Three in a row!
The Dallas Mavericks (8-7, 1-1 in NBA Cup play) faced an elimination game in the NBA Cup on Tuesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans (4-11, 1-1 in NBA Cup play), who were already 1-0 in group stage play entering the game. The Mavericks were once again at full strength for this one, as Luka Doncic returned from a one-game absence due to his right knee contusion. The special NBA Cup floor made its debut, and the only way I can describe it is “very blue”.
However, shaking off the sticker shock, there was a game to be played and the Mavericks made sure to get up for this one. Dallas took a double digit lead early and never looked back, cruising to a comfortable 132-91 win against these beaten and battered Pelicans. 7 Mavs scored in double figures, which is the second game in a row that has happened. Per the broadcast, that hasn’t happened in back to back games since 2019.
Early on, Doncic wasted no time announcing his return, as he had two steals in the Pelicans first three possessions to help catapult Dallas to a 6-0 lead in the first two minutes. Klay Thompson also started hot, racking up 10 first quarter points while nailing two triples. The Mavericks as a whole shot the ball very well in route to their season high scoring 1st quarter of 44 points, going 71% from the field and 60% from behind the long line. Dallas capped off the quarter with Quentin Grimes making his 2nd three pointer of the game at the buzzer to take a 15 point lead into the second frame.
The Mavericks kept the pedal down to start quarter number two, opening the frame on an 11-3 run to force a Pelicans timeout at 55-32. Doncic racked up another steal and was genuinely pretty disruptive on the defensive end, which is a welcome sight. However, Dallas coasted a bit from that point, seeing their once 23 point lead shrink in nearly half to just 63-51 at the half. Dallas followed up their 44-point first quarter by scoring less than half of that in the second, only managing 19 points.
Right before the half, Dallas had a chance to essentially take the last shot, but Luka was stripped on a drive, leading to a Pels run out. Doncic thought he was fouled, but referee JB DeRosa did not care for the conversation, leading to Luka’s 4th technical foul in 15 games. For our “on pace” people, that puts Luka on pace to earn a one game suspension for reaching 16 techs somewhere around the middle of February.
Late in the second quarter, New Orleans switched into a zone off of makes and dead balls. That strategy carried over into the third quarter, although Dallas looked much more prepared to beat it coming out of half. Dallas ran an action for Klay Thompson early, which resulted in an open three that he made. They eventually made enough shots, including two by Kyrie Irving, to push the Pelicans out of the zone as the lead got up to 87-65 with two and a half minutes to go in the period. Unlike the end of the 2nd, the Mavs kept the momentum to end the third, closing the period with a 28 point lead.
The 4th quarter was all window dressing, except for the Mavericks trying to run their scoring margin up for the Cup. Starters played deep into the period, which saw Luka splash a couple of threes to extend the lead to 36. Dwight Powell entered the game with just about 6 minutes left (and yes, got hit in the face), officially pushing this into garbage time.
Yes pic.twitter.com/ncU3DbEByi
— Did Dwight Powell get hit in the face tonight? (@DwightsFace) November 20, 2024
With that, your Dallas Mavericks are now streaking, having won three in a row! Lets wrap with some thoughts from this bludgeoning.
Running it up
One of the unique quirks of the NBA Cup is the scoring margin tiebreaker for advancing to the group stage. Since Dallas took an early loss to the Warriors last Tuesday, Dallas more than likely will need to run up margins in their final games to give themselves the best chance of advancing. Dallas found themselves up by 22 with 2:30 remaining in the third, and from that point on they managed to add 19 points to the lead. That +38 margin is the best in the group so far, meaning if they can find 2 wins, they’ll have a good chance to advance.
Splash down
The Mavericks were cooking from deep in this one, starting the first quarter by shooting 60% from 3 point land and finishing at 45%. Klay Thompson had one of his better 3 point shooting nights of the year, going 5 for 9. After his 1 for 11 showing in OKC on Sunday, it was good to see Klay get splashy. Kyrie Irving continued his torrid start from 3, going 4/5 tonight. Quentin Grimes continues to be an excellent option whether starting or coming off the bench, knocking down multiple three’s off the bench in this one. It’d be really nice to see PJ and Luka find the stroke from deep more consistently, but to perform at this level in spite of that means the Mavericks still have another level or two they can get to.
Owning the paint like Sherwin Williams
The Mavs cooked New Orleans inside in basically every conceivable stat that’s available. Dallas held New Orleans to 40% from the field, while themselves shooting 53% and racking up 66 paint points, a +32 margin on points in the paint. Dallas was +11 on the glass, had 14 offensive boards to the Pelicans 7 and had 19 stocks (steals + blocks). This was a true beatdown, one which Dallas can build off of.
The Mavs now get two days off for what feels like the first time this season, before heading to Denver for their 3rd NBA Cup game on Friday.