Amid blowout in Boston, did Christian Wood convince Jason Kidd it’s time to start him?

BOSTON – By late in the second quarter, what little drama remained had been sucked from TD Garden, replaced by exuberant chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” as Jayson Tatum stepped to the free-throw line.

If Wednesday night’s ESPN-showcased Mavericks-Celtics game was indeed an early season referendum on the NBA Most Valuable Player race, both Tatum and Luka Doncic starred, but Doncic’s sparkling 42 points were dulled by Boston’s thorough 125-112 victory over his Mavericks.

And if this night was a snapshot of the state of these two franchises, which in uncanny ways mirrored one another last season, Dallas and Boston now appear headed in opposite directions.

The Celtics improved to an NBA-best 14-4 and clearly are building on last season’s NBA Finals run, despite the shocking downfall of coach Ime Udoka.

The Mavericks? Granted, it’s still early, but with two defeats in its last three games Dallas (9-8) is one game worse than it was at this time last year.

Perhaps amid the ashes of what had been a blowout, with the Celtics taking as much as a 27-point lead, the Mavericks found a spark to help kindle an improvement like last season, when they rallied from a 16-18 start to finish 52-30.

Doncic and Christian Wood played most of the fourth quarter together, and that’s when Dallas cut into Boston’s lead, getting as close as 9 with 3:43 left. Of course, Mavericks fans have clamored all season to see more of those two on the court together.

“You look at what they did,” coach Jason Kidd said. “They have a great connection. They did a good job against considered one of the best teams in the league. So hopefully we can grow from this and we can have those two out there in Toronto.”

Potentially with Wood as a starter? Wednesday’s game was Wood’s 15th as a Maverick, but he has yet to start. Kidd has said he prefers to have Wood and Tim Hardaway Jr. come off the bench, but after Wednesdays’ game he was asked if he is standing hard and fast to that.

“I’m not hard and fast on anything,” he said. “This is a dress rehearsal. So we’ve got to get all the all the answers to the test before if you’re lucky enough to make it to the playoffs. You’ve got to look at all the combinations. You’ve got to see who’s playing well.

“And just understand that sometimes change has to happen. It’s just the nature of sport. There’s no hard feelings or anything personal. This is this is their job and we’re trying to win ballgames. We’re trying to put the right combinations out there.”

Wood smiled when asked if it is time for him to start. His answer was politely diplomatic.

“I think I’m gonna just keep that that personal opinion to myself,” he said. “But what I can say is I’m enjoying my time here. I love playing for Dallas. These guys, they support me. They pick me up when I have a bad game. So things are going great.”

Doncic called the Celtics “probably the No. 1 team in the league,” adding that Tatum and Jaylen Brown “probably are the best duo in the league.”

Doncic said it’s always special to play in TD Garden, and his play here is indicative of his ability to rise to moment.

Wednesday’s output was his league-leading fourth 40-point game of this season. Entering Wednesday he had averaged 32 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.0 assists in his last three games here.

Doncic, and for that matter the Mavericks, had bewitched the Celtics in general, with Dallas winning four straight, three of them on buzzer-beating 3-pointers – two by Doncic in American Airlines Center and here last March 13 a game-winner by Spencer Dinwiddie.

Perhaps the sting of those defeats is what spurred the Celtics to leads of 34-23 after one quarter and 70-49 at halftime, the most points by a Mavericks opponent in a first half this season.

Dallas’ defense was so porous that even when it trimmed the deficit to 16 through three quarters, Boston’s 54% shooting and 101 points scored certainly weren’t great signs of progress.

Although the Celtics did just enough to keep the Mavericks at arm’s distance, Dallas fans finally got a long glimpse of the pairing they’ve longed to see this season: Doncic and center Christian Wood.

Wood finished with 26 points, 13 of them coming in the fourth quarter.

But on a night when Boston’s Tatum and Brown erupted for 37 and 31 points, respectively, the Mavericks’ duo’s output had little bearing on the game itself.

“Obviously things could be better,” Doncic said. “But we’ve got some new players. We’ve got to still find each other and work with each other.”

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.