Shorthanded Mavs Sink Nets
The Mavericks ended their two-game losing streak with a decisive victory to begin their home stand. Much improved performance, especially in the final quarter.
Game Story and Analytics
Porzingis (sore knee), Hardaway (hamstring), and Broekhoff (broken fibula) were all on the Mavericks' injured list. The Nets were missing a couple of stars of their own in Kyrie and KD.
Carlisle started a lineup of Barea-Luka-DFS-Jackson-Powell, in an effort to counter the Nets' small unit. It didn't go well, and your Dallas Mavericks soon found themselves 10 points behind. They gradually worked back into the game, and managed to gain a 31-30 edge to finish the quarter. After amassing a 7-point lead in the second, the squad unravelled, allowing Brooklyn to go on a 17-2 run. DFS had a thundering put back jam off a Luka missed three to reduce the first-half deficit to five.
Rick started Maxi instead of Powell in the third period to take better advantage of DeAndre Jordan's weak perimeter defense. That unit came out with a bang, and the Mavs were soon back in it. Luka had to exit early with foul trouble, and the Nets were back on top late in the quarter, but Dallas managed to tie the game going into the fourth on the back of a 15-point quarter from Seth. The Mavs ran away with it in the fourth, with Luka going off for 15 points. The boys in blue achieved a double-digit lead at 4:24 and never surrendered it.
Statistically, this game came down to the Mavericks' superior three-point shooting. Dallas shot a blistering 46% from long range, led by Luka and Seth with five triples apiece. Their hot shooting helped make up for giving up 56 points in the paint and 19 second chance points to the Nets. In truth, the home team didn't look to be much more than hanging in for much of the first three quarters, but they got it together with an excellent final frame.
Players
Luka (34 min) started the game off the ball and didn't look 100% for some time. But he came back and delivered in the fourth, looking bouncy and refreshed to the end. He ended the game with a 31-13-7 line, and provided some much needed rebounding from the point guard position.
After the Thunder game, Jason Terry mentioned that Luka looked to be wearing down. Carlisle gave some insight into this, taking responsibility for the "mistake" of playing Doncic for 40 minutes in that contest, leaving him out of juice when Chris Paul went off. He said Luka has been playing too many long stretches of minutes, and it has been affecting him late in games. Tonight, he took corrective measures with a new substitution pattern, and thought Luka looked "spectacular" down the stretch.
Seth (31 min) was scorching, earning 25 points on 9-13 shooting, including going a perfect 5-5 from beyond the arc. Rick thought his play was "great," and complimented Curry for his shotmaking, playmaking, and solid defense. The guard saved the Mavs' bacon when they were struggling in the third period, putting the team on his shoulders with a scoring burst. Rick also mentioned that Seth's teammates had been good about finding him all night, and that the coach's challenge was to keep Seth rested enough that he could finish the game. Excellent job!
Maxi (31 min) had another excellent game, and impressed on both sides of the court, putting a career-high 18 points and a career-high-tying 3 blocks on the scoresheet. Kleber has been making good progress all season, and may be taking his game to a new level. Stepped up well in KP's absence. The man from Wurzburg said that he has been doing a lot of work on his three-point shot, especially on a quicker release. He had three threes in this contest, and it looks like the reps are paying off.
DFS (28 min) flies so under the radar that it can be easy to miss his consistent play, but he had another quietly good performance here, and got onto the highlight reel with his dunk to end the first half. He remarked on stepping up in the absence of the team's key rim protector and rebounder, and said the team hopes to improve its home record by "taking care of the crib."
Barea (21 min) was the starting point guard, and put up 10 points and six assists. Rick wanted Barea to start in order to take advantage of his playmaking, to give Luka an opportunity to play off the ball, and to match up with the Net's transition offense. The veteran always provides a steadying hand to his teammates.
