Over the past 12 games, nobody’s playing better than Mavs

TORONTO – No NBA team has a better record over their last 12 games than the Dallas Mavericks.

Counting Saturday’s 125-118 win over the Toronto Raptors, the Mavs are 11-1 over their past 12 games. That’s the best won-loss record any NBA team currently has during their last 12 games.

So why have the Mavs been so dominant over the last dozen games after posting a 5-7 record during their first dozen games this season?

“I think it’s just getting comfortable with one another and getting back into the swing of the system offensively and defensively,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We’ve had some illnesses and some injuries and different lineups, (but) just everyone getting on the same page.

“As much as we would like to have it in training camp, sometimes it just takes some time.”

The wins started happening after the Mavs suffered a four-game losing streak, capped by a dismal 115-113 loss in Utah on Nov. 14. The Mavs had a team meeting following the game, then the wins kept coming and kept coming, and they’re still coming.

In fact, the lone loss since the Jazz upset the Mavs was at Miami on Nov. 24. And even in that game, the Heat needed overtime to win 123-118.

“We’ve just been playing fearless, and we’ve had some carry over from game-to-game where we knew that we didn’t play our best basketball and we just knew that we had to cover for one another on the defensive end especially, and make sure we were getting all the defensive rebounds,” guard Kyrie Irving said. “A lot of games that we’ve been playing we’ve been getting great stops, but we just got to finish the possessions.

“These games have been going really well for us just because everybody’s eating. When everybody eats, we all do well, and when we play well as a team we’re a tough team to stop.”

Players accepting their roles and playing that role to the fullest has been a bonus for the Mavs.

“When you look at your role, you try to talk about that during training camp and early in the season,” Kidd said. “But a lot of times that goes out the window because of illness or injury.

“We can use (guard) Spencer (Dinwiddie) as an example. He would be third on the depth chart behind (Dante) Exum. But Exum hurt himself in training camp and he was out, so now Spencer jumps up to the backup position.”

Also, when the Mavs went 5-1 during this recent stretch when Luka Dončić was out nursing a pair of injuries, that became a real eye-opener for Dallas. For instance, the Mavs won at Oklahoma City and at Denver when Dončić was sidelined with an injury, and won a home game against the New York Knicks when Dončić was in street clothes, and also defeated Memphis this past week.

“Great defense, great pace, sharing the rock, and chemistry is the top,” Doncic said in explain the Mavs’ recent success. “We’re just playing hard and playing fun, and that’s what we’ve got to do.”

The Mavs are riding a seven-game winning streak. That ties for the longest winning streak they had last season and is their longest since they won the 2011 NBA title.

O-MAX WAS A FACTOR: Maybe it was because he was playing in his home country and in front of 42 adoring family members and friends, but Mavs forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper played his best game of the season Saturday night against the Toronto Raptors.

Born in Montreal, Prosper finished with a season-high tying five points, a season-high six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot in 10 impactful minutes.

“He was great,” coach Jason Kidd said. “I think we talked about him pregame that he was going to get some time, and I thought he did an incredible job with his time on the floor with his energy and his ability defensively.

“And then offensively, to make plays and give us second and third opportunities, and then also to be able to finish at the rim.”

Although Prosper doesn’t get a lot of playing time, Kidd is impressed with the way he approaches his job.

“I think when you watch O-Max from training camp to where he is today, you can see the game has slowed down and he has improved,” Kidd said. “He’s another one that comes to work early and puts in the time.

“He has the opportunity to go against some pretty good guys that are in front of him, but also for him to watch. Sometimes we take that for granted for our young players to watch the (veterans) to understand how to be successful in this league. So, he has a front row seat for that, but he has improved.”

BREIFLY: Saturday was Slovenian Heritage Night for the Toronto Raptors. That means much love was shown before, during and after the game to Mavs point guard Luka Doncic, who hails from Slovenia. “It’s a big thing,” Doncic said. “When they announced me (in the starting lineup) I heard the noises. It’s a very special thing to have this in an away arena, and it’s always a blessing to experience that.” Coach Jason Kidd agreed, saying: “When you have Luka, no matter if it’s heritage night or not, there’s a lot of support for him. He’s one of, if not the best player in the world. So, to have that here tonight, he’s very proudful of that and takes that very serious.” Doncic, by the way, put on a show Saturday as he wound up with a triple-double while finishing with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. It was his 47^th 30-point triple-double, and he’s just one behind Russell Westbrook, who is second on the NBA’s all-time 30-point triple-double list with 48 . . . Since being the Mavs’ starting center when they advanced to the 2022 Western Conference Finals, Dwight Powell has seen his role drastically change to the point where the Toronto native rarely receives much playing time. Still, coach Jason Kidd said: “He comes to work early and he’s one of the last to leave. He’s a great example for everyone, not just the young players – but for guys who have been in the league or with different teams — of what it means to be a pro. DP does that at a high level. When we first got here he was coming off an injury, and he’s our starting center when we got to the Western Conference Finals. And then from that point on we’ve asked him to be the backup or even the third string, and he hasn’t missed a beat in the point of coming to work with a smile, coming to work to help the team. And then this year with the depth, not playing a lot, but understanding when we do have an injury or someone is out, he steps in and does his job at a high level. We’ve been every fortunate to have a player like that.” . . . Dante Exum (right wrist surgery), Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain), Maxi Kleber (illness) and Naji Marshall (illness) all missed Saturday’s game.

X: @DwainPrice