Boston Celtics – Dallas Mavericks · NBA

Win probability changed during the game. · 6 November 2021

BOS104–107DAL

Is it worth watching?

Recommended

It was more exciting than 56% of NBA games since 2017

It measures how much the win probability moved during the game —without looking at who won or at the score— and compares it with the 10,950 NBA games with a curve since 2017. “Highly recommended” is the most intense 20%, “recommended” runs from 50% to 80%, and “skippable” is the rest. Source: ESPN.

↑ DAL winsBOS wins ↓

Home team's win probability across the game (source: ESPN). The band rises when DAL leads and falls when BOS does.

This is how the game was decided.

Luka Dončić decided it, the Dallas Mavericks player with the most points (33, with 9 rebounds and 5 assists; +10 with him on the floor). The criterion: the winner's points in the box score; plus-minus says who was on the floor when the game opened up.

The game-winner in Dallas Mavericks 107-104 Boston Celtics (November 6, 2021) was hit by Luka Dončić: a three-pointer with 0.6 s left in the fourth quarter, putting the Dallas Mavericks up 107-104. They never trailed again.

The biggest run of Dallas Mavericks 107-104 Boston Celtics (November 6, 2021) was a 9-0 run by the Dallas Mavericks in the second quarter (from 4:31 to 3:09), from 42-34 to 51-34. The Boston Celtics' best was a 9-0 run in the third quarter (from 7:56 to 5:57), from 50-61 to 59-61.

▸See where these figures come from

Play: Luka Doncic makes 26-foot three point jumper.

I count as the game-winner the basket that puts the winning team ahead for good. Source: the official NBA play-by-play (since 2002-03) and each team's official box scores.

A run here is consecutive points by one team without the opponent scoring. Source: the official NBA play-by-play (since 2002-03) and each team's official box scores.

Source: the game's official box score and play-by-play.

Luka Dončić decided this game: his points put his team ahead with 0.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and the opponent never led again.

It is one of the 6 games he has decided this way in the NBA since the 2002-03 season.

His profile shows the games Dončić decided

▸See where these figures come from

A game is decided by the last basket that puts a team ahead in the final ten seconds of the fourth quarter or of an overtime, if that team wins.

6 November 2021 · The source is the ESPN play-by-play, play espn:401359960:583; the date is the one on the NBA box score.

Rotations · who was on the floor

Closing lineup · BOS

Schroder · Tatum · Smart · Williams · Richardson

Closing lineup · DAL

Hardaway · Doncic · Porzingis · Brunson · Bullock

Q1Q2Q3Q4

BOS

Dennis Schroder

39′ · 0

Jayson Tatum

38′ · +5

Marcus Smart

36′ · -2

Robert Williams III

33′ · +2

Al Horford

26′ · -4

Aaron Nesmith

21′ · -12

Josh Richardson

31′ · -8

Grant Williams

5′ · +2

Payton Pritchard

11′ · +2

DAL

Tim Hardaway Jr.

35′ · 0

Luka Doncic

35′ · +10

Dorian Finney-Smith

30′ · +5

Kristaps Porzingis

28′ · -4

Dwight Powell

23′ · +1

Jalen Brunson

35′ · +1

Reggie Bullock Jr.

26′ · +2

Willie Cauley-Stein

9′ · +7

Frank Ntilikina

13′ · -7

Sterling Brown

7′ · 0

Each bar is a stint on the floor (source: NBA). The number is minutes played and the team's +/− with him on the court. BOS and DAL.

These lineups played the most minutes together.

Boston Celtics

Tatum, Williams, Horford, Schroder, and Smart played 11.4 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 1 point.
Richardson, Tatum, Williams, Schroder, and Smart played 8.1 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 4 points.
Richardson, Nesmith, Horford, Schroder, and Smart played 5.4 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 8 points.

Dallas Mavericks

Finney-Smith, Doncic, Hardaway, Powell, and Porzingis played 10.4 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 2 points.
Cauley-Stein, Finney-Smith, Brunson, Doncic, and Bullock played 5.4 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 5 points.
Brunson, Doncic, Bullock, Hardaway, and Porzingis played 4.4 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 4 points.

▸See every lineup of the game

Boston Celtics

Tatum, Williams, Nesmith, Schroder, and Smart played 5.1 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Richardson, Williams, Williams, Nesmith, and Schroder played 2.7 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Richardson, Tatum, Williams, Nesmith, and Smart played 2.4 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 5 points.
Richardson, Tatum, Pritchard, Horford, and Schroder played 2.2 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 2 points.
Richardson, Tatum, Pritchard, Horford, and Smart played 2.0 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 2 points.
Richardson, Tatum, Nesmith, Horford, and Schroder played 2.0 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 1 point.
Richardson, Tatum, Williams, Pritchard, and Smart played 1.8 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 2 points.
Richardson, Tatum, Williams, Pritchard, and Schroder played 1.7 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 2 points.
Richardson, Williams, Nesmith, Pritchard, and Horford played 1.2 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 2 points.

