12-05-2019, 02:43 AM
Mavs Survive Wolves; Brunson and Powell Have Career Nights
This one was a bit of a roller-coaster ride, but the Mavericks came out ahead with a massive assist from the bench mob.
Game Story
The Wolves came in looking all set for a Martian movie, with their lime-green unis. Karl-Anthony Towns is a beast, and he and Andrew Wiggins appeared practically radioactive. The Mavs were on the second night of a back-to-back, on their home court at the AAC.
The Mavs got out to a bright start, getting out to an 8-point lead, which dwindled to one, and then returned to 5 at the end of the first quarter. The score was 30-25, and Dallas led for the entire quarter. The Mavs were 2-10 from three in the period, but Luka and Powell put on a show, with Dwight scoring 11 points, often on assists from his Slovenian teammate. KP protected the rim with a vengeance, and had a dramatic chase-down block on KAT. At the end of the frame, Luka showed a bit of irritation, trying to sell a foul but getting called for a moving screen instead, and drawing a delay of game warning for not leaving the court fast enough. Carlisle did not elect to challenge, but looked as if he might have considered it for a moment.
The second quarter turned into a nightmare. The Mavs were 1 of 9 from beyond the arc, and they were exceptionally foul-happy, allowing the Wolves 17 FTAs in the period, compared to five of their own. The Mavericks actually had a 13-point advantage at 6:20, but the lead decreased to 7 at 2:07. Then, in the blink of a 2-minute eye, the Wolves went on an 11-1 explosion, with the Mavs missing three triples and a free throw attempt, committing a turnover, and seeing Powell and Porzee both commit their third fouls. The scoreboard showed 53-56 at the halftime buzzer. Ceballos opined that the Mavericks were getting distracted by the refs again, and were committing too many silly fouls. Aargh.
Dallas trailed all through the third, amassing a deficit of 11 twice, and gradually shaving it to 4 at the end of the period. Their three-point shooting remained putrid (1-7), but Powell and Porzingis stepped up, combining for 19 points out of the team's total 27. Dwight had two highlight-reel dunks over KAT, and a great and-one toward the end of the frame. DFS had a spectacular tip dunk from an offensive rebound at 0:29. KP also had a breathtaking put back dunk at 3:04. Luka continued to be frustrated by the no-calls, and was T'd up at 2:26. The home team took an 80-84 deficit into the fourth.
The bench tore the Wolves up, leading the team to 41 points in the last quarter, while holding the Wolves to 30. Jalen Brunson was stellar, with 14 points in the frame on perfect 6-6 shooting, along with two assists. As soon as Brunson subbed in at 10:27, the Mavs scored in 8 of their next 9 possessions, all on made baskets, and achieved a 19-12 run by 5:21. At 4:59, the starters came back in, except for Brunson staying on the floor in place of Hardaway. A few seconds later, Powell hurt his arm, and went to the locker room, replaced by Maxi. That group maintained the lead, and closed the game at 121-114. The bench guys who were responsible for the bulk of the comeback were Brunson, Seth, Wright, Jackson, and Kleber. Congratulations to this determined group, as well as the other Mavs!
Analytics
The Mavs shot a pathetic 4-26 from beyond the arc through the third quarter. A flaming fourth brought them up to 11-37 (30%), but it was still not enough to compete with Minny's 17-38 (45%). What our boys couldn't achieve from three, they found a way to accomplish inside the arc, hitting 35-55 two-point attempts (77%), and scoring 52 points in the paint. They were +30 on points from twos, -18 on points from threes, and -5 in made free throws. They also limited turnovers to 8, and maintained a 23-9 point edge in points off turnovers.
Players
Luka (32 minutes). Luka had a quiet night by his stratospheric standards (22-7-6, 5 turnovers), and seemed like he might be letting the refereeing situation get to him a little more than was ideal. Still, he managed the game well. When he came in for the last few minutes of the game, he recognized Brunson's hot hand, and was calling plays for Jalen, with excellent results! Luka's contributions could not be measured by the box score. Cedric did a demo after the game, showing how Luka's tremendous ball handling and jump shooting kept the Wolves guessing, and bewildered KAT, enabling Luka to find his teammates again and again.
Porzingis (29 minutes). Kristaps played a full complement of minutes tonight, despite having played 18 minutes the previous night. Good sign! He had 19 points on reasonably efficient shooting, along with 6 rebounds, and made a strong defensive impression vying with the Wolves' big men.
