Mavs, Rox Re-Open Season With 302-Point Overtime Thriller
Welcome back, Mavs fans! Mavericks basketball is back! It's disappointing that our boys ended up with the short end of the game stick, but there is a lot to be excited about!
Updates
For anyone who has taken a break during the hiatus, perhaps some roster updating would be in order. The Mavs were allowed to take 17 players into the bubble.
They chose to take along three guys who are out for the season due to injuries and will not play -- Dwight Powell, Jalen Brunson, and Courtney Lee.
The team has been using a starting lineup of Doncic, Curry, THJ, DFS, and KP.
Backup players include:
Big men -- Maxi, Boban. (WCS opted out of playing in the bubble, due to the impending birth of his child.)
Forwards -- Justin Jackson, MKG
Point guards -- Wright, Barea, Trey Burke. (Burke was picked up earlier in July as a sub when WCS opted out.)
Off guards -- Josh Reaves, Antonius Cleveland (Two-way players from the Legends.)
Game Story
The players and coaches from both teams, along with the referees, knelt during a solo vocal performance of the national anthem. All the parties wore black shirts with Black Lives Matter lettering, and locked arms during the anthem. Carlisle and Harden were positioned in the center, their interlocked arms joining the two teams as a sign of unity. The gym floor is a hard surface, and many participants sported towels underneath their knees.
First quarter. The two teams entered the court with playoff-style intensity and energy. The Rockets maintained a single-digit lead for most of the frame, largely on the back of a 23-point performance from Harden, who was 6-6 from the field and 9-9 from the line. The Mavs came back to tie the game 42-all after one, once Boban entered the game (or once Harden left, whichever way you want to look at it). Dallas' offensive prowess was on display, with 15 points from KP and 10 from THJ.
Second quarter. This was the Mavs' most prolific period, with 43 points, including a 15-point explosion from Burke and THJ continuing his fireworks with a 9-point contribution. Russ was Houston's high scorer with 13. Dallas led 85-75 at the half. The 85 points tied the team record for highest points in a first half, and broke a record for points allowed in a half by Houston.
Third quarter. Dallas' lead shrank to one in the middle of the frame, but they came back to end the period with back-to-back threes from Burke and KP for a 119-108 scoreline. Porzingis and Luka combined for 20 of the team's 34 points.
Fourth quarter
The Mavs' lead dwindled as the period went on, but they still maintained a 7-point edge with 45 seconds left to go. Alas, the team's well-known clutch woes turned out to be their undoing once again. Harden hit a long pull-up to cut the lead to 4. Luka missed a three, and THJ was called for a shooting foul on Covington, who hit his free throws.
However, Dallas still held a 2-point advantage with possession and only 6 seconds to play. Westbrook fouled Seth, who had the chance to ice the game by hitting both free throws, but instead split the pair, leaving Houston with a chance to tie if they could hit a three in the five remaining seconds. DFS successfully committed an intentional foul on Harden, fouling out in the process. James hit his first three throw, and intentionally missed the second. Covington dashed in for the tip-in ahead of the Mavs' rebounders, incredibly tying the game with three seconds to go. Luka missed a desperation heave for the final shot, sending the game to overtime, with the score tied at 139 apiece.
Overtime. The Mavs entered the extra period with their shoulders slumping. The disappointment at the Rocket's 7-1 run to force extra time was palpable. They still managed to build a 4-point margin at 3:21, but it went downhill from there. House completed a three, followed by a Harden layup to put Houston up 1. THJ lost the ball to a Westbrook steal, and Harden had an and-one for a 4-point Rockets lead, as Curry fouled out with a reach-in on a play that Luka arguably had covered. Each team scored six points in the remaining minutes, with Luka fouling out in the last 30 seconds.
Analytics
Dallas was brilliant offensively for much of the game, but their familiar problems with defense and poor performance in clutch situations turned up to bite them. I think the disappointing performances in close end-of-game situations are largely the result of their still being a very young team and perhaps getting a little nervous and making questionable decisions under pressure. KP also mentioned that they were trying to slow the game down in the last minute, and got a little out of their rhythm, venturing that perhaps they would have been better off continuing to be aggressive and continuing what they had been doing.
Houston is outstanding at forcing turnovers, and the Mavs were the victim of that skill, giving up 24 points off 20 giveaways. Luka was responsible for 8 of those, partly due to a bit of laxness, and partly due to making aggressive, risky plays. Both teams scored well, with the Mavs ending up -8 on points from twos, +6 on points from threes, and -2 on free throws. In this regard, the Mavs did not take as much advantage of their size edge as I had hoped they would, with the Rox outscoring them 64-44 in the paint. Additionally, I feel like I'm always harping on this, but Dallas missed ten free throws, and it continues to frustrate me that such excellent shooters continue to give up so many free points. Seth and Luka combined to go 8-15 from the foul line. SMH.
