Jason Kidd's dagger helps Mavericks to a season sweep of the Celtics

Catching up with the Boston Celtics' disappointing 101-97 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night at the TD Garden.

It was a good, tight game but Dallas (34-15) seemed to make all the plays down the stretch, including a clutch 3-pointer by ageless Jason Kidd (10 points, 9 assists).

For once, the Celtics (37-12) completely crumbled down the stretch, something we're unaccustomed to seeing from them. I will always hate on the Mavericks for being regular season heroes but it is impressive that they won both games vs. the Celtics this season. I'd love to see them in the NBA Finals but frankly, I don't think Dallas will get through either San Antonio, Oklahoma City or the Lakers.

As always with the Mavs, Dirk Nowitzki was the star with a game-high 29 points. Tyson Chandler has been a great pickup for Dallas, he added 14 points and 15 rebounds while Northeastern product (Huskies!) JJ Barea notched 11 points.

Jason Terry (17 points) and Shawn Marion (13 points, 9 rebounds) were great off the bench in the win.

Speaking of ageless, Ray Allen paced the Celts with 24 points. Kevin Garnett added 16 points, Kendrick Perkins (in his first start this season) put up 13 points and 12 rebounds while Paul Pierce (12 points) and Rajon Rondo (8 points, 12 assists, 3 steals) were more contained.

The one bright spot off the Boston bench was Marquis Daniels (10 points).

Dallas was up 34-27 after the first quarter and 54-51 at halftime. Boston tied it at 77 going into the fourth quarter but the Mavs got it done in the fourth quarter (24-20).

The Celts are back at it tonight against another serious contender: the Orlando Magic come to the Garden for a pre-Super Bowl game. Should be another tight one.

PJ Brown is rolling over in his grave

It doesn't take a haughty degree from Harvard or M.I.T to figure out the formula for success for the Celtics. Without KG, they're pretenders; with KG, they're one of the NBA's best teams and a championship contender.

As Kevin Garnett sat out his eighth straight game, the Dallas Mavericks came into the TD Garden last night and beat the Celtics 99-90 behind 37 points from Dirk Nowitzki.

It was Boston's (27-12) third consecutive loss at home as they continue to play better on the road than at home (better road beef?).

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 24 points, Ray Allen scored 21, Kendrick Perkins had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Rajon Rondo notched 12 assists. Rasheed Wallace added 11 points but when he got in foul trouble, the game shifted in Dallas' (27-14) favor.

The ageless and hairless Jason Kidd had 13 points and 17 assists, Shawn Marion added 16 points and eight rebounds, Erick Dampier scored 11 and Drew Gooden had 10 points off the bench.

The C's were up 25-20 after one quarter and 50-41 at the half but once Wallace went out in the third quarter, Glen Davis and Brian Scalabrine were forced to cover Nowitzki, advantage Mavericks.

Dallas outscored Boston 34-18 in the third and they pushed the lead to as much as 18 points in the fourth while Boston didn't have any type of comeback in them.

Dallas shot 57.4% for the game to Boston's 50.6%. The Celts continue to struggle at the line (8 for 16) while the Mavs (17 for 24) did enough to win.

With KG's possible return looming on Friday vs. the Blazers, the Celts have a very winnable game tomorrow night in Detroit against a garbage Pistons team. A blowout would be just what the Doc (Rivers) ordered.

Taking Care of Business in Sopranoland

After Wednesday's night terrible loss to the Bobcats, the Celtics bounced back last night with a gritty 86-77 win at the New Jersey Nets. With the win, Boston (30-4) tied the best start in franchise history and ensured that they still haven't lost two games in a row so far this season.

As always, Kevin Garnett was the star of the game for the C's. KG scored a game-high 20 points, grabbed 11 boards with three assists, three blocks and two steals. Paul Pierce had 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals. Ray Allen showed no rust after he missed the Charlotte game. He dropped 16 points (including 11 in the first quarter).

The Nets (18-18) have been playing well lately and it showed early as they jumped out to a 30-22 lead after one quarter. Former UConn star Josh Boone (14 points, 16 rebounds, 4 blocks) and BC's Sean Williams (2 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks) both start up front now, giving New Jersey some athletic big bodies. As long as Jason Kidd is around, the Nets will understandably revolve around him. Kidd had 11 points, 13 boards and nine assists. Richard Jefferson (17 points) and Vince Carter (16 points) were relatively quiet.

Boston played a strong second quarter, outscoring New Jersey 25-14 to take a 47-44 lead at the half. New Jersey wouldn't go away as they came back in the third and put up 24 points while holding the Celts to 16.

The fourth quarter was the difference in the game as the C's defense completely put the clamps on the Nets. New Jersey scored just nine points (an almost unheard of total in an NBA game) and the Celtics used a 13-2 run to score 23 and clinch the win.

Rajon Rondo hurt his back in the third quarter and didn't return. James Posey (9 points, 6 rebounds), Eddie House (9 points) and Glen Davis (7 points, 4 boards)-also returning from one missed game-were solid off the bench.

The C's shot 47.9% and the Nets were just 36.5% from the floor. Boston was real bad from the free throw line (13 of 21) but the Nets were brutal (9 of 24) including 0 of 6 for Boone. That was the key stat as the Nets outrebounded Boston by 8 (52-44).

Boston travels a short distance to Washington, D.C. to take on the Wizards minus Gilbert Arenas tonight. Washington has actually played pretty well in his absence as Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison are playing arguably the best basketball of their careers.