5 TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 124-97 WIN OVER WARRIORS
A RED-HOT POWELL: To say that Dwight Powell is on fire is like saying water is wet. Over the last six games, Powell is averaging 15 ppg and 7.3 rpg while shooting an outrageous 81.8 percent (36-of-44) from the field. Included in that impressive performance is Powell going 9-of-9 from the field and scoring 21 points with six rebounds during Tuesday’s win over the Warriors. Had Powell attempted and made one more basket, he would have tied the Mavs’ team record for field goals made without a miss. On Apr. 4, 2014 during a 107-95 win at the Los Angeles Lakers, Brandan Wright went 10-for-10 from the field and scored 23 points.
BOBAN DOUBLING UP: Boban Marjanovic has been steadily showing why the Mavs reached out into the free agency field to acquire his services last summer. Counting his solid showing against the Warriors, Marjanovic now has a pair of double-doubles in the past three games, and three double-doubles for the season. The 7-4 center scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in just 20 minutes against Golden State while allowing Dwight Powell and Max Kleber to get some extended rest time on the bench. In the first half when the Mavs led 65-47 at intermission, Marjanovic already had seven points and seven rebounds in just eight minutes. Point guard Luka Doncic said: “He always gives us a lot. He protects the rim, he’s big, he can roll, so he gives us a lot.”
MAVS WERE DOMINANT: This wasn’t one of those nights where the Mavs led wire-to-wire. But after trailing 3-2, the Mavs took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Maxi Kleber. The lead just kept on growing until the Mavs led, 28-15, late in the first quarter, 65-47 at halftime, 79-51 midway through the third quarter, and by as much as 30 points (124-94) late in the game. Indeed, it was easy pickings for the Mavs all night as they held a massive 53-36 margin in the rebounding department, including a 15-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. All of that pounding on the boards led to the Mavs outscoring Golden State in second-chance points, 20-12.
ROAD WARRIORS: No one can effectively explain it, but the facts don’t lie. For whatever reason(s), the Mavs are playing better basketball away from American Airlines Center than they are at AAC. Tuesday was another example of that as the lopsided win over the Warriors improved the Mavs’ road record to 13-5. That’s the third-best road record in the NBA behind the Los Angeles Lakers (17-3) and Milwaukee (17-4). Ironically, the Mavs snapped the Lakers’ 10-game winning streak with a 114-100 victory in Los Angles on Dec. 1. They also broke the Bucks’ 18-game winning streak with a 120-116 win in Milwaukee on Dec. 16. Meanwhile, the Mavs are just 12-10 at home.
BENCH SHOWED ITS POWER: On a night when the Mavs were trying to keep their starters’ minutes down because Dallas was playing the opener of a back-to-back, the bench came through. Seven of the eight bench players scored, and they kept the pressure on the Warriors all night. Overall, the bench scored 54 points, was 23-of-46 from the field for 50 percent, 4-of-10 from 3-point territory for 40 percent, and also pulled down 28 of the 53 rebounds the Mavs grabbed, including 10 of the 15 offensive boards. While Boban Marjanovic finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, J. J. Barea only played the game’s final eight minutes and collected 11 points.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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