04-23-2021, 02:06 AM
MAVS OVERCOME LAKERS AT AAC
KP SPRAINS ANKLE
The Mavs extended their record to a perfect 20-0 when leading after the first quarter, with a determined home win over the purple and gold.
GAME STORY
Maxi was out with the back bruise he suffered the previous night. Carlisle went with Powell in the starting lineup for the second consecutive match. Anthony Davis made a return for the Lakers. LeBron remained out.
The Mavs got out to a poor start, going down 6-14 in the first three minutes. However, a 13-2 Dallas run followed. The home team Mavericks sustained their lead, and completed the quarter with a 31-26 advantage. KP led the team with 11 points. Richardson had eight on 3-4 shooting. Luka was sidelined with a second foul early on, played only five minutes, and did not take a shot.
At 7:24, right after Luka’s second foul, Rick brought on Brunson, Hardaway and Cauley-Stein for Luka, DFS, and Powell, and left that unit, which was doing well, on for the rest of the period. Coach has said that everything is on the table in terms of lineups, and he was evidently walking his talk.
Dallas led the entire second period, accumulating a 13-point advantage late, and going into halftime with a 62-51 margin. Luka sprang to life with a 13-point quarter, and put on an absolute passing clinic in the last few minutes, leading to three slams in a row by Willie, KP, and Dorian. The Mavericks had a 22-14 edge in FTAs in the first twenty-four. AD was still knocking off rust, scoring 4 points in a 2-10 first half.
The Lakers began the third with a shocking 11-0 run within the first two minutes to tie the game. The Mavs responded with a 10-0 run of their own. The Lakers were back in the lead halfway through the period. An entertaining battle followed, and Dallas closed the frame with a THJ three and a DFS put back to lead 94-90. KP had to exit the game late in the quarter with a sprained ankle.
A KP-less, Luka-less, Maxi-less lineup in the fourth found their lead halved at 7:53, prompting a timeout to get Luka, J Rich, and Powell back in the game. The Lakers drew within four a few times in the rest of the match, but never came closer. Both teams seemed to be running low on offensive juice, with Dallas edging LA in a 21-20 quarter. The Mavericks closing unit consisted of Luka, Hardaway/Brunson, Richardson, DFS, and Willie. The bench had 12 of the team’s 21 points in the frame.
STATISTICS
It was an unusual game, numbers-wise. The Lakers got 8 more shots up (6 more 3PTAs), out-rebounded the Mavs 45-38, and had a 22-12 margin in second-chance points. However, Dallas had an astounding 36-17 advantage in free-throw attempts. Point differentials for the Mavs were -4 on points from twos, -3 on points from threes, and +12 on made free throws. The entire bench was positive in the +/- department, most by double-digits, while DFS was the only starter in the black, and by only 2 points at that.
PLAYERS
DONCIC. Luka was his amazing self, and came through with 30/9/8 and 3 steals. He didn’t have a great shooting night (9-21, 3-9 3PTA), but went to the line for 11 attempts, and completed 9 free throws. All 30 of his points came in the last three quarters. He had five fouls himself, but managed to stay in the game despite two in the last few minutes. He had an exciting collection of gasp-inducing plays, and went coast-to-coast to put his team up by 9 with 4 minutes remaining.
WCS. Willie had a huge evening, as he was called upon to step up with Maxi out, and KP’s time cut short. He played 31 minutes off the bench and had 11 points and 8 boards to show for it, along with boasting a team-high +/- of 18. The most athletic of the Mavs' big men made impressive use of that talent on the night.
PORZINGIS. KP was having a solid showing, with 19 points and 6 rebounds in the 29 minutes he was able to play. Mavs fans got a scare when he went down on all fours on the court, unable to participate in the ongoing defensive play, having taken a knock to his privates. He recovered from that, but then suffered a turned ankle that sent him back to the locker room for the rest of the game, and we can only hope the injury is not serious.
STARTERS. Dorian had another double-digit scoring night, with 10 points on 4-5 shooting, and also boasted three steals in a team-high 37 minutes. Richardson put up 13 points, albeit on 5-11 shooting, and made his way back to the closing unit. He was knocked to the ground early in the third, an event that the referees chose to ignore, and to add insult to injury, was assessed a technical foul for complaining. The announcers predicted that the NBA would rescind the T on review. Powell played 17 minutes in a starting role, and had 10 points and 2 steals.
