5 TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 130-84 WIN OVER PELICANS
BOBAN MAKES GIANT CONTRIBUTION: Mavs teammates and fans have been waiting for a day like the one Boban Marjanovic had Saturday. The 7-4, 290-pound giant of a man carved up the Pelicans in so many ways, destroying them to the tune of scoring a season-high 15 points and grabbing a season-high 16 rebounds in the Mavs’ 46-point victory. It was Marjanovic’s first double-double of the season and his first since he collected 12 points and 10 rebounds – also against the Pelicans – on Feb. 25 of last season while he was a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. In reaching his double-double last season against New Orleans, Marjanovic was 6-of-8 from the field in 20 minutes. On Saturday, he was 6-of-7 from the floor in 23 minutes, and also chipped in two blocks and a pair of steals.
THIRD-QUARTER DOMINANCE: Whatever coach Rick Carlisle said to his team at halftime, it obviously worked tenfold. The Mavs only led, 64-52, at intermission. But they came out of the dressing room and executed at a very high level on both ends of the floor in the third quarter. The results? The Mavs wound up outscoring New Orleans by a whopping 40-14 margin in the third quarter and cruised into the fourth quarter with a commanding 104-66 lead. Thus, if you just took the Mavs’ scoring total after three quarters and the Pelicans’ final score, the Mavs would have won this game by 20 points. Now that’s dominance. In the third quarter the Mavs were 14-of-23 from the field for 60.9 percent and 5-of-12 from beyond the 3-point arc for 41.7 percent. They also distributed nine assists in the third quarter.
BRUNSON ON FIRE: After struggling and scoring just 26 points in a recent six-game stretch, Jalen Brunson has suddenly found the hot hand again over the last two games. During that two-game span, Brunson scored 16 points in only 18 minutes last Wednesday against Minnesota, and added another 14 points in just 18 minutes in Saturday’s triumph over the Pelicans. Also, Brunson was a mere 9-of-25 from the field during the aforementioned six-game stretch for 36 percent. But over the past two games he was 7-of-8 from the floor against Minnesota and a perfect 6-of-6 from the field against New Orleans for a combined total of 13-of-14 from the field for a gaudy 92.9 percent. As a side note, the Mavs are 8-1 whenever Brunson has scored 10 or more points in a game this season.
LUKA TRAIN KEEPS ROLLING: Another day yielded another game where an opponent left scratching their heads because they simply couldn’t find a way to slow down Luka Doncic. This time Doncic made short work of the Pelicans as he only played 26 minutes and finished with 26 points, six rebounds and nine assists. Obviously, all of those numbers would have been higher had the game been closer. Doncic and the legendary Michael Jordan are now the only players in NBA history to have at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in 18 consecutive games since the 1976 merger between the NBA and ABA. Before the merger, the great Oscar Robertson put together three 20-5-5 streaks longer than 18 straight games. Against the Pelicans, Doncic was 8-of-15 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line.
MAVS WORE NO. 2 SEED WELL: Less than 24 hours after they catapulted into the No. 2 seed in the ultra-tough Western Conference, the Mavs went out and showed everyone why they deserve to be seeded so high. The Mavs haven’t played the sixth-seeded Utah Jazz yet. But they’re 5-2 against the other six teams who would be in the playoffs if the postseason stated today. That includes a 1-1 record against the top-seeded LA Lakers. The Mavs know they very well could be 2-0 against the Lakers. On Nov. 1 Danny Green hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Mavs-Lakers game in overtime, which the Lakers won, 119-110. The next day in its Last Two Minute Report, the NBA said Laker center Dwight Howard should have been called for a foul for holding Seth Curry on the play with 3.5 seconds left.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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