MAVS VICTORIOUS IN SHOTMAKING EXTRAVAGANZA
RECORDS FALL LIKE DOMINOES
Aficionados of the offensive game will have been thrilled by this score-a-palooza. A blizzard of shots were falling from both teams, with the squads combining for 42 made threes. The Mavs out-blazed the Pels with a franchise-record-breaking 25 of those triples.
GAME STORY
Both sides came out of the gates strong in the first quarter. KP dazzled with 15 points, but a run by NO in the last couple of minutes left the Mavs trailing 27-34 after one. Dallas found their way back in the second quarter, and then some. Luka had 15 points in the period, and his buzzer-beating three carried his team to a 69-65 edge at halftime.
The home team Mavs achieved some separation in the third period, leading by double digits for most of the quarter, behind 15 points from Luka and 10 from Kristaps. But a weak close to the frame cut their lead to 108-101 after three. Our boys were back to a double-digit lead three minutes into the fourth, and they never looked back. Luka tossed in an additional 14 points for good measure.
STATS
Hitting 25 of 45 threes (56%) is enough to get you a W on most nights. Just fabulous shotmaking from the Mavs. The Pels were also efficient from deep at 46%, but took eight fewer attempts. In terms of point differentials, the Mavs were -10 on points from twos, +24 on points from threes, and -1 on made free throws. The points distribution had analytics departments drooling, with 133 of their 143 points coming from threes, PIP, and free throws. Our boys had good ball movement and took great care of the ball, with 30 assists and only 6 turnovers. The Pels stayed in the game with 50 points in the paint and 21 fast-break points.
Records set include the following. Franchise record 25 threes in a game for Mavs. NBA record of threes given up in consecutive games for Pels. Career-high 46 points for Luka. Career-high eight threes for KP. Career-high 36 points for Zion. Luka ties franchise record of consecutive 25+ point games at 13, joining Dirk and Aguirre. Wow!
PLAYERS
DONCIC. Luka had an incredible 46/8/12 line, hitting 17 of 30 attempts, going 5-8 from three, and committing only three turnovers. His career-high points total is all the more breathtaking, considering that he had only 2 points in the first quarter. He was a dominant force on the offensive end of the court. Rick termed his performance “phenomenal.” After the game, Luka acknowledged that the team’s defense had not been very good, but countered that, “we won the game, so. . . .” No one is taking that man’s joy away after this one!
PORZINGIS. KP went off for 36 points, completing 13 of 21 attempts, including a career-high 8 of 13 3PTAs. He also recorded 7 rebounds and a block. Rick labelled his display “phenomenal.” The chemistry between Kris and Luka was arguably the best it has ever been, and KP took advantage of all the open looks his teammates were creating. The big man said he has been working on his offensive game, especially on being patient, and he feels that the entire team is starting to gel. His three from the logo was named the Whataburger Play of the Game.
DFS. Doe-Doe got in on the shooting party, hitting 4-5 threes and 5-6 total, and putting 14 points and 5 rebounds on the board. One of the players after the game said that the COVID guys are getting their legs back under them now, and this certainly appeared to be the case with Dorian. Great to see him bouncing back. I think my favorite play of his was a rare and saucy KP-DFS alley-oop for a slam.
BRUNSON. Jalen had a very solid game off the bench, with a 13/6/7 line in 22 minutes on the court. He had an outstanding lob to KP on the run, posted up Bledsoe to draw a foul like he was Dirk or somebody, and drew a charge on Lonzo Ball. Rick said that, while it had been difficult to choose a defensive player of the game in this “pillow fight,” Brunson had been designated for taking the charge and grabbing six rebounds from the guard position.
ODDS AND ENDS. In addition to KP, the big rotation featured Maxi with 37 minutes and Willie at 13. Richardson was the fifth Mav in double figures with 11 points, and he also dished 6 dimes. There were no clutch minutes.