BENCH. Hardaway had another poor shooting night (2-10), but the team was +13 when he was on the court, and he had a pretty decent defensive game, including a highlight block late in the third. Brunson had a relatively abbreviated outing at 21 minutes, but was on the floor at the very end of the match, and had 7 points and 5 assists. Redick made an impression with 7 points in 11 minutes. He was part of the star-less unit to start the fourth, and he stepped up with a no-look pass to Brunson, put up a spectacular three, and followed that by freezing his defender with a pass fake and driving to the basket for a layup. In addition to his shooting accuracy, he is demonstrating great activity off the ball, along with good passing.
LAKERS. We didn’t get the opponent’s “A” game, with LeBron out and Davis rusty. But Lakers put up a good fight anyway, as per expectations. It was their starting back court of Dennis Schroder and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that really put the hurt on the home team, combining for 54 points on 18-30 shooting. Schroder fouled out near the end of the game, with Vogel unsuccessfully challenging the call. Andre Drummond was also a tough nut to crack, with 14 points and 19 rebounds. Montrezl Harrell had 14 points off the bench. Davis, who recorded only 4 points, was on a minutes restriction, and all of his 16 minutes were played in the first half.
OBSERVATIONS
Despite the Mavs catching the Lakers short-handed, this was an important win for the team, especially as they had their own injury issues without Maxi and partly without KP. Our guys have a way of stepping up in big games, and it is bemusing to see them lose to the likes of Houston and OKC, but hold their own against the better teams. They took advantage of the Lakers’ surprisingly porous defense, getting into the lane for 56 PIP and drawing 28 fouls. Luka and KP had some good connections, and Luka ultimately put the team on his back.
Doncic attributed Dallas’ inconsistent performances to a tendency to relax too much at home and to not bringing enough energy and effort to every game. They were up for this one, and showed a lot of fight, even with the match being a SEGABABA.
The Mavericks face the Lakers again at the AAC on Saturday. It is troubling that Maxi and KP are both carrying injuries, and AD cannot be counted on to play that badly again. The Dallas squad will need to make a few adjustments to limit the guards, and to try to keep Drummond from dominating the glass. Even a split in the series would arguably be a palatable result, but the Mavs might have it in them to sweep the mini-series, with a little luck. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.
With this victory, the Mavs pull even with the Blazers record-wise, although Portland owns the tiebreaker. We’ll see if they can climb above the play-in territory as the season starts to wind down!
KP SPRAINS ANKLE
The Mavs extended their record to a perfect 20-0 when leading after the first quarter, with a determined home win over the purple and gold.
GAME STORY
Maxi was out with the back bruise he suffered the previous night. Carlisle went with Powell in the starting lineup for the second consecutive match. Anthony Davis made a return for the Lakers. LeBron remained out.
The Mavs got out to a poor start, going down 6-14 in the first three minutes. However, a 13-2 Dallas run followed. The home team Mavericks sustained their lead, and completed the quarter with a 31-26 advantage. KP led the team with 11 points. Richardson had eight on 3-4 shooting. Luka was sidelined with a second foul early on, played only five minutes, and did not take a shot.
At 7:24, right after Luka’s second foul, Rick brought on Brunson, Hardaway and Cauley-Stein for Luka, DFS, and Powell, and left that unit, which was doing well, on for the rest of the period. Coach has said that everything is on the table in terms of lineups, and he was evidently walking his talk.
Dallas led the entire second period, accumulating a 13-point advantage late, and going into halftime with a 62-51 margin. Luka sprang to life with a 13-point quarter, and put on an absolute passing clinic in the last few minutes, leading to three slams in a row by Willie, KP, and Dorian. The Mavericks had a 22-14 edge in FTAs in the first twenty-four. AD was still knocking off rust, scoring 4 points in a 2-10 first half.
The Lakers began the third with a shocking 11-0 run within the first two minutes to tie the game. The Mavs responded with a 10-0 run of their own. The Lakers were back in the lead halfway through the period. An entertaining battle followed, and Dallas closed the frame with a THJ three and a DFS put back to lead 94-90. KP had to exit the game late in the quarter with a sprained ankle.
A KP-less, Luka-less, Maxi-less lineup in the fourth found their lead halved at 7:53, prompting a timeout to get Luka, J Rich, and Powell back in the game. The Lakers drew within four a few times in the rest of the match, but never came closer. Both teams seemed to be running low on offensive juice, with Dallas edging LA in a 21-20 quarter. The Mavericks closing unit consisted of Luka, Hardaway/Brunson, Richardson, DFS, and Willie. The bench had 12 of the team’s 21 points in the frame.
