Mavericks keep Celtics reeling

Dallas, TX – Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points and grabbed 16 73.

Jason Terry chipped in 16 points and six assists for the Mavs, who took advantage of no Kevin Garnett (personal) and no Rajon Rondo (suspension).

Dallas rebounded from Sunday's loss to the Knicks by outscoring the Celtics in the paint, 32-18, and cashing in 25 points off 17 Boston turnovers.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 20 points, while Ray Allen contributed in 15 in defeat. Avery Bradley added 12 points in place of Rondo, who was suspended two games by the NBA "for throwing a ball at an official and striking him in the chest" during Sunday's setback against the Pistons.

"They were two men down without Rondo and K.G., so a different ball club," Terry said. "They tried to junk up the game and I thought we did an excellent job of being patient and getting what we wanted on the offensive end."

The Mavs scored half of their points in the paint in the opening quarter and held the Celtics to 6-of-20 shooting en route to a 20-15 advantage.

Nowitzki backed up a seven-point first frame with 14 in the second, helping extend the hosts' cushion to 44-34 at halftime.

Dallas scored 10 of the first 12 points in the third -- capped by a Nowitzki three-pointer -- and went ahead 60-40 on a Jason Kidd trey just past the midway point. The margin grew as high as 24 a little later.

Marion's last-second tip-in gave the Mavs a 70-53 lead heading to the fourth, and Boston went away quietly.

"We're losing, number one, because we're not playing well; number two, because we are injured," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said. "We just couldn't make shots."

Game Notes

Nowitzki recorded the 1,000th block of his career in the first quarter. He joins Clifford Robinson and Rasheed Wallace as the only players in NBA history with 1,000-plus blocks and 1,000-plus three-pointers. Nowitzki also passed Robert Parish for 20th on the all-time scoring list. He now has 23,354 career points...Kidd had three steals and surpassed Michael Jordan for second place on the NBA's all-time list. Kidd's 2,517 steals trails only John Stockton's total of 3,265...Dallas swept the season's home-and-home series for the second straight year...The Celtics play at Oklahoma City on Wednesday prior to taking a break for All-Star weekend, while the Mavericks host the Lakers in their last game of the first half.