On the brighter side, Dallas won the rebounding battle by 12, and claimed 13 offensive boards and 24 second-chance points. Still, they may have suffered a bit of lack of focus even on the glass. At one point in the fourth, Harden heaved a pretty terrible tired-looking three, and Westbrook dashed in ahead of two Mavs for the tip-in. Not to speak of the tipped-in free throw rebound to tie the game at the end.
Players
It is a shame that some of these outstanding performances were wasted in a loss, but I still think it is worthwhile to note them. A lot of these guys looked pretty darn good out there.
Luka (42 min) -- I would say Luka had a good game, but not outstanding by his standards. He filled up the box score with 28 points, 13 boards, and 10 assists, but also recorded 8 turnovers, missed four free throws, fouled out, and had an 11-27 shooting night, including 1-9 from deep. We could pick apart his performance, and I think he will do that himself, but it's hard to remember he's still just a second-year guy who has never been to the NBA playoffs, and much of his supporting cast are also lacking experience in the post-season. (I know it's not the post-season yet, but this is what we're looking at him for, right?) Long story short, he has a lot to work on, but he was phenomenal in many respects, and I think he will do us proud in the big picture.
THJ (41 min) -- Tim had an outstanding night offensively, scoring 24 points and going 7-7 from the line. It was breathtaking how fast he managed to get a shot off when his defenders would rush at him. He had a very nice steal late, although he also had a bad turnover or two. Overall, he exceeded expectations in his role as a third option to complement KP and Luka, and also had some excellent finds for a few assists. He wasn't able to hold off Harden/Westbrook very well, but he made an effort, and who really expected him to? Good job, overall.
KP (39 min) -- Zinger continued to be a great matchup for the Rockets, serving as the Mavs' high scorer with 39 points, going 10-11 from the line, and collecting 16 rebounds. He repeatedly shot over the various mice in the house, and used his size to grab rebounds from the height-challenged Rox "big men." Although he completed only 3 of his 8 three-point tries, his willingness to let it fly kept the defense honest and opened up space for inside scorers. The Mavericks player of the game, I would say.
Maxi (34 min) -- Maxi didn't have a spectacular line (7-7-3), but contributed immensely on the defensive end. The Dallas guards were generally unable to cope defensively with the Rockets back court, and Kleber filled in with stopping duties, often combining in the front court with KP, and filling in for DFS after Doe-Doe fouled out. A good player to have against this opponent.
Burke (30 min) -- Trey was a revelation, putting up 31 points, hitting 8-10 threes, and dishing six dimes. The Mavs just signed the guy this month, and he was already amazing! I was disappointed when he got only 2 minutes in the fourth quarter, at the beginning of the period. Rick put Seth in for the last ten minutes of regulation, and also played Curry in overtime, until he fouled out and Trey took over. From the look on Burke's face, he was pretty disappointed too. Maybe it's not fair to second-guess the coach on this, but I would have liked to see Trey get a few more important minutes, given how well he was playing.
DFS (28 min) -- Doe-Doe didn't have one of his best nights, although he did have a very tough assignment, trying to corral the Rockets back court. Most of his contributions were on the defensive end, and I thought he might have been a little over-eager offensively. The Rockets tended to leave him open when they were picking their poison, and I think that turned out to be a good strategy on their part, unfortunately. Dorian also made a few mistakes, with 5 missed shots, 3 turnovers, and 6 fouls in regulation, but I do think we have to consider the difficulty of his task.
Seth (23 min) -- It was a pretty disappointing night for Curry, which I wasn't expecting. He missed all of his shots, was 3-6 from the line, and fouled out. Aside from a couple of steals, he was generally not very effective on the defensive end. Very uncharacteristic performance from Seth, and I look for it to be an outlier.
Wright (15 min) -- Eh. Had 5 points, but wasn't really his night.
Jackson (8 min) -- Justin's outing was unremarkable.
Boban (5 min) -- Bobi had 6 points and 5 boards in his cameo on the court, and he really punished the Rockets on the offensive end. I was a little disappointed that we didn't see more of him, although I wasn't really expecting him to be used much, if at all. Rick said that he wanted to play Boban when Harden was out of the game, I presume for defensive reasons. However, given that Harden was waltzing to the cup with impunity for much of the game, whoever was supposed to be protecting the rim, I thought the Gentle Giant might have been able to make them pay a little, as he was getting offensive boards and putbacks like they were going out of style. Rick mentioned after the game that they had considered putting Marjanovic in for the rebound on Harden's intentionally missed second free throw at the end of regulation, but they decided not to, and Rick wanted to just leave it at that. Hindsight is 20-20, but Bobi might have grabbed that sucker.