Powell (25 minutes). Dwight put together a glittering night, scoring a team-high 24 points on perfect shooting from the field (7-7 2PTAs, 2-2 3PTAs, 4-5 FTAs). It was a season-high in points, and a career high for a half, with his first-half 14. He filled out the stat sheet with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, and 2 blocks, all without playing in the fourth quarter. He kept the crowd coming out of their seats, with a number of points on the move, including a variety of jams, and a couple of timely threes as well.
Carlisle said that DP played a "massively important role" in the game, and did a great deal of dirty work guarding KAT and Minny's various drivers into the lane. Ceballos noted that the Wolves made the mistake of failing to put a body on him, and he repeatedly made them pay. The X-rays on his arm were negative, and he has been diagnosed with a bruise on his left arm. Powell said he thought the arm got wedged between Porzingis and Wiggins, and he is relieved that it wasn't broken.
Brunson (18 minutes). Jalen was a revelation, taking the reins in the fourth quarter, and leading an amazing scoring spree. He had a career-high 14 points in the final frame, and a season-high 16 points on the night. Rick kept him on the court down the stretch, saying that it was "obvious" that he needed to stay in, and praised him for being a difference-maker. Coach noted that the team had been struggling most of the night, needed a boost of energy, and boy, did Brunson provide one.
Bench Mob. The bench as a whole was tremendous, overmatching the Wolves bench 45-22. In plus-minus stats, every member of the second unit was in positive territory, whereas all the starters were negative. Jalen will, deservedly, get the limelight, but Seth, Maxi, Delon, and Justin all put in yeoman's work. I am growing to love this bench! Harp noted that the difference between the Mavs' reserves and those of other teams is that this bench is very good in clutch situations. Hard to disagree. Rick observed that the bench was critically important on the second night of a back-to-back, and had done a great job.
Remarks
At the beginning of this game, I thought maybe the numerous games and emotional peaks and valleys might have caught up with the team on the SEGABABA. However, it seems like someone different every night steps up in some unexpected way, and tonight it was Powell and Brunson. The game was exciting, played very fast, and with lots of end-to-end action. Rick was a bit snippy with Tim Cato when he was asked about the finishing lineup. Don't know if there's some back story there, or not. In any case, Rick confirmed that the finishing lineup is not fixed, but rather is determined from night to night.
The Mavericks have now won nine of their last ten matches. The last time they had such a record was in 2011. A very auspicious year, no?
Next. The Mavs will welcome the Pelicans to the AAC on Saturday, in an early game. So, the boys will have a couple of days to rest between back-to-backs. Should be fun!
This one was a bit of a roller-coaster ride, but the Mavericks came out ahead with a massive assist from the bench mob.
Game Story
The Wolves came in looking all set for a Martian movie, with their lime-green unis. Karl-Anthony Towns is a beast, and he and Andrew Wiggins appeared practically radioactive. The Mavs were on the second night of a back-to-back, on their home court at the AAC.
The Mavs got out to a bright start, getting out to an 8-point lead, which dwindled to one, and then returned to 5 at the end of the first quarter. The score was 30-25, and Dallas led for the entire quarter. The Mavs were 2-10 from three in the period, but Luka and Powell put on a show, with Dwight scoring 11 points, often on assists from his Slovenian teammate. KP protected the rim with a vengeance, and had a dramatic chase-down block on KAT. At the end of the frame, Luka showed a bit of irritation, trying to sell a foul but getting called for a moving screen instead, and drawing a delay of game warning for not leaving the court fast enough. Carlisle did not elect to challenge, but looked as if he might have considered it for a moment.
The second quarter turned into a nightmare. The Mavs were 1 of 9 from beyond the arc, and they were exceptionally foul-happy, allowing the Wolves 17 FTAs in the period, compared to five of their own. The Mavericks actually had a 13-point advantage at 6:20, but the lead decreased to 7 at 2:07. Then, in the blink of a 2-minute eye, the Wolves went on an 11-1 explosion, with the Mavs missing three triples and a free throw attempt, committing a turnover, and seeing Powell and Porzee both commit their third fouls. The scoreboard showed 53-56 at the halftime buzzer. Ceballos opined that the Mavericks were getting distracted by the refs again, and were committing too many silly fouls. Aargh.
Dallas trailed all through the third, amassing a deficit of 11 twice, and gradually shaving it to 4 at the end of the period. Their three-point shooting remained putrid (1-7), but Powell and Porzingis stepped up, combining for 19 points out of the team's total 27. Dwight had two highlight-reel dunks over KAT, and a great and-one toward the end of the frame. DFS had a spectacular tip dunk from an offensive rebound at 0:29. KP also had a breathtaking put back dunk at 3:04. Luka continued to be frustrated by the no-calls, and was T'd up at 2:26. The home team took an 80-84 deficit into the fourth.