PELICANS. The stars collided in this contest, with the Zion-Ingram duo’s 66 points coming within shouting distance of matching the Luka-KP total of 82. What an entertaining clash of the titans! Notwithstanding the relatively comfortable final margin, the Pels were a handful, particularly Zion. He was compared several times to a “bowling ball,” rolling downhill over and over, without much resistance from the Mavs other than timid reach-ins to give him and-ones. Zion missed only 1 of his 15 shot attempts, and was 8-11 from the line. Rick called his play “ridiculous.” All told, an extraordinary display of offensive skill and talent from both squads.
OBSERVATIONS
Rick acknowledged that the game must have made for an exciting watch, and that it featured “phenomenal shotmaking.” He found plenty to like on the offensive end. The chemistry was tremendous, balls were being delivered on time, guys were stepping into shots in rhythm, they were sharing the ball better, moving it better, playing more selflessly, and “fixing it” when the ball was sticking. However, he seemed pretty shell-shocked to see his team exhibit such poor effort defensively. When he was asked whether this match represented what he expected of his team offensively, he looked taken aback, and replied that it was great to have all this shotmaking, but this kind of offensive performance is not sustainable, and the guys need to play better defense for the nights that they don’t put up 143 points.
The FSSW crew complimented Luka and Brunson for getting their teammates shots where they like to receive them — Maxi and DFS in the corners, Luka on the wings, KP at the top of the key, etc., and noted the squad's growing chemistry.
This rollicking shootout was fun as heck to watch, and I love the confident win.
However.
I don’t want to be the bubble-burster here, but I do think we have to note that the defense pretty much ranged from subpar to non-existent. In this case, that was also true of the Pels, who seemed totally ineffectual at guarding the three-point line, and not too great at protecting the paint, either. But not all opponents are going to be that soft, and I agree with Rick that the guys need to get it together, preferably sooner rather than later, on the defensive end. Nonetheless, for the moment, I think we can give ourselves permission to save that dark insight for another day and relish this winning streak, which is now up to 4.
The Mavs have risen to 9th in the Western Conference Standings, percentage points ahead of Sacramento and a game and a half behind Golden State.
We'll see if they can keep it going when Dame and the Trailblazers come to town on Sunday. The game will tip off at 6, weather permitting.
Go Mavs!
RECORDS FALL LIKE DOMINOES
Aficionados of the offensive game will have been thrilled by this score-a-palooza. A blizzard of shots were falling from both teams, with the squads combining for 42 made threes. The Mavs out-blazed the Pels with a franchise-record-breaking 25 of those triples.
GAME STORY
Both sides came out of the gates strong in the first quarter. KP dazzled with 15 points, but a run by NO in the last couple of minutes left the Mavs trailing 27-34 after one. Dallas found their way back in the second quarter, and then some. Luka had 15 points in the period, and his buzzer-beating three carried his team to a 69-65 edge at halftime.
The home team Mavs achieved some separation in the third period, leading by double digits for most of the quarter, behind 15 points from Luka and 10 from Kristaps. But a weak close to the frame cut their lead to 108-101 after three. Our boys were back to a double-digit lead three minutes into the fourth, and they never looked back. Luka tossed in an additional 14 points for good measure.
STATS
Hitting 25 of 45 threes (56%) is enough to get you a W on most nights. Just fabulous shotmaking from the Mavs. The Pels were also efficient from deep at 46%, but took eight fewer attempts. In terms of point differentials, the Mavs were -10 on points from twos, +24 on points from threes, and -1 on made free throws. The points distribution had analytics departments drooling, with 133 of their 143 points coming from threes, PIP, and free throws. Our boys had good ball movement and took great care of the ball, with 30 assists and only 6 turnovers. The Pels stayed in the game with 50 points in the paint and 21 fast-break points.
Records set include the following. Franchise record 25 threes in a game for Mavs. NBA record of threes given up in consecutive games for Pels. Career-high 46 points for Luka. Career-high eight threes for KP. Career-high 36 points for Zion. Luka ties franchise record of consecutive 25+ point games at 13, joining Dirk and Aguirre. Wow!
