The Mavericks’ offense is still starting slow, but there’s too many outlets for it to go completely flat
The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Utah Jazz 110-102; an ideal outcome before they hit the road to Minnesota for their first back-to-back of the season.
Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks in scoring with 23 and PJ Washington finished with a double-double, 12 points, and 11 rebounds.
Dallas nearly held Utah to a sub 100-point game in what could be debated as good defense or bad offense. Still, Colin Sexton had a solid night, shooting 9-for-11 and scoring 23 points to lead the Jazz.
It’s a good team win after Dallas looked a little too lackadaisical against a Suns team playing on a back-to-back.
Many hands make light work
On a night that may well end up being Luka Doncic’s worst scoring performance for the entire season, the rest of the roster stepped up. In addition to Doncic’s 15 points, five other Mavs scored in double digits, led by Irving’s 23.
But it wasn’t just scoring that Dallas handled by committee. Five Dallas players finished the game with over five rebounds as well.
The most comforting thing to take away from the win was that it never felt like a fluke. No longer is Luka’s margin for error zero. The cast around him is comprised of solid contributors who can carry a game like this one as a matter of course, not just as a one-off. Still, it’s unlikely we get many games like this one from Doncic.
To his credit, Doncic ended up hitting a fourth-quarter three (his first and only long-distance hit on a night he went 1-for-9) that poured water on any inkling of a Jazz comeback, but he’ll certainly want to see the ball falling a little easier tomorrow.
All filler
With both offenses starting the game slowly (it was a 49-42 Dallas lead at half), there was a premium placed on players making an impact elsewhere on the court. For Dallas, no player popped as much as PJ Washington.
For the game, he posted a solid 12 points, but it was how he filled up the box score early in the game that really helped Dallas establish and hold a lead for much of the game. At halftime, Washington had 11 of Dallas’ 49 points but also contributed seven rebounds, two assists, three steals, and two blocks. He did a little bit of everything for Dallas tonight, and that was just the kind of play the Mavericks needed until the offense came online later in the game.
Tinker time
With Exum remaining out and Maxi Kleber hitting the injury report, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd is using the open rotation spots as an opportunity to tinker with some lineups.
After a DNP-coached decision last game, Spencer Dinwiddie was the first off the bench for Dallas tonight against the Jazz. He played solid defensively, notching a big block on Keyonte George that led to a shot clock violation, but his impact was felt in a big way on offense. During the third quarter in particular, Dinwiddie uncorked 11 points and hit all three of his three-point shots. He stretched Dallas’ lead back to 12 heading into the fourth after it had shrunk down to just two in the third.
And while we didn’t get much Jaden Hardy time tonight, there’s still some youth development happening as OMax Prosper got some early minutes in the first half.
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