Milestones will come and go for Luka Dončić, as they did on Christmas night against the Phoenix Suns.
And there’s always another one on the horizon.
But they’ll all just be numbers or moments in time until he gets his ultimate landmark – an NBA championship.
That may still be a distant dream for the Mavericks. But games like Monday’s show that they certainly bear no resemblance to the same club that muddled through last season and missed the playoffs.
These Mavericks have the look of a team that is worthy of concern for everybody else in the Western Conference.
Are they on the level of defending champion Denver? Probably not yet.
But when you look at the other top teams in the West through 30 games of the season – Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, the Los Angeles Clippers, for instance – the Mavericks measure up just fine.
Those teams haven’t had a lot of playoff experience (or success) in a long time. At least some of the Mavericks were in the West finals two years back.
And at 18-12, they have navigated the first 30 games pretty well.
“I think we’re an amazing team,” young center Dereck Lively II said. “I feel like we have a lot of trust in each other. It seems like a lot of emotions and energy are going higher and higher and higher. That just makes us go together.”
The 128-114 win over Phoenix was a great example.
The Mavericks had a nice lead, lost it when the Suns made their third-quarter run, then steadied themselves and rolled big in the fourth quarter.
“Whenever they went on a run, we just brought it together and (said) we’re only down a couple points and we’ve been in this position many times,” Lively said. “We know what to do. We trust each player to make the right decisions.”
And that, of course, starts with Dončić. As he surpassed 10,000 career points with a magnificent 50-spot against the Suns, he also forked over 14 assists along the way. He scored or assisted on more points in the first quarter than the Suns had. And as many as they scored in the fourth quarter.
And he got those 50 points on just 25 shots. That’s efficient. Plus, he hit all 12 of his free throws.
“He’s one of the best in the world. We can’t take him for granted,” coach Jason Kidd said. “When he’s feeling it, you’re just trying to get him the ball as much as possible. You’re also trying to figure out how to get him some rest.
“When he’s going like that, you got to get him the ball and you trust that your quarterback is going to do the right thing.”
Luka simply wants to win games by any means necessary. And he’s going to give up the basketball when two players run at him incessantly.
And while his skill level makes him a superstar, it’s his attitude as a leader and a few new wrinkles in his game that make him even more unstoppable.
“I told you before the season I was working on my catch and shoot,” he said. “And nobody even asked me about my defense.”
That was after he had four steals and three blocked shots against the Suns.
Said Kidd of Luka’s overall greatness: “He understands the way they’re playing him. We’ve seen everything. His IQ is high. He just tries to be the best quarterback on the floor, finding his teammates and that makes the game easier for him. But again, he’s on a stretch where he’s scoring 30 in a half, which is incredible being double-teamed as much as he is.”
Here’s our other takeaways from the impressive win in Phoenix:
Lively’s return is a hit: The rookie center missed four games with a sprained left ankle and returned to post 20 points and 10 rebounds. “We can’t forget about what Dereck Lively means to us, being able to make plays,” Kidd said. “This kid is only 19. He was big for us tonight.” When it comes to running the pick-and-roll with Luka, he has been a fast learner. “I didn’t expect this impact of him,” Dončić said. “He’s been playing like he’s been in the league 10 years already.”
Luka says don’t worry, be happy: The Mavericks had a 15-point lead on the Suns. And then it was gone in the third quarter, when Phoenix rode a sizzling shooting stretch by Grayson Allen to take a one-point lead going into the fourth quarter. “No one panicked over there on the sideline,” Kidd said. “The game is about runs. We made one in the first half, they made one in the third and then we make the run in the fourth. Luka’s been really good with his teammates and keeping everyone calm.”
Evolving lineup: The Mavericks welcomed back Lively into the starting lineup and his presence made a huge difference. Next, they’ll hope to get Kyrie Irving back from his heel injury sometime soon. What has happened since Irving went out on Dec. 8 is that Dante Exum has earned the trust of Kidd and his teammates to be in the starting lineup. That means Derrick Jones Jr. probably is the starting power forward, although maybe in name only. Positions these days are almost nonexistent in the NBA. “Trying to keep three ballhandlers on the floor to start, especially with the way we’ve seen the double-teams with Luka and have not just Kai, but Dante out there to make decisions,” Kidd said, explaining his thought process on having three point-guard style players on the court to start games. “But also, with Jones in that starting group, when those guys have been on the floor, I don’t have the numbers, but I can probably go out on a limb and say they’re a plus when you talk about Lively, D-Jones and Exum and the two stars. The basketball IQ is high and the ball movement, being able to play in the flow, is also kind of nice to watch.” Kidd also said that Jones’ impact defensively is something that flies under the radar. “I think Derrick Jones Jr. has to get a little more credit for his defense,” Kidd said. “I know it’s early, but he takes the challenge of the best wing or point guard on a nightly basis and I think he does a really good job.” As for Grant Williams coming off the bench, as he did against the Suns? “I thought he was great,” Kidd said. “The physicality was there that we needed. Being able to play that role for us was really good and we’ll take a look and see how that goes for a couple games.”
Final thought: The 14-15 Suns may eventually become what everybody expected them to be. But right now, they are struggling, to say the least. When Bradley Beal gets healthy, things could change, but the Suns are going to have a lot of room to make up when he does.
X: @ESefko
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