Other -- Reaves, Cleveland and Barea were DNP-CD's. MKG was inactive.
Rockets -- The Rockets superstars did what they do. Harden was a machine, with 49 points, including 18-21 FTAs, although it did take him 20 shots to get those other 31. He also racked up 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks while playing 43 of the total 48 minutes. He looked pretty gassed by the end, so at least the Mavs made him work. But he was ultimately just too unstoppable on this particular night. Russ also stuffed the stat sheet, with 31 points, 11 boards, and 8 assists. He was not particularly efficient (13-30 FGA) and had 6 turnovers, but the absolutely relentless nature of his play was just enough to overcome the Mavs. He just never, ever gives up on a play, and I think that grinding commitment might be something the Mavs could take a page from. Danuel House, Jr. contributed 20 points, including 6 threes. I was puzzled that Dallas kept leaving him open -- he really burned them.
Remarks
Luka thought the Mavs played very well for most of the game, and that a combination of poor execution and bad luck accounted for their demise at the end. He was conscious of his own errors, but also thinks the team has a lot to build on, and has no long-term worries about the group. Carlisle attributed the loss to basic execution errors, and took the responsibility upon himself, so as to take the pressure off the players. KP interestingly described the result as a "great" loss, opining that it was a great game from both sides, the contest was a great experience, and he thought the Mavs would watch the film and learn a lot from their mistakes.
I guess I run the danger of being strangely Pollyannish after a disappointing loss, but I am somewhat optimistic after the initial gut-punch. After watching this game, I don't know whether the team can win a first-round series, but I definitely think they could make a series against just about any team competitive, and that whoever opposes them in the first round is not going to think they got an easy draw. It is really tough for an inexperienced team to make a playoff run, and if they make a good account of themselves, I think it will give them a lot of confidence, and that their future is bright, assuming good health. Even now, I doubt there are many teams in this bubble that will score 149 points in one game, no matter who the opponent is. We may well have seen the only two.
At any rate, it's great to be watching Mavericks basketball again, and I look forward to hearing from all you good thinkers on the board!
Next. Phoenix, on Sunday.
Welcome back, Mavs fans! Mavericks basketball is back! It's disappointing that our boys ended up with the short end of the game stick, but there is a lot to be excited about!
Updates
For anyone who has taken a break during the hiatus, perhaps some roster updating would be in order. The Mavs were allowed to take 17 players into the bubble.
They chose to take along three guys who are out for the season due to injuries and will not play -- Dwight Powell, Jalen Brunson, and Courtney Lee.
The team has been using a starting lineup of Doncic, Curry, THJ, DFS, and KP.
Backup players include:
Big men -- Maxi, Boban. (WCS opted out of playing in the bubble, due to the impending birth of his child.)
Forwards -- Justin Jackson, MKG
Point guards -- Wright, Barea, Trey Burke. (Burke was picked up earlier in July as a sub when WCS opted out.)
Off guards -- Josh Reaves, Antonius Cleveland (Two-way players from the Legends.)
Game Story
The players and coaches from both teams, along with the referees, knelt during a solo vocal performance of the national anthem. All the parties wore black shirts with Black Lives Matter lettering, and locked arms during the anthem. Carlisle and Harden were positioned in the center, their interlocked arms joining the two teams as a sign of unity. The gym floor is a hard surface, and many participants sported towels underneath their knees.
First quarter. The two teams entered the court with playoff-style intensity and energy. The Rockets maintained a single-digit lead for most of the frame, largely on the back of a 23-point performance from Harden, who was 6-6 from the field and 9-9 from the line. The Mavs came back to tie the game 42-all after one, once Boban entered the game (or once Harden left, whichever way you want to look at it). Dallas' offensive prowess was on display, with 15 points from KP and 10 from THJ.
Second quarter. This was the Mavs' most prolific period, with 43 points, including a 15-point explosion from Burke and THJ continuing his fireworks with a 9-point contribution. Russ was Houston's high scorer with 13. Dallas led 85-75 at the half. The 85 points tied the team record for highest points in a first half, and broke a record for points allowed in a half by Houston.
Third quarter. Dallas' lead shrank to one in the middle of the frame, but they came back to end the period with back-to-back threes from Burke and KP for a 119-108 scoreline. Porzingis and Luka combined for 20 of the team's 34 points.