Boban (13 min) had an outing in KP's absence, and had 10 points and 7 rebounds in his limited minutes, along with keeping the Nets away from the basket. The gentle giant earned some praise from Rick, who thought he did well. I love it when Bobi just stands there and puts the ball in the basket without even moving his feet off the floor, lol. What a morale-crushing move!
Josh Reaves (1 min) made his NBA debut. Luka ran a play for him. His shot didn't go in, but Luka retrieved the game ball to give to him. Nice moment!
Jackson (26 min) had a starting role and extended minutes, and Rick thought he was "great." It was a bit of a rough night for Powell (23 min), who was two of eight from the field and collected only one rebound. Wright contributed five assists and performed serviceably in 18 minutes. Brunson (11 min) got some late run, and Rick complimented his performance on both ends. Lee had a three-minute cameo.
Bench. The bench was the story, providing a massive 62 points, led by Seth, Maxi, and Bobi, who were all in double digits.
Random Observations
This was Harry Potter Night, and there were a lot of costumes in the crowd, along with a sprinkling of Luka Magic on the court. It was also the 20th anniversary of Mark Cuban's acquisition of the team.
Remarks
Rick said this was a very hard game, having to contend with the absences of Porzingis and Hardaway, and he thought his players stepped up. The first three quarters were especially difficult, and Coach thought it was all going to come down to whether the squad could put together one good defensive quarter. He told the huddle going into the fourth that they needed to limit the Nets to 20 points, and the team cooperated, winning the final period 30-18. He said there was a "lot going on" in the game, including some very aggressive play and a lot of points being scored. The Mavs were struggling with defense, rebounding, and loose balls until they finally got it together to seal the game. He gave off a sense of relief in the postgame presser.
This was a bit of a strange game, what with the absences and new combinations of players. The match had the atmosphere of throwing a lot of stuff against the wall to see what might stick, and almost had a pick-up game feel at times. But it came together at the end, and proved to be an admirable bounce-back from a couple of lukewarm performances in the last two games. As the bard said, all's well that ends well, and we'll take the W!
Next. Charlotte, on Saturday at the AAC.
Go Mavs!
The Mavericks ended their two-game losing streak with a decisive victory to begin their home stand. Much improved performance, especially in the final quarter.
Game Story and Analytics
Porzingis (sore knee), Hardaway (hamstring), and Broekhoff (broken fibula) were all on the Mavericks' injured list. The Nets were missing a couple of stars of their own in Kyrie and KD.
Carlisle started a lineup of Barea-Luka-DFS-Jackson-Powell, in an effort to counter the Nets' small unit. It didn't go well, and your Dallas Mavericks soon found themselves 10 points behind. They gradually worked back into the game, and managed to gain a 31-30 edge to finish the quarter. After amassing a 7-point lead in the second, the squad unravelled, allowing Brooklyn to go on a 17-2 run. DFS had a thundering put back jam off a Luka missed three to reduce the first-half deficit to five.
Rick started Maxi instead of Powell in the third period to take better advantage of DeAndre Jordan's weak perimeter defense. That unit came out with a bang, and the Mavs were soon back in it. Luka had to exit early with foul trouble, and the Nets were back on top late in the quarter, but Dallas managed to tie the game going into the fourth on the back of a 15-point quarter from Seth. The Mavs ran away with it in the fourth, with Luka going off for 15 points. The boys in blue achieved a double-digit lead at 4:24 and never surrendered it.
Statistically, this game came down to the Mavericks' superior three-point shooting. Dallas shot a blistering 46% from long range, led by Luka and Seth with five triples apiece. Their hot shooting helped make up for giving up 56 points in the paint and 19 second chance points to the Nets. In truth, the home team didn't look to be much more than hanging in for much of the first three quarters, but they got it together with an excellent final frame.
Players
Luka (34 min) started the game off the ball and didn't look 100% for some time. But he came back and delivered in the fourth, looking bouncy and refreshed to the end. He ended the game with a 31-13-7 line, and provided some much needed rebounding from the point guard position.
