The Dallas Mavericks had a hard time adjusting to life without forward Caron Butler after he suffered a season-ending knee injury on New Year’s Day. But the Mavs (33-15 SU, 24-22-2 ATS) seem tight now, having won six in a row, and on Friday they look for seven in a row when they visit the Eastern conference-leading Boston Celtics (8 p.m. ET). ). , ESPN). Dallas went through a particularly rough patch right after Butler’s injury when Dirk Nowitzki was also sidelined with injury, losing seven of the nine games he missed. But since his return, the Mavericks have reestablished themselves as one of the best in the West. On Wednesday, the Mavs arrived at Madison Square Garden and got away with the New York Knicks, no easy feat this season. Dallas won handily, 113-97, and cashed as a 2-point underdog on the road. The score exceeded the total of 208.5. Dallas shot 50.0 percent and outrebounded the Knicks 54-34.
In the process, Nowitzki became the 24th player to reach 22,000 points in NBA history. And Nowitzki is a beast when he faces the Celtics, averaging 27.3 points per game, his highest point average against any opponent. This will be the first game back for Boston (37-11 SU, 23-23-2 ATS) after a four-game road trip west in which the team finished 3-1 SU. The Celtics closed out the trip Tuesday with a 95-90 win over the Sacramento Kings, but couldn’t cover as a 6.5-point favorite. The score was under the total of 191. The trip included a 108-96 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the teams’ first meeting since last season’s seven-game NBA Finals series. Dallas and Boston are 5-5 SU in the last 10 head-to-heads, but the Celtics hold a huge lead against the 8-2 ATS gap. They met once earlier this season, an 89-97 Dallas victory as a 3.5-point home favorite on November 8.