TORONTO – A little over three weeks ago, the Dallas Mavericks were staring at a woeful 5-7 record and sitting in 12th
place in the ultra-tough Western Conference. It was an awful place to be in for the defending conference champions.
Fast forward to today, and the Mavs are 16-8 after Saturday’s 125-118 victory over the Toronto Raptors and are proud owners of the No. 2 seed in the West. The Mavs earned this impressive record by winning their seventh straight game and making it 11 wins in their last 12 outings while doing a lot of heavy lifting in recent weeks.
“I think we’re playing really good basketball right now,” coach Jason Kidd said. “There’s some things that we’ve got to clean up, especially in the second half (Saturday) – our offense has to be better. We settled, and defensively we’ve got to be sharper.
“We gave up too many threes, but all things that are correctable. But a heck of a road trip. The way we’ve been flying the last two weeks, I thought this group has done an incredible job. To win 11 out of 12 is really impressive, especially in the Western Conference.”
Point guard Luka Dončić recorded his second straight triple-double as he finished with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in giving the Scotiabank Arena crowd of 19,625 a few treats on Slovenian Heritage Night. Still, after leading, 98-74, late in the third quarter, the Mavs had to fight off a major rally by the Raptors down the stretch to get out of Canada with a victory.
“I’m just playing basketball the way I play,” Dončić said. “I think we shot it well today.
“They came back, but we stayed together and that was a big thing.”
Kyrie Irving, who collected 29 points and six rebounds, acknowledged that the Mavs may have taken their foot off the gas after having their way against the Raptors (7-17) for the better part of three quarters.
“Also, you got to give credit to (the Raptors),” Irving said. “We’re playing against another NBA team and they were making a lot of shots.
“They made a few tough ones and we missed some easy ones, but that’s NBA basketball sometimes. When you’re playing against a team on their home floor it’s going to be a difficult task, so I’m glad that we rose to the occasion.”
The Mavs rose to the occasion and were extremely grateful that a pair of crucial late-game calls went their way. First, Mavs center Dereck Lively II was whistled for a goaltending call on a basket by Jakob Poeltl which would have made it a one-possession game at 120-117 with 62 seconds left.
However, the goaltending call was reviewed by the officials and Poeltl’s bucket was subsequently taken off the board as Lively’s block was ruled a clean block, leaving the Mavs up by five points. P. J. Washington then nailed a pair of free throws – after Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic lost a coach’s challenge – which gave the Mavs a 122-115 lead with 48.2 seconds to go.
Two free throws from Dončić padded the cushion to 124-115 with 36.9 seconds, enabling the Mavs to jet back across the border with a much-deserved victory.
“It was a great block,” said Dončić, who was 6-of-13 from three-point range. “We knew it was going to be good for us. I think he had two blocks and a dunk, and that was huge for Lively.”
Irving, meanwhile, came up huge when he tallied 16 points in the first quarter after he converted 5-of-6 shots, including making four of his five three-pointers. Irving was in such a zone that he scored 14 of the Mavs’ final 17 points in the first quarter, which ended with them holding a 35-26 lead. It was a very impressive display of shot-making by Irving.
“I felt like we were moving the basketball really well and then we got into some lulls where they got some stops and they got some open threes,” Irving said. “But I’m just playing my position and playing my role, and when my number is called, be ready to be efficient.”
Kidd put Irving’s dominance in the first quarter in another fashion. Kidd said: “I think when you look at what he did in that first (quarter) since he set the tone of like, ‘We’re not here to mess around. We’re here to win this game and to move on.’ He set the tone.”
His teammates gladly followed suit. Klay Thompson made 8-of-16 shots and finished with 20 points and five rebounds, and Washington added 13 points and five boards.
Also for the Mavs, Spencer Dinwiddie scored 11 points and Daniel Gafford collected 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
Toronto was led by Gradey Dick (27 points), Poeltl (20 points), Scottie Barnes (19 points, eight rebounds, 14 assists) and RJ Barrett (18 points). But overall, the Mavs just had too many weapons for the Raptors to try and deal with.
“We have depth, beautiful depth, by the way, I’ll add,” Irving said. “We have a lot of guys that are waiting for that opportunity to get in the game that are more than willing to sacrifice for the team on the defensive end and give everything they have. And then offensively, we’re going to get them open shots, so they just got to be ready to knock them down.”
The Mavs knocked down 46.9 percent of their field goals and 37.8 percent of their three-pointers, and also outrebounded the Raptors, 52-39.
“I think you’ve seen a mini-snapshot of what we can possibly be going into the postseason,” Irving said. “But the regular season right now, I think we’re figuring out some of our pace and some of our rhythm of guys being out there. When we’re playing with selfless guys, and it makes the game a lot easier.”
A bank shot near midcourt at the halftime buzzer by Dončić sent the Mavs into the locker room ahead, 70-54. Then, a triple by Dončić — along with baskets from
Thompson and Washington — increased the Mavs’ lead to 77-57 at the outset of the third quarter.
“He was great on both ends,” Kidd said, referring to Thompson. “He got some great looks at the three and he knocked those down.
“We talked about the re-drive, or the ball touching the paint. And for him to get some layups and then some middies, I thought was really good tonight for him.”
Now, the stakes are much higher because their next game is Tuesday night at 8:30 in Oklahoma City in the 2024 Cup Nights quarterfinals. The winner of that contest will head to Las Vegas to play in the semifinals on Dec. 14.
“We know each other very well,” Irving said, referencing the Thunder. “They’re playing an amazing style of basketball right now, so we’re going to have to raise our level of awareness.
“It’s nothing like going to OKC and playing against those guys because we know we’re going to get their best shot and they know they’re going to get our best shot, and it’s going to be one of those games. Whether it’s a Cup game or not, we just know OKC well. We’re grateful that we’re matched up against them and I’m just looking forward to the competition.”
X: @DwainPrice
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