The bench tore the Wolves up, leading the team to 41 points in the last quarter, while holding the Wolves to 30. Jalen Brunson was stellar, with 14 points in the frame on perfect 6-6 shooting, along with two assists. As soon as Brunson subbed in at 10:27, the Mavs scored in 8 of their next 9 possessions, all on made baskets, and achieved a 19-12 run by 5:21. At 4:59, the starters came back in, except for Brunson staying on the floor in place of Hardaway. A few seconds later, Powell hurt his arm, and went to the locker room, replaced by Maxi. That group maintained the lead, and closed the game at 121-114. The bench guys who were responsible for the bulk of the comeback were Brunson, Seth, Wright, Jackson, and Kleber. Congratulations to this determined group, as well as the other Mavs!
Analytics
The Mavs shot a pathetic 4-26 from beyond the arc through the third quarter. A flaming fourth brought them up to 11-37 (30%), but it was still not enough to compete with Minny's 17-38 (45%). What our boys couldn't achieve from three, they found a way to accomplish inside the arc, hitting 35-55 two-point attempts (77%), and scoring 52 points in the paint. They were +30 on points from twos, -18 on points from threes, and -5 in made free throws. They also limited turnovers to 8, and maintained a 23-9 point edge in points off turnovers.
Players
Luka (32 minutes). Luka had a quiet night by his stratospheric standards (22-7-6, 5 turnovers), and seemed like he might be letting the refereeing situation get to him a little more than was ideal. Still, he managed the game well. When he came in for the last few minutes of the game, he recognized Brunson's hot hand, and was calling plays for Jalen, with excellent results! Luka's contributions could not be measured by the box score. Cedric did a demo after the game, showing how Luka's tremendous ball handling and jump shooting kept the Wolves guessing, and bewildered KAT, enabling Luka to find his teammates again and again.
Porzingis (29 minutes). Kristaps played a full complement of minutes tonight, despite having played 18 minutes the previous night. Good sign! He had 19 points on reasonably efficient shooting, along with 6 rebounds, and made a strong defensive impression vying with the Wolves' big men.
Powell (25 minutes). Dwight put together a glittering night, scoring a team-high 24 points on perfect shooting from the field (7-7 2PTAs, 2-2 3PTAs, 4-5 FTAs). It was a season-high in points, and a career high for a half, with his first-half 14. He filled out the stat sheet with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, and 2 blocks, all without playing in the fourth quarter. He kept the crowd coming out of their seats, with a number of points on the move, including a variety of jams, and a couple of timely threes as well.
Carlisle said that DP played a "massively important role" in the game, and did a great deal of dirty work guarding KAT and Minny's various drivers into the lane. Ceballos noted that the Wolves made the mistake of failing to put a body on him, and he repeatedly made them pay. The X-rays on his arm were negative, and he has been diagnosed with a bruise on his left arm. Powell said he thought the arm got wedged between Porzingis and Wiggins, and he is relieved that it wasn't broken.
Brunson (18 minutes). Jalen was a revelation, taking the reins in the fourth quarter, and leading an amazing scoring spree. He had a career-high 14 points in the final frame, and a season-high 16 points on the night. Rick kept him on the court down the stretch, saying that it was "obvious" that he needed to stay in, and praised him for being a difference-maker. Coach noted that the team had been struggling most of the night, needed a boost of energy, and boy, did Brunson provide one.
Bench Mob. The bench as a whole was tremendous, overmatching the Wolves bench 45-22. In plus-minus stats, every member of the second unit was in positive territory, whereas all the starters were negative. Jalen will, deservedly, get the limelight, but Seth, Maxi, Delon, and Justin all put in yeoman's work. I am growing to love this bench! Harp noted that the difference between the Mavs' reserves and those of other teams is that this bench is very good in clutch situations. Hard to disagree. Rick observed that the bench was critically important on the second night of a back-to-back, and had done a great job.
Remarks
At the beginning of this game, I thought maybe the numerous games and emotional peaks and valleys might have caught up with the team on the SEGABABA. However, it seems like someone different every night steps up in some unexpected way, and tonight it was Powell and Brunson. The game was exciting, played very fast, and with lots of end-to-end action. Rick was a bit snippy with Tim Cato when he was asked about the finishing lineup. Don't know if there's some back story there, or not. In any case, Rick confirmed that the finishing lineup is not fixed, but rather is determined from night to night.
The Mavericks have now won nine of their last ten matches. The last time they had such a record was in 2011. A very auspicious year, no?
Next. The Mavs will welcome the Pelicans to the AAC on Saturday, in an early game. So, the boys will have a couple of days to rest between back-to-backs. Should be fun!