alive on Thursday even when he didn’t come down with the ball.

He picked up his fourth foul with five minutes left in the third on a play where Porzingis slipped by two Mavs defenders and barreled down the lane toward Gafford with a head of steam. His impact on the second half was limited.

Spencer Dinwiddie: A-

22 Points / 2 Rebounds / 2 Assists / 1 Steal (31 Minutes)

Dinwiddie scored eight points in the first but threw the ball away with zero defenders between himself and Naji Marshall on possession after making his first 3-pointer of the game, giving fans the full Dinwiddie experience in the span of about a minute. He scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first half to pick up some of the bucket-getting slack when Irving struggled. He didn’t stir the drink quite as much in the second half, but you will take 7-of-10 shooting from Dinwiddie every time out.

Naji Marshall: A

20 Points / 2 Rebounds / 3 Assists / 1 Steal (29 Minutes)

Marshall slipped a quiet knife in between the ribs of the Celtics defense every opportunity he got. He slunk through the lane and finished in traffic brilliantly at times. His first 3-pointer of the game came with just over four minutes left in the third, and it was a big one from the top of the key, putting Dallas up 90-72 in a moment where the game could have swung in the other direction. His mid-range floater with 50 seconds left to play put him at 20 points for the night and put the game out of reach for Boston.

Max Christie: A

15 Points / 6 Rebounds / 4 Assists / 1 Block (30 Minutes)

Cormac Karl Christie made his presence known on the defensive end early on, forcing Jaylen Brown into a tough shot in his limited first-quarter action before knocking in a floating banker for his first field goal in the second. He was caught out of position and let White get by him for the driving bucket that pulled the Celtics to within 67-56 right before halftime, though.

Christie forced Porzingis into an over-the-back foul call for his fourth with 3:45 left in the third — a play that meant more in the moment than the scorebook can quantify. Then he drove on Payton Pritchard in a late-clock situation for a key bucket with two minutes left in the frame. Christie made a perfect baseline cut on an inbound play for an easy dunk on Dallas’ final possession of the third to put the Mavericks up 104-83.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper: C+

0 Points / 1 Rebound / 2 Assists / 3 Steals (14 Minutes)

Prosper was passable on defense in his minutes at small-ball center and didn’t cause any disasters along the way. He put Marshall, who had to heave a bad 3-point attempt late in the shot clock, in a tough position as he lost the plot on a drive with the Celtics putting together a big-time comeback late in the fourth. He needs to be better in big moments, but he had his moments as well.

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