The Maverick bounce back with a strong performance
The short-handed Dallas Mavericks out-dueled the Atlanta Hawks, 129-119. Kyrie Irving turned in another masterful performance, scoring 32 points along with seven rebounds and six assists. Jalen Johnson had 28 points and 11 rebounds in defeat for the Hawks.
Dallas found themselves without Klay Thompson, Quentin Grimes, and Luka Doncic and came out in the first quarter looking tired and disinterested. They committed eight turnovers in the quarter and found themselves down by as many as thirteen in the frame. But despite an ugly start, the good guys found their offense and quickly closed the lead in the final minutes. Dallas was down 31-28 after 12 minutes.
The Mavericks found a bit more offense in the second. Spencer Dinwiddie forced his way to the free throw line, Naji Marshall made some buckets, and Jaden Hardy played some solid on-ball defense which helped create Dallas offense. Dallas built up the lead to as many as six, then collapsed in the final two minutes of the half. Turnovers paired with missed shots and bad defense allowed the Hawks to go on a 12-0 run resulting in a 67-61 Atlanta lead at the half.
An ugly start prompted a quick timeout two minutes into the second half from head coach Jason Kidd. With Dallas down 11 points, Jaden Hardy injected life into the Maverick offense with five straight points. Dinwiddie helped close the gap further connecting on three straight three-point shots then dishing to PJ Washington to give Dallas the lead. The two squads exchanged baskets the rest of the quarter and the Mavericks took a 96-95 lead into the final quarter.
The superior top end talent from Dallas won out in the fourth quarter. A Kyrie Irving outburst from… well everywhere helped give the Mavericks a sizable lead in the middle of the quarter which Atlanta could not overcome. Washington punctuated the win with an incredible block on a fast break attempt with just over a minute left; the block led to a Kyrie Irving layup in transition to seal the game. Dallas wins 129-119.
Now, some thoughts…
The Dallas bench paved the way to victory
Following an evening where the Maverick bench underperformed and arguably lost Dallas the game, it was great to watch a short-handed group pull together on the second night of a back-to-back and drag Dallas to victory. Dinwiddie was hyper-efficient following a 1 of 12 shooting performance, scoring 22 points on just 11 field goals. His free throw drawing helped settle the Dallas offense. Daniel Gafford and Maxi Kleber combined for 17 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and three blocks as bigs off the bench. Maxi, in particular, looked great. Considering his hamstring detached from his bone earlier in the season, this kind of performance is welcomed, especially a night after he looked washed.
Kyrie Irving was tired, then rose to the occasion
A night after Irving’s missed free throw led to Dallas falling in overtime against Miami, he led Dallas to a gutsy victory. Entering the fourth, Irving had 16 points on mildly inefficient play, which was to be expected following his high minute count the night prior against the Heat. His four threes in the fourth to go along with a layup, long two jump shot, and two assist were the main reasons Dallas overpowered Atlanta in the fourth. It was an impressive performance for the veteran guard.
Mr. Reliable
PJ Washington’s becoming the player prognosticators envisioned. In a given night he’s capable of scoring a dozen, grabbing double-digit rebounds, while also making the right pass, defending the opposing team’s best player, and getting various defensive stats to boot. His box score was solid but not exactly stand-out material on Monday. Yet his 11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and four stocks were key to Dallas walking away with a win.
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