Fourth quarter
The Mavs' lead dwindled as the period went on, but they still maintained a 7-point edge with 45 seconds left to go. Alas, the team's well-known clutch woes turned out to be their undoing once again. Harden hit a long pull-up to cut the lead to 4. Luka missed a three, and THJ was called for a shooting foul on Covington, who hit his free throws.
However, Dallas still held a 2-point advantage with possession and only 6 seconds to play. Westbrook fouled Seth, who had the chance to ice the game by hitting both free throws, but instead split the pair, leaving Houston with a chance to tie if they could hit a three in the five remaining seconds. DFS successfully committed an intentional foul on Harden, fouling out in the process. James hit his first three throw, and intentionally missed the second. Covington dashed in for the tip-in ahead of the Mavs' rebounders, incredibly tying the game with three seconds to go. Luka missed a desperation heave for the final shot, sending the game to overtime, with the score tied at 139 apiece.
Overtime. The Mavs entered the extra period with their shoulders slumping. The disappointment at the Rocket's 7-1 run to force extra time was palpable. They still managed to build a 4-point margin at 3:21, but it went downhill from there. House completed a three, followed by a Harden layup to put Houston up 1. THJ lost the ball to a Westbrook steal, and Harden had an and-one for a 4-point Rockets lead, as Curry fouled out with a reach-in on a play that Luka arguably had covered. Each team scored six points in the remaining minutes, with Luka fouling out in the last 30 seconds.
Analytics
Dallas was brilliant offensively for much of the game, but their familiar problems with defense and poor performance in clutch situations turned up to bite them. I think the disappointing performances in close end-of-game situations are largely the result of their still being a very young team and perhaps getting a little nervous and making questionable decisions under pressure. KP also mentioned that they were trying to slow the game down in the last minute, and got a little out of their rhythm, venturing that perhaps they would have been better off continuing to be aggressive and continuing what they had been doing.
Houston is outstanding at forcing turnovers, and the Mavs were the victim of that skill, giving up 24 points off 20 giveaways. Luka was responsible for 8 of those, partly due to a bit of laxness, and partly due to making aggressive, risky plays. Both teams scored well, with the Mavs ending up -8 on points from twos, +6 on points from threes, and -2 on free throws. In this regard, the Mavs did not take as much advantage of their size edge as I had hoped they would, with the Rox outscoring them 64-44 in the paint. Additionally, I feel like I'm always harping on this, but Dallas missed ten free throws, and it continues to frustrate me that such excellent shooters continue to give up so many free points. Seth and Luka combined to go 8-15 from the foul line. SMH.
On the brighter side, Dallas won the rebounding battle by 12, and claimed 13 offensive boards and 24 second-chance points. Still, they may have suffered a bit of lack of focus even on the glass. At one point in the fourth, Harden heaved a pretty terrible tired-looking three, and Westbrook dashed in ahead of two Mavs for the tip-in. Not to speak of the tipped-in free throw rebound to tie the game at the end.
Players
It is a shame that some of these outstanding performances were wasted in a loss, but I still think it is worthwhile to note them. A lot of these guys looked pretty darn good out there.
Luka (42 min) -- I would say Luka had a good game, but not outstanding by his standards. He filled up the box score with 28 points, 13 boards, and 10 assists, but also recorded 8 turnovers, missed four free throws, fouled out, and had an 11-27 shooting night, including 1-9 from deep. We could pick apart his performance, and I think he will do that himself, but it's hard to remember he's still just a second-year guy who has never been to the NBA playoffs, and much of his supporting cast are also lacking experience in the post-season. (I know it's not the post-season yet, but this is what we're looking at him for, right?) Long story short, he has a lot to work on, but he was phenomenal in many respects, and I think he will do us proud in the big picture.
THJ (41 min) -- Tim had an outstanding night offensively, scoring 24 points and going 7-7 from the line. It was breathtaking how fast he managed to get a shot off when his defenders would rush at him. He had a very nice steal late, although he also had a bad turnover or two. Overall, he exceeded expectations in his role as a third option to complement KP and Luka, and also had some excellent finds for a few assists. He wasn't able to hold off Harden/Westbrook very well, but he made an effort, and who really expected him to? Good job, overall.
KP (39 min) -- Zinger continued to be a great matchup for the Rockets, serving as the Mavs' high scorer with 39 points, going 10-11 from the line, and collecting 16 rebounds. He repeatedly shot over the various mice in the house, and used his size to grab rebounds from the height-challenged Rox "big men." Although he completed only 3 of his 8 three-point tries, his willingness to let it fly kept the defense honest and opened up space for inside scorers. The Mavericks player of the game, I would say.