After the Thunder game, Jason Terry mentioned that Luka looked to be wearing down. Carlisle gave some insight into this, taking responsibility for the "mistake" of playing Doncic for 40 minutes in that contest, leaving him out of juice when Chris Paul went off. He said Luka has been playing too many long stretches of minutes, and it has been affecting him late in games. Tonight, he took corrective measures with a new substitution pattern, and thought Luka looked "spectacular" down the stretch.
Seth (31 min) was scorching, earning 25 points on 9-13 shooting, including going a perfect 5-5 from beyond the arc. Rick thought his play was "great," and complimented Curry for his shotmaking, playmaking, and solid defense. The guard saved the Mavs' bacon when they were struggling in the third period, putting the team on his shoulders with a scoring burst. Rick also mentioned that Seth's teammates had been good about finding him all night, and that the coach's challenge was to keep Seth rested enough that he could finish the game. Excellent job!
Maxi (31 min) had another excellent game, and impressed on both sides of the court, putting a career-high 18 points and a career-high-tying 3 blocks on the scoresheet. Kleber has been making good progress all season, and may be taking his game to a new level. Stepped up well in KP's absence. The man from Wurzburg said that he has been doing a lot of work on his three-point shot, especially on a quicker release. He had three threes in this contest, and it looks like the reps are paying off.
DFS (28 min) flies so under the radar that it can be easy to miss his consistent play, but he had another quietly good performance here, and got onto the highlight reel with his dunk to end the first half. He remarked on stepping up in the absence of the team's key rim protector and rebounder, and said the team hopes to improve its home record by "taking care of the crib."
Barea (21 min) was the starting point guard, and put up 10 points and six assists. Rick wanted Barea to start in order to take advantage of his playmaking, to give Luka an opportunity to play off the ball, and to match up with the Net's transition offense. The veteran always provides a steadying hand to his teammates.
Boban (13 min) had an outing in KP's absence, and had 10 points and 7 rebounds in his limited minutes, along with keeping the Nets away from the basket. The gentle giant earned some praise from Rick, who thought he did well. I love it when Bobi just stands there and puts the ball in the basket without even moving his feet off the floor, lol. What a morale-crushing move!
Josh Reaves (1 min) made his NBA debut. Luka ran a play for him. His shot didn't go in, but Luka retrieved the game ball to give to him. Nice moment!
Jackson (26 min) had a starting role and extended minutes, and Rick thought he was "great." It was a bit of a rough night for Powell (23 min), who was two of eight from the field and collected only one rebound. Wright contributed five assists and performed serviceably in 18 minutes. Brunson (11 min) got some late run, and Rick complimented his performance on both ends. Lee had a three-minute cameo.
Bench. The bench was the story, providing a massive 62 points, led by Seth, Maxi, and Bobi, who were all in double digits.
Random Observations
This was Harry Potter Night, and there were a lot of costumes in the crowd, along with a sprinkling of Luka Magic on the court. It was also the 20th anniversary of Mark Cuban's acquisition of the team.
Remarks
Rick said this was a very hard game, having to contend with the absences of Porzingis and Hardaway, and he thought his players stepped up. The first three quarters were especially difficult, and Coach thought it was all going to come down to whether the squad could put together one good defensive quarter. He told the huddle going into the fourth that they needed to limit the Nets to 20 points, and the team cooperated, winning the final period 30-18. He said there was a "lot going on" in the game, including some very aggressive play and a lot of points being scored. The Mavs were struggling with defense, rebounding, and loose balls until they finally got it together to seal the game. He gave off a sense of relief in the postgame presser.
This was a bit of a strange game, what with the absences and new combinations of players. The match had the atmosphere of throwing a lot of stuff against the wall to see what might stick, and almost had a pick-up game feel at times. But it came together at the end, and proved to be an admirable bounce-back from a couple of lukewarm performances in the last two games. As the bard said, all's well that ends well, and we'll take the W!
Next. Charlotte, on Saturday at the AAC.
Go Mavs!