STATISTICS
It was an unusual game, numbers-wise. The Lakers got 8 more shots up (6 more 3PTAs), out-rebounded the Mavs 45-38, and had a 22-12 margin in second-chance points. However, Dallas had an astounding 36-17 advantage in free-throw attempts. Point differentials for the Mavs were -4 on points from twos, -3 on points from threes, and +12 on made free throws. The entire bench was positive in the +/- department, most by double-digits, while DFS was the only starter in the black, and by only 2 points at that.
PLAYERS
DONCIC. Luka was his amazing self, and came through with 30/9/8 and 3 steals. He didn’t have a great shooting night (9-21, 3-9 3PTA), but went to the line for 11 attempts, and completed 9 free throws. All 30 of his points came in the last three quarters. He had five fouls himself, but managed to stay in the game despite two in the last few minutes. He had an exciting collection of gasp-inducing plays, and went coast-to-coast to put his team up by 9 with 4 minutes remaining.
WCS. Willie had a huge evening, as he was called upon to step up with Maxi out, and KP’s time cut short. He played 31 minutes off the bench and had 11 points and 8 boards to show for it, along with boasting a team-high +/- of 18. The most athletic of the Mavs' big men made impressive use of that talent on the night.
PORZINGIS. KP was having a solid showing, with 19 points and 6 rebounds in the 29 minutes he was able to play. Mavs fans got a scare when he went down on all fours on the court, unable to participate in the ongoing defensive play, having taken a knock to his privates. He recovered from that, but then suffered a turned ankle that sent him back to the locker room for the rest of the game, and we can only hope the injury is not serious.
STARTERS. Dorian had another double-digit scoring night, with 10 points on 4-5 shooting, and also boasted three steals in a team-high 37 minutes. Richardson put up 13 points, albeit on 5-11 shooting, and made his way back to the closing unit. He was knocked to the ground early in the third, an event that the referees chose to ignore, and to add insult to injury, was assessed a technical foul for complaining. The announcers predicted that the NBA would rescind the T on review. Powell played 17 minutes in a starting role, and had 10 points and 2 steals.
BENCH. Hardaway had another poor shooting night (2-10), but the team was +13 when he was on the court, and he had a pretty decent defensive game, including a highlight block late in the third. Brunson had a relatively abbreviated outing at 21 minutes, but was on the floor at the very end of the match, and had 7 points and 5 assists. Redick made an impression with 7 points in 11 minutes. He was part of the star-less unit to start the fourth, and he stepped up with a no-look pass to Brunson, put up a spectacular three, and followed that by freezing his defender with a pass fake and driving to the basket for a layup. In addition to his shooting accuracy, he is demonstrating great activity off the ball, along with good passing.
LAKERS. We didn’t get the opponent’s “A” game, with LeBron out and Davis rusty. But Lakers put up a good fight anyway, as per expectations. It was their starting back court of Dennis Schroder and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that really put the hurt on the home team, combining for 54 points on 18-30 shooting. Schroder fouled out near the end of the game, with Vogel unsuccessfully challenging the call. Andre Drummond was also a tough nut to crack, with 14 points and 19 rebounds. Montrezl Harrell had 14 points off the bench. Davis, who recorded only 4 points, was on a minutes restriction, and all of his 16 minutes were played in the first half.
OBSERVATIONS
Despite the Mavs catching the Lakers short-handed, this was an important win for the team, especially as they had their own injury issues without Maxi and partly without KP. Our guys have a way of stepping up in big games, and it is bemusing to see them lose to the likes of Houston and OKC, but hold their own against the better teams. They took advantage of the Lakers’ surprisingly porous defense, getting into the lane for 56 PIP and drawing 28 fouls. Luka and KP had some good connections, and Luka ultimately put the team on his back.
Doncic attributed Dallas’ inconsistent performances to a tendency to relax too much at home and to not bringing enough energy and effort to every game. They were up for this one, and showed a lot of fight, even with the match being a SEGABABA.
The Mavericks face the Lakers again at the AAC on Saturday. It is troubling that Maxi and KP are both carrying injuries, and AD cannot be counted on to play that badly again. The Dallas squad will need to make a few adjustments to limit the guards, and to try to keep Drummond from dominating the glass. Even a split in the series would arguably be a palatable result, but the Mavs might have it in them to sweep the mini-series, with a little luck. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.
With this victory, the Mavs pull even with the Blazers record-wise, although Portland owns the tiebreaker. We’ll see if they can climb above the play-in territory as the season starts to wind down!