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Who was the player of the game who elevated his game to help the team win?

MAVS INCINERATE BLAZERS AT MODA CENTER

The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by firing the Trailblazers from Rip City into the atmosphere, leaving nothing but ashes falling to earth in Portland. 


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GAME FLOW. The first quarter looked like it was going to be a normal game, with the Blazers maintaining a small advantage and wrapping up the period with a 30-27 lead. Toward the middle of the second, the Mavericks took off, closing with a 21-10 run and going into halftime with a 65-54 edge. Dallas began the second half with a sensational 19-0 run, reaching a 30-point lead in the first half of the quarter, and finishing the period at 103-69. Terry Stotts emptied the Portland bench to start the fourth, and Carlisle soon followed. The biggest lead was 45.  Incredible. 

STATS.  By the end of the third quarter, the Mavs had racked up 17 threes, and the Blazers had only 6. That’s really all that needs to be said. Another positive was that the Mavericks buried Portland on the boards, with a 39-21 margin. After a heavy-minutes game for the rotation on Friday, all players recorded fewer than 30 minutes. 

DONCIC.  Luka had another phenomenal game, with 37 points on 13-19 shooting, with an amazing 8-9 performance from three, dropping 8-8 before missing the last attempt. If Luka’s three-point shooting becomes as otherworldly as the rest of his game, the NBA had better look out!

STARTERS.  J Rich had an excellent game, putting up 21 points on outstanding 8-11 shooting. Brian Dameris alluded to Josh’s finally recovering from “lingering issues from COVID” as a partial explanation for his elevated play these days. Josh himself said he wanted to atone for playing “like ass” on Friday, and I do believe he accomplished that. Doe-Doe had a lovely evening, perhaps inspired by his new little one. He provided his usual steady defensive performance, won the DPOG belt for holding Dame to 19 points, and also had 13 points of his own, going 4-8 from the field. Maxi had 8 points and 7 boards, and KP had 12 and 8, along with a couple of exciting blocks. 

BENCH. The bench had 17 points through three quarters, but the team didn’t really need their scoring punch on a night like this. THJ and Powell led the reserves with 11 points each. The What-a-burger Play of the Day was a Luka-Powell alley-oop. 

TRAILBLAZERS.  The Blazers didn’t look like an NBA team. I think Portland must have exhausted their supply of juice with the win on Friday. Their legendary back court combined for 32 points, and Carmelo added 13 off the bench. The three sharpshooters combined to go an unlikely 0-16 from deep. 


OBSERVATIONS

Rick credited Mavs assistant coach Jamahl Mosley for making the proper defensive adjustments and selling the players on them, asserting that the visitors had something to do with the hosts’ poor night. He thought Luka was phenomenal, but what else is new? Devin Harris credited Luka’s having gotten into shape for his “fluency” on the court in the last few weeks. 

Richardson attributed part of the offensive success  to the team's getting the ball out quicker and getting shots up faster. Asked to comment on Luka’s performance, he could only shake his head admiringly, having no words.

There just isn’t much to analyze about this contest, and other than the joy of watching the Mavs’ dominant performance, it wasn’t much of a match. I don’t know what accounted for the Blazers’ flat outing, but the game was a statement win for Dallas, especially after an insipid night on Friday. 

Your boys get a rare couple of days off before facing the Timberwolves on Wednesday. The schedule lightens up a bit from here on out, so hopefully the Mavs can sustain, and will have a chance to climb out of the play-in bracket. 

Until Wednesday, pals!

Who was the player of the game who elevated his game to help the team win?

Man the 1st Rd had a number of upsets...

Oral Robert's over Ohio State
North Texas over Purdue
But my Abilene Christian downing Texas was not good for my heart last night. I was happy when Texas had to go up 1 in the last minute - after what happened vs Kentucky. But to grab the win was too much to ask - make a Free Throw win the game. Clutch

Today Loyola knocks off Illinois (the team most people have knocking out Baylor)

I am glad I didn't fill out a bracket!

So, I've always been pretty into film/televeision, but over the past year my consumption has ramped up even more, I guess because of the pandemic. 

Anyway, I have seen basically every show, I think, but on the off chance I missed something great, please share with me everything/anything you love.

MAVS SMOTHER CLIPS IN REVENGE MATCH
DALLAS WINS SEASON SERIES

Your Dallas Mavericks came out with intensity, determined to avenge themselves. They played with ferocity all night, Luka went supernova, and the team put together perhaps the best defensive game of the season. 


GAME STORY

The Clippers’ injured list included Patrick Beverley and Serge Ibaka. The Mavs’ James Johnson was undergoing COVID protocol following his absence for personal reasons, and DFS was absent due to the birth of his son in the morning. Congrats on the little one, Doe! Rick chose an offensive look for his 18th starting lineup of the season, with Tim taking Finney-Smith’s place. 

The game was close in the first quarter. The Mavs had some highlight plays. Early on, J Rich dove on the floor for a loose ball, fought for possession, and successfully called a timeout. He would go on to win the DPOG belt for that statement play. Later, Luka had an outstanding four-point play against Kawhi that had Leonard hanging his head in frustration and the Maverick bench on their feet cheering. The squad, however, ended the quarter sputtering, and took a 24-29 deficit into the second. 

