The Boston Celtics were coming off one of their worst defensive performances in team history entering Thursday's game against the Dallas Mavericks, who were riding a seven-game winning streak.

However, Boston put forth a suffocating defensive effort to cruise to a 124-95 win over Dallas at American Airlines Center. The Celtics allowed 150 points in Tuesday's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but Thursday's showing was reminiscent of the team that advanced to the NBA Finals last year.

Mavericks star point guard and NBA leading scorer Luka Dončić was held to just 23 points on 7-of-23 shooting, ending his streak of six straight 30-point games. The MVP candidate missed all six of his three-pointers and looked uncomfortable all game as Boston's switching defense stifled him.

The Celtics had allowed at least 100 points in each of their previous seven contests. Tuesday's loss to the Thunder proved to be a wake-up call, and it motivated Thursday's stellar performance.

NBA Twitter loved what it saw from Boston's defense in the victory:

Celtics star Jayson Tatum notched a triple-double with game-highs of 29 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the way. While he proved himself to also be firmly entrenched in the MVP conversation, the bigger statement was made by Boston's defense.

The Celtics are on a mission to return to the NBA Finals and win the championship that eluded them last year. To do that, they will need to defend at a high level consistently to make it through a competitive Eastern Conference.

Boston (27-12) will look to continue its strong play on both ends of the floor when the team continues its road trip on Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs (12-26).