Dallas Mavericks

Ntilikina, Brown, Brunson, Hardaway, and Porzingis played 4.3 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 2 points.
Ntilikina, Brunson, Bullock, Hardaway, and Porzingis played 4.2 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 4 points.
Finney-Smith, Brunson, Doncic, Bullock, and Powell played 4.1 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 6 points.
Finney-Smith, Brunson, Doncic, Hardaway, and Powell played 3.2 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 7 points.
Cauley-Stein, Ntilikina, Brown, Brunson, and Bullock played 3.1 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 2 points.
Finney-Smith, Doncic, Bullock, Hardaway, and Powell played 3.0 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Finney-Smith, Brunson, Doncic, Hardaway, and Porzingis played 2.1 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 2 points.
Finney-Smith, Ntilikina, Brunson, Hardaway, and Porzingis played 1.4 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 3 points.
Brunson, Doncic, Bullock, Hardaway, and Powell played 1.4 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 1 point.

▸See where these figures come from

The lineups come from the NBA's official rotation: who was on the floor and when. Each lineup's plus-minus is worked out from every player's stints and is only shown when they all add up with each other and with the final score.

Dennis Schröder covered 4.60 km, more than anyone in the game.

Dennis Schröder touched the ball 92 times, a game high.
Dennis Schröder made 67 passes, a game high.
Jayson Tatum had 15 rebound chances, a game high.

▸See what was measured for each player

Boston Celtics

Player	km	km/h	Touches	Passes
Dennis Schröder	4.60	6.5	92	67
Jayson Tatum	4.28	6.2	87	62
Marcus Smart	3.96	6.0	49	39
Robert Williams III	3.75	6.2	31	20
Josh Richardson	3.64	6.6	42	29
Al Horford	2.94	6.3	50	37
Aaron Nesmith	2.59	6.9	24	16
Payton Pritchard	1.30	6.9	14	11
Grant Williams	0.56	6.8	8	5

Dallas Mavericks

Player	km	km/h	Touches	Passes
Jalen Brunson	4.01	6.5	67	50
Tim Hardaway Jr.	3.91	6.2	38	27
Luka Dončić	3.70	5.8	82	48
Dorian Finney-Smith	3.56	6.5	29	22
Kristaps Porziņģis	3.22	6.3	51

The figures come from the NBA's optical tracking (NBA.com) for this game; speed is each player's average while on the floor.

Who stood out on defense during the season

These figures cover the whole 2021-22 regular season, not this game.

Boston Celtics

Robert Williams III recovered 1.1 loose balls per game over his 61 games.
He ranks 5 of 386 in the league.
Al Horford contested 11.0 shots per game over his 69 games.
He ranks 9 of 386 in the league.
Marcus Smart deflected 2.9 passes per game over his 71 games.
He ranks 11 of 386 in the league.

Dallas Mavericks

Jalen Brunson drew 0.22 charges per game over his 79 games.
He ranks 15 of 386 in the league.
Kristaps Porziņģis contested 9.6 shots per game over his 51 games.
He ranks 19 of 386 in the league.
Dwight Powell contested 8.1 shots per game over his 82 games.
He ranks 41 of 386 in the league.

Hustle figures come from the hustle stats the NBA publishes (NBA.com) and rim defense comes from its tracking; both cover the regular season. For each player in this game we show the figure that ranks him highest in the league, and for each team, the three best ranked. Ranks count players with at least 30 games and, at the rim, at least 4 defended shots per game.

The Dallas Mavericks have won 42 of their 95 games against the Boston Celtics.

42-53record of the Dallas Mavericks · NBA 1980-81 – 2025-26, regular season and playoffs

0-2in 2025-26

See the full head-to-head in the Analyst

See where it comes from

Official NBA box scores, regular season and playoffs, 1980-81 – 2025-26. It counts every game between the two teams that the house holds, this one included.

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Game context

Attendance

20.052

104.4% of capacity

American Airlines Center · Dallas

Scoring

211

combined points

10.2 below the season average (221.2)

⚖️ The last two minutes

Official NBA L2M report: every call in the endgame, reviewed by the league.

15 calls reviewed2 errors admitted by the NBA

Foul: Personal · 00:33.0

Kristaps Porzingis → Marcus Smart

Porzingis (DAL) moves laterally into Smart's (BOS) path and makes body contact, which affects Smart's SQBR. The contact occurs prior to Smart's gather.

Foul: Defense 3 Second · 00:49.4

Marcus Smart → Mavericks

Smart (BOS) straddles the lane line and is in the paint for longer than three seconds without imminently actively guarding an opponent.