The Celtics have conquered 2/3 of the Texas Triangle and only the Dallas Mavericks remain.  The Celtics started the Texas trip by coming back from a 22 point lead to beat a motivated Spurs team and then they halted the Rockets' 22 game winning streak with a 20 point win  the following night.  Now, the Celtics are are looking to complete a clean sweep of all three Texas teams.  The 2001 Kings were the last team to do it and the Celtics haven't swept the Texas Triangle since 1987 when Bird, McHale and Parish were still roaming the parquet.

The Mavericks are a very good home team with a 29-5 record.  They are 6-4 in their last 10 and are coming off a tough 2 point loss to the Lakers.  They are 28-11 against Eastern Conference teams.  The Celtics are 22-4 against the West.  Both teams have had a day off and so should be rested.  The Mavs will be looking to bounce back from their tough loss to the Lakers and they will also be looking to avenge the earlier loss to the Celtics in Boston.  And, of course, every team wants to prove that they can beat the Celtics this season so always bring their best against them.

When the Celtics won the first matchup between these two teams at the Garden 96-90,   the lineups for both teams were much different.  The Mavericks  have brought Jason Kidd into the starting lineup at the point and Stackhouse is starting at the 2 guard. The Mavs haven't been able to beat any above .500 teams since the trade, however and will be looking to make the Celtics the first.    The Celtics had both KG and Ray Allen out  in that first game and Tony and Scal  started in their places. 

Ray Allen has been out with the ankle bruise but Doc has said that he could possibly play in this game. Celtics.com has Ray in the starting lineup in their preview.   Tony Allen who has been starting in Ray's place is questionable for this game after being fouled hard by Luis Scola and injuring his back.  If both are out, Eddie House may get the nod, but I expect to see Ray in this one.  . 

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