It was the NBA debut of both Luka Doncic and Deandre Ayton, but Devin Booker took the spotlight in the season opener. Trailing for most of the game, Dallas cut the lead to four in the fourth quarter before Booker scored 19 of his 35 points in the final seven minutes of the game.
Stat of the Game: Dallas shot a mere 30 percent from three while Phoenix shot 55 percent.
Mavs Box: Dwight Powell led the way with 16 points and five rebounds while DeAndre Jordan put up 11 points and 12 rebounds. As for the youngsters, Dennis Smith Jr. added 13 points and five assists while Doncic finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
Check out the full game recap at The Fast Break.
How much fun was that? In a game that featured a throwback game for Derrick Rose, a massive game from DeAndre Jordan and a ton of offense, the Mavs pulled out their first win of the season. Although neither team played defense that was acceptable to their coaches, it was a fun affair to watch as a basketball fan.
It was the home opener for the new look-Mavs and the home debut of Luka Doncic. But in the deciding moments of the game, it was Dennis Smith Jr. that rose to the occasion and lifted the Mavs over the Wolves.
Mavs Box: Luka Doncic led the way with 26 points and six rebounds while Dennis Smith Jr. finished with 19 points and six assists. DeAndre Jordan’s impressive night consisted of 22 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks while also going 6/7 from the free throw line. J.J. Barea and Dwight Powell combined for 31 points off the bench.
Stat of the Game: The Mavericks scored 43 points in the fourth quarter, the most points they have scored in a fourth quarter in almost 10 years.
Check out the full game recap at The Fast Break.
DENNIS! pic.twitter.com/vTnisKcqDu
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) October 21, 2018
With the game on the line, Rick Carlisle put the ball in Dennis Smith Jr.’s hands for the biggest play of the game. Tied at 134, Smith Jr. drains a step back jumper over Derrick Rose that results in a foul being called on Rose. It would prove to be the biggest shot of the game and maybe Smith Jr.’s young career.
It has been a long time coming, but DeAndre Jordan finally made his debut in a Dallas Maverick jersey and he didn’t disappoint. In fact, he showed everyone why the Mavericks made a point to go after him this offseason.
In the two games this past week, Jordan combined for 33 points, 22 rebounds, six blocks and 7/8 from the free throw line. For the Minnesota game in particular, Jordan recorded 22 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. Not only was Jordan providing the offense with his elite rim rolling, but he held down the paint defensively with some massive blocks on Karl-Anthony Towns.
Y'ALL. pic.twitter.com/zPzq8LNGds
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) October 21, 2018
After winning their first game of the season on Saturday night, head coach Rick Carlisle took to the podium to address the media for his post game press conference. He talked about the debut of Luka Doncic and the late shot by Dennis Smith Jr., but he also took time to talk about the shift we are currently seeing in the NBA at the beginning of the season.
The increase in scoring.
In the first two nights of the regular season, only three of the 26 teams to play failed to score over 100 points in a game. Not stopping there, 11 of the 26 teams scored over 110 points with four teams scoring over 120 points. And this was just the first two days of the regular season.
On Saturday night, the Mavericks scored 140 points in regulation. No overtime or double-overtime. The most points the Mavs have scored in a game in over 20 years. They also attempted 50 3-pointers in the game, which indeed was a franchise record in 3s attempted.
Although the scoring by the Mavs was awesome, they also surrendered 136 points to the Wolves on Saturday, an amount they haven’t given up since December 26, 1994. If you ask Carlisle, don’t expect the high scores to go away anytime soon, as after the win he proclaimed “this is a new age of basketball.”
The crowd went wild during Luka's pregame intro! https://t.co/b3TommEVEq
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) October 21, 2018
On June 21, 2018, the Dallas Mavericks made a draft night trade that landed them the third overall pick and the chance at drafting European sensation, Luka Doncic. The Mavs got the guy they had been targeting all along and the number one player on their draft board.
Luka Doncic was a Dallas Maverick.
Summer played out and the hype continued to build among the fan base. After taking Summer League off, fans had to wait over three months to finally see their next franchise player take the court for the first time.
On Saturday night, behind a roaring AAC crowd, Luka Doncic was introduced to the loyal MFFLs for the first time.
Haha how cool is that. Some talented players on that list. https://t.co/0JD40XDHfg
— Ryan Broekhoff (@RBroekhoff45) October 18, 2018
.@luka7doncic began his NBA career in the Nike Kyrie Low and PG 2.5 against Phoenix pic.twitter.com/7k95UQOCyf
— B/R Kicks (@brkicks) October 18, 2018
They Will Know Your Name 🔥🔥🔥 Cada niño sueña con jugar en la NBA. Yo cumplo hoy ese sueño. Os lo cuento en este vĂdeo con @NBA2K pic.twitter.com/OiwqaEQbmg
— Luka Doncic (@luka7doncic) October 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1054050102334103552
In this week’s addition of my must read on the Mavericks, is Tamara Jolee’s incredible piece on the recent court dedication of the late Tyler Underriner. Tyler was a beloved coworker of many in the Mavs office who recently passed away. The Mavericks also honored Underriner before the home opener on Saturday with a moment of silence.
Tamara gives a glimpse into how the Mavericks honored Underriner with a recent court dedication and how the court will be used moving forward. Here is a snippet from the piece along with a link below to the full story.
“The life of Dallas Mavericks’ employee, Tyler Underriner, 35, was evolving at a rapid pace.
In March 2018, Tyler and his wife, Ashley, celebrated the first birthday of their son, Jack Andrew.
“The night before Tyler died, he told me it was the happiest he’d ever been,” Ashley said. “Tyler so enjoyed everyone else’s children, so it was a dream fulfilled to have a child of his own. Jack Andrew was a miracle child.”
The family of three anticipated a summer of memories together and the celebration continued at work, as Underriner soared to new career heights with the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs promoted him to season ticket sales manager after he generated the most total revenue at the end of last season.
Then tragedy struck.”
Behind a healthy Zach LaVine and a newly added Jabari Parker, the Bulls come to Dallas looking for their first win of the season. The Mavs will try to start their first winning streak of the season.
Trae Young vs. Luka Doncic. These two players will always be tied together due to the draft night trade between the two franchises and this is the first of many matchups between the two.
Arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors have gotten off to an impressive start to the season behind Kawhi Leonard. Traveling to Toronto, this will be a matchup worth tuning in for.
Capping off their fourth game of the week is a Utah Jazz team poised for a big season. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert make their first trip to Dallas this season hoping to earn another tough Western Conference win. Ryan Broekhoff also gets to face his Aussie mate in Joe Ingles for the first time in the league.
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