Even without Luka Doncic, Mavs roll past Thunder to enter All-Star break as one of NBA’s hottest teams - The Dallas Morning News

deweweko.blogspot.com

The Mavericks’ outlook appeared bleak a month before they started their All-Star break Wednesday night, following a 87-78 win over the Thunder.

Dallas faced a COVID-19 outbreak in early January, played more than three weeks without four key rotation players, endured a six game-losing streak and dropped five games below .500 by early February.

Who would’ve thought then that the Mavericks would cap the first half of the regular season Wednesday in American Airlines Center as winners of nine of their last 11 games?

The Mavericks didn’t always look the part of a surging Western Conference playoff contender against Oklahoma City. They played without All-Star Luka Doncic and looked woeful from 3-point range in the first half.

But they enter a week-long break — for everyone but Doncic — with their confidence and record at a season-high. Dallas (18-16) is two games above .500 for the first time since they were 6-4 on Jan. 13.

“The care and the want is really, really showing and is at a high level right now,” Tim Hardway Jr. said. “It can get better. That’s the scary part about it.”

With his second consecutive All-Star start approaching, Doncic’s break stands to be the least relaxing of any Maverick. But he got to rest a lingering back injury Wednesday night, the second game he’s missed this season.

Carlisle said before the game Doncic has dealt with lower back soreness for more than two weeks, though neither the Mavericks nor Doncic made mention of the issue before Tuesday’s daily injury report.

The 22-year-old guard has worn a “heat-massage belt” during the first half of the Mavericks’ last three practices, and “it’s just something where he needs to take a game,” Carlisle said.

The Mavericks expect Doncic will be ready to play in Sunday’s All-Star Game and participate in the pregame skills challenge.

Doncic has been durable throughout his third season, especially as he powered through a career-best stretch in February.

By last year’s All-Star break, Doncic had missed 11 of Dallas’ 55 games after a pair of ankle sprains. Before Wednesday, Doncic’s lone absence came in a Jan. 3 loss to the Bulls because of a right thigh contusion.

Doncic’s absence “is definitely going to impact their style just because of how dynamic of a player he is and the usage level,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said before the game. “But I don’t think it’s going to impact the challenge. They have really, really good offensive firepower at a lot of positions.”

The Mavericks’ capitalized on one of Daigneault’s predictions: They held the Thunder to 23 points or fewer in each quarter to win their first of three games this month against Oklahoma City.

Kristaps Porzingis led with 19 points and 13 rebounds, his second consecutive double-double in his third game back from missing three with lower back tightness. Hardaway (19 points), Josh Richardson (16) and Jalen Brunson (11), the latter of whom started in Doncic’s place, also scored in double figures.

But Dallas’ three-point offense was more dismal than prolific in the early goings.

The Mavericks missed their first 8 three-point attempts. After their first make, by Tim Hardaway Jr. with 2:15 left in the first quarter, they missed their next 13.

But by making 5 of 6 during a stretch late in the third quarter, the Mavericks reestablished their rhythm, cushioned a double-digit lead and held on to enter the break as one of the NBA’s hottest teams.

Briefly: Carlisle said he was “surprised” by Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision Tuesday to soon repeal Texas’ mask mandate, but didn’t want to speculate on how the state’s reopening may affect his team as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

The Mavericks don’t plan to alter their fan protocol despite Texas’ 100% reopening, and the NBA still requires all players and team members to participate in daily COVID-19 testing and comply with other activity restrictions.

“I don’t know enough about the reasoning that went into it to really comment any further,” Carlisle said. “But I do think people in the state of Texas are very smart, and I think there will still be a high level of discretion when it comes to wearing masks in public.”

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"enter" - Google News
March 04, 2021 at 11:19AM
https://ift.tt/3qeG8JM

Even without Luka Doncic, Mavs roll past Thunder to enter All-Star break as one of NBA’s hottest teams - The Dallas Morning News
"enter" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2TwxTMf
https://ift.tt/3d6LMHD

Bagikan Berita Ini