Mavs Demolish Pelicans
The Mavericks took care of business, blowing out the Pels in this day game on the first leg of a back-to-back.
Game Story
It was all Mavs in this contest. Dallas' lead was 3 at the end of the first quarter, climbed to 12 at halftime, exploded to 38 after three, and reached 50 before a couple of late New Orleans buckets finalized the advantage at 46. A good old-fashioned butt-whoopin.' The Pelicans were without Zion and Favors.
Analytics
The Mavs dominated most aspects of the game, including rebounds (55-34), assists (25-17), low personal fouls (17-23), free-throw attempts (31-21), points off turnovers (22-10), points in the paint (60-50), and second-chance points (16-6). The Mavericks' three-point shooting wasn't terrific (34%), but the Pelicans' performance from beyond the arc was an abysmal 3-32, constituting the third-lowest percentage of threes made in a single game in NBA history (minimum 30 attempts). Dominant performance by the blue-and-silver.
Players
Luka got a nice rest, only having to play for 26 minutes. He took efficient advantage of the time, going 26-6-9. He tied MJ's record for the longest string of games with a 20-5-5 line or better since the NBA-ABA merger in the 70's (18). He was 2 of 8 on threes, but tied with Dame for the most threes made in a player's first 100 games (235). Always a pleasure to watch.
Porzingis was 13-5-2 in only 20 minutes of playing time. He got off to a lackluster start, but grew into the game as it went along. In his postgame interview, he observed that the other Mavs are getting used to playing with him, citing their increasing recognition that when their man is driving to the basket, he can protect the rim, and they don't have to foul. Indeed, no Mav had more than three fouls in this match. KP was T'd up again in the first quarter for making a gesture to the ref, but of course it didn't end up mattering.
Boban had a breakout performance, being the team's second-leading scorer with 15 points, and the leading rebounder at 16, in a third-highest 23 minutes. Carlisle liked the matchup with Okafor, as Jah is not super-quick and doesn't shoot threes. The big center landed a postgame interview with Skin, and said he had never been interviewed on TV before. He was a fun watch, for sure.
Bench. The bench continued to impress, equalling the starters with 65 points, and outscoring the NO bench 65-28. Boban, Brunson, and Curry all scored in double figures. Brunson had two long threes on two attempts. Maxi had an exciting jam from a Luka lob. Justin Jackson led the team in minutes (28), and it was a pleasure to see him get a runout. The seldom-used Courtney Lee played the entire fourth quarter.
Barea had 11 minutes in the fourth. Carlisle said that he and the staff had determined that Barea shouldn't play 12 straight minutes, due to the upcoming game tomorrow night. But they hadn't relayed that to the little Puerto Rican, and Carlisle said that when he tried to take Barea out, he received an earful of curses and decided to go ahead and let him play. Not sure whether that was a joke or not. I would buy the story, either way.
Wright was taken out after 4 minutes with an adductor strain (groin). Rick said he is very unlikely to play tomorrow. Hope it's nothing serious.
Remarks
Ceballos thought that the Pels' horrid three-point shooting was a result of the Mavs putting hands in their faces. Carlisle had a less rosy view, holding that the Pelicans missed some shots that they would normally make, the Mavs got a little lucky that way, and the score differential had probably made the Maverick defense look a little better than it really was. A coach-like response.
The Mavs set a team record for most 40+ point wins in a single season, with this being the third. The team made an effort to keep it entertaining, with a number of showy plays, but there is just so much excitement value in a 46-point win. The early start time may have also been at least partly responsible for a number of empty seats at the AAC.
All thirteen players made an appearance. Carlisle said that the opportunity to rest the starters is helpful "on paper." I was impressed with the team's ability to defend without fouling. As far as being able to draw fouls, Luka and KP were responsible for 17 of the Mavs' 31 free-throw attempts. The team also took great care of the ball, turning it over only 12 times.
We got a little humor from the broadcasters, when Brandon Ingram was T'd up. He had just taken and missed a contested three when the Pels had a lane to the basket. The callers were trying to figure out the reason for the tech, and Harper ventured that he should have gotten a T for his terrible basketball decision on the play, sending Followill and Skin into a fit of giggles.
Next. The Mavs play the Kings on Sunday, with a 6:00 tipoff. It is probably a little early to be watching the standings, but your Dallas Mavericks are second in the West after 22 games. Dope!