PLAYERS
DONCIC. Luka had an incredible 46/8/12 line, hitting 17 of 30 attempts, going 5-8 from three, and committing only three turnovers. His career-high points total is all the more breathtaking, considering that he had only 2 points in the first quarter. He was a dominant force on the offensive end of the court. Rick termed his performance “phenomenal.” After the game, Luka acknowledged that the team’s defense had not been very good, but countered that, “we won the game, so. . . .” No one is taking that man’s joy away after this one!
PORZINGIS. KP went off for 36 points, completing 13 of 21 attempts, including a career-high 8 of 13 3PTAs. He also recorded 7 rebounds and a block. Rick labelled his display “phenomenal.” The chemistry between Kris and Luka was arguably the best it has ever been, and KP took advantage of all the open looks his teammates were creating. The big man said he has been working on his offensive game, especially on being patient, and he feels that the entire team is starting to gel. His three from the logo was named the Whataburger Play of the Game.
DFS. Doe-Doe got in on the shooting party, hitting 4-5 threes and 5-6 total, and putting 14 points and 5 rebounds on the board. One of the players after the game said that the COVID guys are getting their legs back under them now, and this certainly appeared to be the case with Dorian. Great to see him bouncing back. I think my favorite play of his was a rare and saucy KP-DFS alley-oop for a slam.
BRUNSON. Jalen had a very solid game off the bench, with a 13/6/7 line in 22 minutes on the court. He had an outstanding lob to KP on the run, posted up Bledsoe to draw a foul like he was Dirk or somebody, and drew a charge on Lonzo Ball. Rick said that, while it had been difficult to choose a defensive player of the game in this “pillow fight,” Brunson had been designated for taking the charge and grabbing six rebounds from the guard position.
ODDS AND ENDS. In addition to KP, the big rotation featured Maxi with 37 minutes and Willie at 13. Richardson was the fifth Mav in double figures with 11 points, and he also dished 6 dimes. There were no clutch minutes.
PELICANS. The stars collided in this contest, with the Zion-Ingram duo’s 66 points coming within shouting distance of matching the Luka-KP total of 82. What an entertaining clash of the titans! Notwithstanding the relatively comfortable final margin, the Pels were a handful, particularly Zion. He was compared several times to a “bowling ball,” rolling downhill over and over, without much resistance from the Mavs other than timid reach-ins to give him and-ones. Zion missed only 1 of his 15 shot attempts, and was 8-11 from the line. Rick called his play “ridiculous.” All told, an extraordinary display of offensive skill and talent from both squads.
OBSERVATIONS
Rick acknowledged that the game must have made for an exciting watch, and that it featured “phenomenal shotmaking.” He found plenty to like on the offensive end. The chemistry was tremendous, balls were being delivered on time, guys were stepping into shots in rhythm, they were sharing the ball better, moving it better, playing more selflessly, and “fixing it” when the ball was sticking. However, he seemed pretty shell-shocked to see his team exhibit such poor effort defensively. When he was asked whether this match represented what he expected of his team offensively, he looked taken aback, and replied that it was great to have all this shotmaking, but this kind of offensive performance is not sustainable, and the guys need to play better defense for the nights that they don’t put up 143 points.
The FSSW crew complimented Luka and Brunson for getting their teammates shots where they like to receive them — Maxi and DFS in the corners, Luka on the wings, KP at the top of the key, etc., and noted the squad's growing chemistry.
This rollicking shootout was fun as heck to watch, and I love the confident win.
However.
I don’t want to be the bubble-burster here, but I do think we have to note that the defense pretty much ranged from subpar to non-existent. In this case, that was also true of the Pels, who seemed totally ineffectual at guarding the three-point line, and not too great at protecting the paint, either. But not all opponents are going to be that soft, and I agree with Rick that the guys need to get it together, preferably sooner rather than later, on the defensive end. Nonetheless, for the moment, I think we can give ourselves permission to save that dark insight for another day and relish this winning streak, which is now up to 4.
The Mavs have risen to 9th in the Western Conference Standings, percentage points ahead of Sacramento and a game and a half behind Golden State.
We'll see if they can keep it going when Dame and the Trailblazers come to town on Sunday. The game will tip off at 6, weather permitting.
Go Mavs!