If this is any indication of the way the second half of the NBA season is going to be, Mavericks’ fans are in for a treat.
Assuming their blood pressure can handle it.
The Luka Dončić-Kristaps Porzingis pairing was working beautifully on Wednesday as the Mavericks started the second half with a 115-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Center.
The Spurs came into the game with a one-game lead in the Southwest Division. The teams exited the arena in a virtual tie after the Mavericks broke free from a tie at 95 to pull away down the stretch. The Mavericks’ defense down the stretch was stellar, holding the Spurs to 24-percent shooting in the fourth quarter.
It’s never easy with the Spurs. But the Mavericks improved to 19-16 and with the Spurs at 18-15, the two appear to be headed toward a spirited finish in the final 30-some games of the season as jockeying for playoff position begins. The Mavericks will try to keep the good times going Thursday at Oklahoma City (8 p.m. tipoff).
Dončić had the 33rd triple double of his career – with plenty of time to spare, by the way – and the Mavericks used their strong finishing kick for their fourth win in a row, going back before the All-Star break.
Dončić finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists, including a dagger 3-pointer with under 2 minutes to go that put the Mavericks up 110-99.
Porzingis had 25 points and 14 rebounds and he continues to adapt his game as defenses keep throwing different sets against him, usually with smaller defenders.
“Porzingis was great,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s really adapting well to teams putting smaller guys on him. He was just tremendous. As we move along in this, their chemistry continues to build. We’re seeing a lot of different situations. Smaller guys, liberal switching, trying to bait him into situations that aren’t great for the team.
“My feeling is that he’s trending up all the time. There was more evidence of it tonight. And defensively, he’s been great since he came back from the back issues.”
Porzingis has been working his way back into a rhythm since coming back from offseason knee surgery.
He also had a back issue before the All-Star break. But this was one of his most effective games of the season.
“I feel like I’m getting there,” he said. “After surgery, the leg it’s not feeling the same. But I’m feeling better with each game.”
As for the defensive sets against him?
“Each team plays me different,” he said. “Sometimes I just have a guard on me from the beginning and that’s when I try to utilize my height. But I also want to keep playing basketball. I personally prefer to play against bigger guys and when they do switch that’s when I can use my length on the inside.”
It was a riveting start to a difficult stretch for the Mavericks.
The first game out of the chute after the All-Star break began a stretch of seven games in 12 days, with six of them against teams that are in front of them in the Western Conference standings.
Clearly, it’s an opportunity to make up ground.
And while the competition is stiff, the payoff could be big.
And the Mavericks got a little help on Wednesday.
Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich announced before the game that big man LaMarcus Aldridge, the Seagoville product who has been a seven-time All-Star, will not return to the team. He and the team mutually agreed to explore other options, presumably a trade before the March 25 deadline or, failing that, a buyout situation.
The bottom line is that the Mavericks didn’t have to worry about the 35-year-old Aldridge on Wednesday night.
Didn’t make things any easier in the early going. The Spurs led for much of the first half and took a 59-52 advantage into the halftime locker room.
The Mavericks had every reason to feel good about themselves, though. They were hanging tough with the Spurs in spite of getting only six points in the first half from Dončić. He was doing a bang-up job on the boards and distributing the ball (eight rebounds, eight assists), but he couldn’t get the ball in the basket and also had five of the Mavericks’ 12 first-half turnovers.
That last development know doubt set poorly with coach Rick Carlisle during the halftime gathering.
The Mavericks have been one of the best teams in the league at protecting the ball not just this season but for many seasons under Carlisle. When they went 9-2 in the last three weeks before the All-Star break, they averaged under 11 turnovers per game.
That average was eclipsed in 24 minutes Wednesday, but they had just two turnovers after halftime.
Twitter: @ESefko
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