Maybe it was the holiday season and all the traveling everybody’s doing, but there was a whole lot to unpack from the Mavericks’ 144-119 spanking of the San Antonio Spurs.
When a game starts with a superstar hurting his ankle in pregame warmups, you have to figure it’s going to be a weird night.
And it was weird enough that coach Jason Kidd ended the evening by declaring a new starting lineup when the Mavericks get healthy.
And, yes, that’s when. Not if.
When Kyrie Irving (right heel) gets back into the lineup, Dante Exum will be there with him and Luka Dončić.
In case you missed it, here’s what Kidd had to say about Exum, who has averaged 16.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists in the nine games he’s started in a row, seven of which came after Irving’s injury at Portland:
“What he’s done is put himself as a starter and we’ll probably keep him as a starter. If we’re healthy tomorrow, he’s going to start with Kai and Luka. When you have three ballhandlers, I think we figured out that having three playmakers out there makes the game easier for Kai and Luka. And it puts a lot of pressure on the defense. To have Exum out there, it helps.”
It’s been a remarkable rise for the 6-5 point guard who didn’t play more than 10 minutes in any of the first eight games this season.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m starting or coming off the bench,” Exum said after knocking down 20 points against the Spurs. “For me, it’s always going into the game with the same mindset.
“Obviously, it’s nice to start and be rewarded by that. But I want to go in, win every game and play as hard as I can. As long as I’m on the court, hopefully I’m able to do that.”
Exum’s play against the Spurs produced his third 20-point game of the season. He never had more than one 20-point game in any of his other NBA seasons.
The two years he spent in Europe clearly have upped his confidence level and made him a more versatile player.
“I knew coming back to the NBA, that was going to be one of the biggest things – try not to pigeonhole myself into one position or one role,” Exum said. “If I was able to show that I was able to do multiple things and excel at that, it would give me more opportunity, and that’s where it’s led me.
“I’ve worked too hard to get here. It’s a testament to my trainers, my family. I knew once I got back here, I didn’t want to be in the position I was two years ago. I feel like I deserve to be here and deserve to be part of an NBA organization. So I (am making) sure I’m doing everything I can to stay.”
Staying is one thing.
Playing your way into a starting job for a 17-12 team is a leap nobody saw coming into the season.
Here’s our other takeaways from the blowout win over San Antonio:
Don’t blame the ballboy: The situation with Victor Wembanyama stepping on a ballboy’s foot in pregame warmups was unfortunate. It was a fluke incident. We certainly don’t need to overreact and take it out on the hard-working ballkids who shag balls and often get to know the visiting (and Maverick) players. They provide a great service. Hopefully, Wembanyama is back in the next game and moves on and nothing more comes of it.
Luka is magical: The 39 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists Luka Dončić had against the Spurs were his 62nd career triple-double. It’s the 36th triple-double he’s had when scoring 30 or more points. That’s one shy of matching LeBron James for 30-point triple-doubles. What will that milestone mean? “Obviously a lot,” he said. “We all know who he is and what he’s doing in his 21st year in the NBA, which is unbelievable. It means a lot.” By the way, Luka passed Jason Terry (9,353 points) for sixth place on the all-time Mavericks’ scoring list. And, of course, Luka now is just 11 points shy of 10,000 for his career, which he no doubt will reach Monday night at Phoenix.
Finding the range: Some things don’t change. Ever. The Mavericks hit 23-of-45 three-pointers against the Spurs. If they shoot 51.1 percent from three-point range and hoist that many of them, it’s hard to envision any scenario where they wouldn’t win that game.
X: @ESefko
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