Mavs Lose Finals Rematch Against Boston, and Another Player to Injury

By Dorothy J. Gentry
Sports Editor
Photos: Charles “City” Gbadebo

Saturday was the first meeting between the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics since Boston beat them in five games in last season’s NBA Finals.

Despite getting off to a good start, the Celtics – and their 20 3-pointers – proved too much to handle for the Mavs at home at the American Airlines Center. The Mavs lost both the game -122-107 – and another player to injury in a season that has been beset by the injury bug.

Maxi Kleber went down in the third quarter with what was later revealed to be a right foot fracture. He is out for at least the next month of two. The Mavs were also have also been without star Luka Dončić (left calf strain) who has missed the last month; Dereck Lively II (right ankle stress fracture), Naji Marshall (illness), Dwight Powell (right hip strain) and Dante Exum (right wrist surgery).

 “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said head coach Jason Kidd of the injuries that are hobbling the team this season.

The “next man up mentality” at this point is an understatement but remains true for the 9^th place, 24-22 team.

“I’m the next man up,” said center Daniel Gafford, who finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. “We just got to keep a cool head about it.“It’s nothing to really get flustered about. It’s going to take time, of course. But if we have patience and we lock into the things we have to do, I feel like we’ll be OK.”

“It’s tough, but we got to keep going,” Gafford said. “It’s rough to see (Kleber) go down like that.

“It’s going to be tough when it comes to the injuries, but that next man mentality is the main thing we have to focus on. It’s going to be a challenge, but we’re all for challenges at this point.” Dončić is scheduled to be re-evaluated on Monday. The Mavs play the Washington Wizards at home Monday night before hitting the road for 5 games. Their next game at AAC will be Saturday, February 8^th at 2 p.m.