PJ Washington after Tuesday night’s win: “Give this group some time.”
The Mavericks convincingly defeated a healthy Lakers team Tuesday night in a much-needed win, snapping their five-game skid. After losing stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to injury, the Mavericks have had to fight tooth and nail on a nightly basis, having dropped 10 games without the pairing before last night’s win. It was a morale-boosting win for the team, but most importantly, it showed how good this team is around our stars, and how good they can be once they return.
It was an “all hands on deck” victory, led by Quentin Grimes, who scored 23 points, PJ Washington’s 22, and Spencer Dinwiddie’s 19 points and eight assists. The Mavericks outrebounded the Lakers (27th in team rebounding) 44-33, a key component in the win.
Grimes’ game-high 23 points was accompanied by nine rebounds and six assists. His bounce-back game after Monday’s nine points was crucial in the Mavericks win. The Mavericks continue to take care of business when Quentin Grimes scores 20+ points this season, now sitting at 5-1. He played with a level of aggression that showed he was ready to step up tonight and has started to find a level of comfortability in this team’s system. While this leaves the front office with a decision to make as he is on an expiring deal, he has been nothing short of great for the Mavericks and I am excited to see what is to come from him in a Dallas uniform.
The Mavericks played with a level of grittiness and heart that showed that you can’t write this team off when they are short-handed, and don’t even think about writing them off when they get their guys back. They played team basketball and outsmarted the Lakers, attacking Austin Reeves every chance they could get when they had the ball in the second half. They exploited their opponent’s weakness by outscoring the Lakers by 25 when he was on the floor.
The win showed that this team is still growing together. They are finally getting comfortable playing with each other, and the chemistry is starting to show. They need to continue to find consistency amidst injury and continue to build chemistry. The Mavericks have built their identity on beating teams inside and on the glass. If they can continue to lean into that like they did against the Lakers, then they will be just fine during these injuries.
Heading into Friday night’s matchup against Portland, the Mavericks need to take advantage of playing against a less-talented team before matchups against the Denver Nuggets, OKC Thunder, and Boston Celtics in the coming weeks. Hopefully, at some point during this stretch, we see Kyrie Irving return from his back injury.
The win over LA feels like one of those games that we will look back on at the end of the season where it felt like things started to click, akin to the shift we saw in the Mavericks in March of last season. It was one of those games that leave you hopeful for the future, something we have all needed after a rough stretch due to injuries. A game that makes you proud to be an MFFL.