When you’re lucky enough to have a superstar, sometimes you need a reminder that you can survive without him occasionally.
Tim Hardaway Jr. drilled that message home Thursday night.
The Mavericks didn’t have Luka Dončić against Detroit and so they did it a different way. Hardaway sizzled from 3-point range and poured in a career-best 42 points as the Mavericks dug out a 115-105 victory over the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.
“He just was not going to let us lose,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He was determined. I’ve seen him get in this mode and when he does, he has an iron will. He willed the ball in the basket.”
And Hardaway did it in Michigan, where he won a championship with the Wolverines in college and with his family and friends in the stands to watch Thursday’s game. Tim Hardaway Sr. was no doubt busting his buttons with pride as his son carried the short-staffed Mavericks.
Considering that in the 10 games before Thursday, Hardaway had shot just 27.7 percent from 3-point range and averaged 10.9 points, the return home was just what he and the Mavericks needed.
He hit 6-of-10 triples on Thursday with mom, dad and the crew watching.
“It’s always great to see them, especially in these hard times that we’re living in,” Hardaway said. “Just to have them witness me in person and talk to them is awesome. And when Pops is in the building, I don’t know what it is. These things just happen.”
Said Carlisle: “All of us couldn’t be happier for him to come back home and have this kind of performance.”
Not all the news was good. Kristaps Porzingis had returned from a three-game absence with a sprained left ankle. But he left for good in the third quarter with right knee soreness.
That didn’t make things any easier for the Mavericks, who not only rested Dončić and his sore elbow, but also Dorian Finney-Smith, who has been playing through a leg problem lately. A night off isn’t the worst thing, especially since the Mavericks got out of it with a win.
Luka had played 17 consecutive games, Finney-Smith 21.
So somebody had to step up. When Hardaway returned to the game with 8 minutes remaining, the Mavericks were stuck in a tie game. Hardaway changed that in a hurry with 17 consecutive Mavericks’ points. That put them ahead 109-105, the first time they’d led by more than three points in the quarter.
Included in the scoring binge were six consecutive free throws when Hardaway was fouled on 3-point shots just 36 seconds apart.
So the Mavericks were able to pull out a crucial win, which pushed the Mavericks’ record eight games over .500 for the first time this season at 35-27. They remain in sixth place in the Western Conference, a game behind the Los Angeles Lakers and a game ahead of Portland.
They also finished this trip with two wins after that disappointing loss in Sacramento on Monday.
“Definitely a sign of growth,” said Trey Burke, another Michigan product who supported Hardaway with 15 points in 19 minutes off the bench. “It’s tough because you got guys out like KP and Luka who we know we’re going to go through at the end of games. Guys got to be ready to step up and make plays at big-time moments. That guy for us tonight was Tim. He played phenomenal. He carried us. Ultimately, we did grow. We pulled this one out.”
The final margin may have been 10 points, but this was by no means an easy night at the office. Even with the Pistons short on players. They were missing high-scoring Jerami Grant, Mason Plumlee and Cory Joseph – all out for injury-management reasons while center Mason Plumlee was rested. In addition, former Mavericks’ first round draftee Dennis Smith Jr. is recovering from a knee injury.
And yet, the Mavericks and Pistons pretty much shadowed each other all night until Hardaway’s explosion.
“We really just rode him to the win,” Carlisle said. “It was a very difficult game, very challenging from a physical perspective. We had a lot of other guys do good things, as well. He was really inspired. He was our guy. In the fourth quarter when things were tough, just getting the ball to him was producing a lot of good things.”
Carlisle added that he’s hopeful that Porzingis’ knee soreness isn’t going to cost the 7-3 center significant time.
“I have great concern this time of year when somebody has a hangnail.” Carlisle said when asked how concerned he was about Porzingis. “That’s the world we’re living in right now with this density of games.
“The good thing was I didn’t hear anything about it at halftime. The level of concern is there with all our guys. Overall, KP has responded very well to any issues he’s had with that knee. So we’ll hope for the best.”
Twitter: @ESefko
Share and comment