GAME 2 PLAYOFF DIRKIE: PJ !!!!!!!!!!!

[SleepingHero]

[RGP1981]

PJ did great. This was an important win. :clap:

[SleepingHero]

Don't have time to do my usual write up right now. Will later.

But I will leave this GIF here :)

[ballsrchr]

This was a good overall team win. Several players were notable: P.J. Washington, Luka, THJ, Kyrie, and Josh Green.

My nominees for the Dirkie award are: P.J. Washington and Josh Green.

I really want to give it to JG, but for some reason Kidd chose not to play him all, or most of the 4th.

So...I'll go with P.J. Washington.

[SleepingHero]

Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2)
The crowd had a brief "Luka sucks" chant going and Doncic just knocked down a turnaround midrange over Dort and he screamed out, "Luka what?!"

[vfromlmf]

PJ obviously but I’d give the low key Dirkie to the refs getting it right on fouls against Gafford. I thought it cost the Mavs game 1. Credit the crew for watching the tape and making the right adjustment.

[mvossman]

It has to be PJ, but a shout out to Timmy. For a player that most folks have been hoping stays injured, he brought some desperately needed offense off the bench and had a very positive impact on the game.

[The Jom]

4. Luka with the lengthy stat line: 29/10/7/3/1 with just 1 turnover.
3. Josh Green with the premier down-under shooting performance on the evening.
2. Tim Hardaway, Jr. with 17 points and what feels like a personal-best-for-2024 +15 in 19 crucial minutes.
1. Pee Jay Swishington. From here! From there! From every f’n where!

[MrGoat]

I see three choices here. If we're going relative to expectations I would pick Timmy. Luka isn't 100% so that was a huge performance from him.

It's just hard not to go with PJ, though.

I would have had D Live as another honorable mention if his offense wasn't as bad as his defense was good

[Reunion Mav]

First let me thank Timmy for playing a very good game when we needed him. PJ is certainly laying his claim on our third best player status. Luka coming out hot like he did and continuing to show a very good mentality toward the game (as he said) was very good to see.

[vfromlmf]

Second place for low key Dirkiie is Kyrie. I thought we’d need him to put up 20 in the second half to win but he stuck with the game plan and kept feeding the others. That’s not good news for OKC. Kyrie kept the powder dry and Mavs still won.

[ThisIStheYear]

One of the better games I’ve seen the Mavs play top to bottom of the main rotation. Exum’s poor play knocked him out of the rotation. The top 8 were all good. Lively seemed to struggle the most, but +18 isn’t a fluke. He must have done something right.

[omahen]

Green was good on offense hitting some shots and grabbing a couple of offensive rebounds, but he was not good on defense. Lively was good on defense but should do more on offense with his opportunities. Exum is still nowhere to be found. Gafford was decent but not great.

I'm going to split the dirkie between three guys that really stepped up. THJ finally provided some offense and was not a zero on defense. PJ was awesome on offense. Luka overcame all his injuries and put one of his best perfomances in this years playoffs.

Mavs are really getting banged up. Tough series against Clippers while OKC had a couple of warm up games against NO. But they will grind it out. Mavs in 6!

[The Jom]

One of the better games I’ve seen the Mavs play top to bottom of the main rotation.  Exum’s poor play knocked him out of the rotation.  The top 8 were all good. Lively seemed to struggle the most, but +18 isn’t a fluke. He must have done something right.

Lively struggled offensively. He was a +18 because of his defense. He makes such a difference to this team. 

Exum is struggling, yes. But I’d play him before Giddy if they were both on my team. That kid isn’t likely to start another game. And his 11 minutes tonight may be his high from here on out.

[GATA]

Josh Green. His energy and shooting are outstanding. I would start him going forward in this series

[SleepingHero]

Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2)
Asked Kyrie about his playoff career-high 11 asts: "With everyone getting involved, it's not my time to press. It's my time to do other things in order to make us successful. It's just part of being a champion. It's continuing to push forward no matter what shots you're getting."

Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth)
Luka Doncic on Kyrie Irving's all-around impact: "He can do everything on the floor, and we should talk about his defense. He's been playing amazing defense this whole playoffs. I know a lot of guys won't talk about it. He's been amazing on both sides, helping everybody. It's amazing to have him on our team and to learn from him a lot."

[SleepingHero]

Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth)
Luka Doncic on his mindset entering Game 2: "Just get off to a good start, attacking downhill. I was happy I hit at least some threes... I was so happy, but I was trying to focus on my balance. My balance on shots wasn't good, so I just trying to focus on that. When I get my balance, my shot normally goes in."

Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth)
Luka Doncic on his 3-point shooting success after recent struggles: "I just tried to focus on my balance Right now, it's kind of tough—the step backs, the shots and get down on my get down on my legs, but just trying to focus on my balance.

Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth)
Luka Doncic on courtside fans heckling: "That's great for me. I love it. Just there was one guy courtside, going at my family. I don't like that, man. You're a grown ass man. Just can't do that. But I didn't do nothing. I just went back. Nothing. But just it's crazy. It's a grown ass man come at my family. It's kind of nuts."

[SleepingHero]

Brad Townsend (@townbrad)
Gafford says he dislocated his finger “on the backboard.” Says he’s fine. We all know how that feels, right, injuries on the backboard?

[Mavs2021]

Brad Townsend (@townbrad)
Gafford says he dislocated his finger “on the backboard.” Says he’s fine. We all know how that feels, right, injuries on the backboard?

A crooked finger. Time to bring in another championship consultant to deal with the situation. Somebody call Shawn Marion.

[fifteenth]

In the post-game interview, the reporter asked PJ how he was able to score so much. His answer was "Luka and Kyrie."

I love this team!