The Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics met in Dallas on Saturday for their first matchup since last season's NBA Finals. Dallas was missing many key pieces, including starters Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively II, while Boston was wrapping up a four-game road trip.

As well as Kyrie Irving has played, the hobbled Mavericks have been a bottom-seven offense over the past month, minus Luka Dončić.

READ MORE: Three-point barrage carries Celtics over Mavericks in NBA Finals rematch, 122-107

A tough night for Dallas in their highly anticipated rematch, with challenges on and off the court shaping the team's immediate future.

Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 24 points and Derrick White added 23 to lead the visiting Boston Celtics to a 122-107 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.

Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford recently joined ANTA Basketball, strengthening a growing partnership with his teammate Kyrie Irving, the brand’s Chief Creative Officer.

The Dallas Mavericks entered the Queen City with another shorthanded roster for their matinee against the Charlotte Hornets on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The early tip-off was just the start of a back-and-forth tilt between the two teams,

Jayson Tatum scored 24 points, Derrick White added 23, including Boston’s first 11 of the third quarter, and the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 122-107 on Saturday night in the first meeting between the teams since the NBA Finals.

Individually, Irving’s numbers were better against the Celtics on Saturday, but for the Mavericks the result was all too familiar. They will see the Celtics again, in Boston, on Feb. 6, trade deadline day. Perhaps they will have Doncic back, or nearly back, by then.

In a rematch of the 2024 NBA finals, the defending champion Boston Celtics visited the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Edwards made 14 of 23 shots from the floor and scored 23 points in the second half as Minnesota pulled away after leading by 11 at halftime. Julius Randle had 21 points, while Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves,