In their first game coming out of the All-Star Break, Dallas scored another win in a back-and-forth affair in a major game against division enemy and leader Spurs. We’re greeted with a strange news forecast, because LaMarcus Aldridge and the Spurs will separate.
Nonetheless, DeMar DeRozan put the San Antonio lead in an efficient manner, putting 30 points on 12-of-19 shots. For the Mavericks, Luka Doncic started shooting slowly, picking up just six points in the half. Still, he made an impact on the boards and picked up a couple of assistants early, and he found his way into a triple double when his score overtook his other contributions in the second half. In the end, he led the Mavs by 22 points with his 12 boards and 12 assistants.
Mavs pull away late on Porzingis’ strong 4th quarter
With Dallas’ two-point lead halfway through the fourth, 97-95, Kristaps Porzingis made his will known by scoring seven straight points while the team sat defensively on San Antonio. That increased Dallas’ lead to eight, and they never looked back.
Porzingis seemed to be activated throughout the match. He fired the shots on the defensive side and fought back. He led the team in points and rebounds with 28 and 14 respectively, with four of the boards offending.
From Rusty to Rewarding
Dallas entered the All Star break on a high note – a victory against the Thunder that ended a series of games 8-2. The hope was that they would get the ground going, after the break completely rested, but the first quarter was a bit uninterrupted. They had 11 of their 14 turnovers in the first half and are seven down the tunnel. No Maverick player scored double-digit points in the first half, and their leading scorer was WIllie Cauley-Stein with eight. Not exactly how you set it up.
However, the team persevered and got their feet wet in the second half. Doncic and Porzingis came alive on offense, and the league’s top defense of December, which increasingly looked like a sound as the Mavs bumped into January, appeared in this game. Dallas consistently let the buckets come and suffocated San Antonio completely during an important six-minute stretch, where the Spurs did not score a single field goal and conceded just two meager points on a few DeRozan free-kicks. The late execution of the game is a face for sore eyes for those who did not remember long ago when the Mavs were notorious in a difficult time.
Second chance for me, not for you
Perhaps the biggest difference in this game is not contributions from a single player, but what the team was able to do on the boards. San Antonio is not a particularly great team, and Dallas has taken advantage of a 21-time lead. The big difference fueled the opportunity for the Mavericks’ second chances in a game where the three-point shots they relied on did not drop (the team was 13-out-40 from deep, 32.5%).
Dallas, however, piled up 21 points for the second chance at San Antonio. In a game where everything else was so close, Dallas managed to find a wire on which they could unravel the Spurs.
It’s a big win for Dallas, who are now level with San Antonio in the division, as measured by games, and they secure the showdown.