The Mavericks took care of business, blowing out the Pels in this day game on the first leg of a back-to-back.
Game Story
It was all Mavs in this contest. Dallas' lead was 3 at the end of the first quarter, climbed to 12 at halftime, exploded to 38 after three, and reached 50 before a couple of late New Orleans buckets finalized the advantage at 46. A good old-fashioned butt-whoopin.' The Pelicans were without Zion and Favors.
Analytics
The Mavs dominated most aspects of the game, including rebounds (55-34), assists (25-17), low personal fouls (17-23), free-throw attempts (31-21), points off turnovers (22-10), points in the paint (60-50), and second-chance points (16-6). The Mavericks' three-point shooting wasn't terrific (34%), but the Pelicans' performance from beyond the arc was an abysmal 3-32, constituting the third-lowest percentage of threes made in a single game in NBA history (minimum 30 attempts). Dominant performance by the blue-and-silver.
Players
Luka got a nice rest, only having to play for 26 minutes. He took efficient advantage of the time, going 26-6-9. He tied MJ's record for the longest string of games with a 20-5-5 line or better since the NBA-ABA merger in the 70's (18). He was 2 of 8 on threes, but tied with Dame for the most threes made in a player's first 100 games (235). Always a pleasure to watch.
Porzingis was 13-5-2 in only 20 minutes of playing time. He got off to a lackluster start, but grew into the game as it went along. In his postgame interview, he observed that the other Mavs are getting used to playing with him, citing their increasing recognition that when their man is driving to the basket, he can protect the rim, and they don't have to foul. Indeed, no Mav had more than three fouls in this match. KP was T'd up again in the first quarter for making a gesture to the ref, but of course it didn't end up mattering.
Boban had a breakout performance, being the team's second-leading scorer with 15 points, and the leading rebounder at 16, in a third-highest 23 minutes. Carlisle liked the matchup with Okafor, as Jah is not super-quick and doesn't shoot threes. The big center landed a postgame interview with Skin, and said he had never been interviewed on TV before. He was a fun watch, for sure.
Bench. The bench continued to impress, equalling the starters with 65 points, and outscoring the NO bench 65-28. Boban, Brunson, and Curry all scored in double figures. Brunson had two long threes on two attempts. Maxi had an exciting jam from a Luka lob. Justin Jackson led the team in minutes (28), and it was a pleasure to see him get a runout. The seldom-used Courtney Lee played the entire fourth quarter.
Barea had 11 minutes in the fourth. Carlisle said that he and the staff had determined that Barea shouldn't play 12 straight minutes, due to the upcoming game tomorrow night. But they hadn't relayed that to the little Puerto Rican, and Carlisle said that when he tried to take Barea out, he received an earful of curses and decided to go ahead and let him play. Not sure whether that was a joke or not. I would buy the story, either way.
Wright was taken out after 4 minutes with an adductor strain (groin). Rick said he is very unlikely to play tomorrow. Hope it's nothing serious.
Remarks
Ceballos thought that the Pels' horrid three-point shooting was a result of the Mavs putting hands in their faces. Carlisle had a less rosy view, holding that the Pelicans missed some shots that they would normally make, the Mavs got a little lucky that way, and the score differential had probably made the Maverick defense look a little better than it really was. A coach-like response.
The Mavs set a team record for most 40+ point wins in a single season, with this being the third. The team made an effort to keep it entertaining, with a number of showy plays, but there is just so much excitement value in a 46-point win. The early start time may have also been at least partly responsible for a number of empty seats at the AAC.
All thirteen players made an appearance. Carlisle said that the opportunity to rest the starters is helpful "on paper." I was impressed with the team's ability to defend without fouling. As far as being able to draw fouls, Luka and KP were responsible for 17 of the Mavs' 31 free-throw attempts. The team also took great care of the ball, turning it over only 12 times.
We got a little humor from the broadcasters, when Brandon Ingram was T'd up. He had just taken and missed a contested three when the Pels had a lane to the basket. The callers were trying to figure out the reason for the tech, and Harper ventured that he should have gotten a T for his terrible basketball decision on the play, sending Followill and Skin into a fit of giggles.
Next. The Mavs play the Kings on Sunday, with a 6:00 tipoff. It is probably a little early to be watching the standings, but your Dallas Mavericks are second in the West after 22 games. Dope!