Mavs visit Celtics

The Celtics suffered a tough loss on Saturday to Washington. Gilbert Arenas drained a pair of free throws with three seconds left and finished with 31 points and seven assists, as the Wizards defeated Boston, 103-102, at MCI Center.

Ricky Davis scored 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out eight helpers in the loss to Washington for the Celtics, who have dropped three of four and six of their last eight games overall. Paul Pierce finished with 23 points in the loss.

Boston is 10-7 at home this season.

Dallas comes into tonight’s game on a two-game winning streak. All-Star Dirk Nowitzki had 26 points, including seven straight down the stretch, to lead the Mavericks over the Minnesota Timberwolves, 83-79, on Saturday at American Airlines Center. Nowitzki went 8-of-9 from the charity stripe and pulled down seven rebounds for the Mavericks, who have won seven of their last nine games overall.

Josh Howard finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Jason Terry chipped in with 11 points in the victory over the Timberwolves for Dallas, which played Minnesota for the last time this season and won two of the three games.

The Mavericks, who will visit the New York Knicks on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, are 12-5 on the road this season. they have won four of their last five as the visitor.

This is the second and final meeting of the season between the clubs. On December 10th, Nowitzki scored 24 points and Devin Harris chipped in 19 as Dallas downed the Celtics, 103-94, at American Airlines Center.

Dallas has won four straight and 10 of the last 11 meetings in the series. The Mavericks have won five of six and six of their last nine at Boston.