The home team Mavericks managed to tie the game 4 or 5 minutes into the second, and maintained a small lead for the remainder of the period. They had a ten-point advantage in the frame, and went into the locker room with a 56-51 edge. Luka got some help from the other starters, with Josh Richardson earning ten points and making several excellent defensive plays, and Tim scoring 7 points straight. 

Carlisle threw a curveball into the rotation in the third, playing the starters almost exclusively. The reserves combined for only 4 minutes of the 60 played. They climbed to a double-digit lead, and managed to hold it for much of the period. The Clippers also played most of their starters heavy minutes, and both teams were looking gassed by the late minutes of the frame. The Mavs gasped to a 21-20 point finish, despite two 8-0 runs by LA, including one to close the quarter. Dallas held a 77-71 edge after three. 

The final frame was a 28-18 Mavs rout. The home boys took a 9 point lead early on and never dipped below that again. 


STATS  

The Clippers got 9 more shots up than the Mavs, but the Mavs shot much better on the night (51/44/83) than their opponent (42/28/54). It always helps when the threes are falling, and Dallas claimed 15 triples for the evening. The Mavericks held their own on the boards (43-37 advantage), but lost 13 fast-break points and 28 total points on 18 turnovers. The hosts were limited to 30 points in the paint, but were able to punish the Clips from the perimeter. Defensively, the Mavs were determined and gritty, and the Clippers, who average 115 PPG, were held to 89 points total and an embarrassing 38 in the second half. 


PLAYERS

DONCIC.  Luka went nuclear in this match, scoring 42 points (16-28), including six threes. In addition to that, he recorded 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Rick said he has run out of words to describe his star’s performances, but deemed this one “spectacular,” and complimented him on a “terrific” defensive outing. After the game, a very modest Luka said he thinks he is coming along in the areas of being more aggressive, taking fewer “terrible” shots, and making better decisions. He was phenomenal. We are not worthy. 

PORZINGIS. Porzee had 11 points and 13 rebounds. His stat line, impressive as it is, doesn’t begin to describe his impact on the game. He was a terror, crashing the glass, altering shots, and constituting a defensive force. Rick thought Kris played a “very patient game,” had a good mix of pops and rolls, was active on the boards, and continued to “evolve” in the system. This is a different team when KP plays well. Hopefully, he can keep it up!

HARDAWAY. Tim stepped up in his advancement to the starting lineup, putting up 15 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. He was aggressive going to the basket and also had a 3-7 performance from range. Josh described Tim as a very “genuine” person, and thinks it would be hard to ask for a better teammate. It is critical to this team that THJ plays well, and it’s great to see him back in form. 

RICHARDSON. Josh had an excellent game, registering 14 points, 5 boards, 3 steals, and a couple of assists. Primarily, he boasted a superior defensive performance, stopping the Clippers’ offense in so many different ways. Rick praised him for setting the defensive tone early. Josh criticized himself for not having enough energy in the prior loss, and said he wanted to let the Clippers know from the get-go that the Mavs weren’t letting them off easy in this match. The squad has a whole new dimension when J Rich plays like this. 

KLEBER.  Maxi had 12 points and 6 rebounds, and was Devin Harris’ choice for winner of the belt. He had an outstanding defensive performance, with some highlight performances in one-on-one challenges, as well as playing his role well in the defensive system. Offensively, he was 4-8 from the field.  In the fourth quarter, Rick called an ATO play for him, and he justified the trust with a dramatic three, following up with an alley-oop dunk from Luka. After the game, Maxi observed that the team is capable of playing good defense, and should do it more often, lol. No argument here. 

BENCH. This wasn’t the best of nights for the reserves, as Rick used a playoff-style rotation. Brunson had only 5 points in 16 minutes, and turned the ball over 5 times.  I think this game demonstrates why, as skilled as he is, he is best coming off the bench. He is just too small to be a good matchup against big, rangy teams like the Clippers, and there will be games like this at higher levels, where he is just isn’t very playable. Having said all that, he did enjoy a good turn in the fourth. 

Willie had 4 points and 2 boards in 12 minutes, but had a quite respectable defensive performance, and was a positive on the night. Iwundu had some run in DFS’ absence. He didn’t score in his 11 minutes, but Rick thought he played a key role in the victory, commending his solid defense and holding his own when he was switched on to bigger players. Burke and Powell had brief cameos. 

CLIPPERS.  Paul George had a much better game than in the previous match, and led his team with 28 points. Kawhi was not at his best. He put up 20 points, but was not efficient, going 9-21 from the field. Zubac and Morris combined for 25. This team seemed to run out of juice in the second half, despite playing on a day’s rest. 


OBSERVATIONS

Rick said this game was a “hard fight,” and that he was proud of his guys for keeping their poise after not starting particularly well. He noted that this team has been in the playoffs, and knows what playoff basketball is like, managing to respond after every Clippers surge. 

I imagine that Carlisle is quite pleased with the squad after this game. They have been working all season on making defense their signature, and arguably achieved a new level with this match. They also showed off their offensive chops, hitting their shots and getting another superb performance from Luka. If the Mavs can consistently bring their “A” game, they’re capable of making some noise. This was a most enjoyable contest to watch.

Dallas has now won the season series against the Spurs, Nuggets, and Clippers. I don’t know if they’ll be tied with any of those teams at the end of the season, but they’ll be in good shape if they are. They’ll have a chance to put their imprint on another series with the next two games in Portland. 

Onward and upward, Mavs fans!