Maxi (34 min) -- Maxi didn't have a spectacular line (7-7-3), but contributed immensely on the defensive end. The Dallas guards were generally unable to cope defensively with the Rockets back court, and Kleber filled in with stopping duties, often combining in the front court with KP, and filling in for DFS after Doe-Doe fouled out. A good player to have against this opponent.
Burke (30 min) -- Trey was a revelation, putting up 31 points, hitting 8-10 threes, and dishing six dimes. The Mavs just signed the guy this month, and he was already amazing! I was disappointed when he got only 2 minutes in the fourth quarter, at the beginning of the period. Rick put Seth in for the last ten minutes of regulation, and also played Curry in overtime, until he fouled out and Trey took over. From the look on Burke's face, he was pretty disappointed too. Maybe it's not fair to second-guess the coach on this, but I would have liked to see Trey get a few more important minutes, given how well he was playing.
DFS (28 min) -- Doe-Doe didn't have one of his best nights, although he did have a very tough assignment, trying to corral the Rockets back court. Most of his contributions were on the defensive end, and I thought he might have been a little over-eager offensively. The Rockets tended to leave him open when they were picking their poison, and I think that turned out to be a good strategy on their part, unfortunately. Dorian also made a few mistakes, with 5 missed shots, 3 turnovers, and 6 fouls in regulation, but I do think we have to consider the difficulty of his task.
Seth (23 min) -- It was a pretty disappointing night for Curry, which I wasn't expecting. He missed all of his shots, was 3-6 from the line, and fouled out. Aside from a couple of steals, he was generally not very effective on the defensive end. Very uncharacteristic performance from Seth, and I look for it to be an outlier.
Wright (15 min) -- Eh. Had 5 points, but wasn't really his night.
Jackson (8 min) -- Justin's outing was unremarkable.
Boban (5 min) -- Bobi had 6 points and 5 boards in his cameo on the court, and he really punished the Rockets on the offensive end. I was a little disappointed that we didn't see more of him, although I wasn't really expecting him to be used much, if at all. Rick said that he wanted to play Boban when Harden was out of the game, I presume for defensive reasons. However, given that Harden was waltzing to the cup with impunity for much of the game, whoever was supposed to be protecting the rim, I thought the Gentle Giant might have been able to make them pay a little, as he was getting offensive boards and putbacks like they were going out of style. Rick mentioned after the game that they had considered putting Marjanovic in for the rebound on Harden's intentionally missed second free throw at the end of regulation, but they decided not to, and Rick wanted to just leave it at that. Hindsight is 20-20, but Bobi might have grabbed that sucker.
Other -- Reaves, Cleveland and Barea were DNP-CD's. MKG was inactive.
Rockets -- The Rockets superstars did what they do. Harden was a machine, with 49 points, including 18-21 FTAs, although it did take him 20 shots to get those other 31. He also racked up 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks while playing 43 of the total 48 minutes. He looked pretty gassed by the end, so at least the Mavs made him work. But he was ultimately just too unstoppable on this particular night. Russ also stuffed the stat sheet, with 31 points, 11 boards, and 8 assists. He was not particularly efficient (13-30 FGA) and had 6 turnovers, but the absolutely relentless nature of his play was just enough to overcome the Mavs. He just never, ever gives up on a play, and I think that grinding commitment might be something the Mavs could take a page from. Danuel House, Jr. contributed 20 points, including 6 threes. I was puzzled that Dallas kept leaving him open -- he really burned them.
Remarks
Luka thought the Mavs played very well for most of the game, and that a combination of poor execution and bad luck accounted for their demise at the end. He was conscious of his own errors, but also thinks the team has a lot to build on, and has no long-term worries about the group. Carlisle attributed the loss to basic execution errors, and took the responsibility upon himself, so as to take the pressure off the players. KP interestingly described the result as a "great" loss, opining that it was a great game from both sides, the contest was a great experience, and he thought the Mavs would watch the film and learn a lot from their mistakes.
I guess I run the danger of being strangely Pollyannish after a disappointing loss, but I am somewhat optimistic after the initial gut-punch. After watching this game, I don't know whether the team can win a first-round series, but I definitely think they could make a series against just about any team competitive, and that whoever opposes them in the first round is not going to think they got an easy draw. It is really tough for an inexperienced team to make a playoff run, and if they make a good account of themselves, I think it will give them a lot of confidence, and that their future is bright, assuming good health. Even now, I doubt there are many teams in this bubble that will score 149 points in one game, no matter who the opponent is. We may well have seen the only two.
At any rate, it's great to be watching Mavericks basketball again, and I look forward to hearing from all you good thinkers on the board!
Next. Phoenix, on Sunday.
