Slow starts have been such a part of the Dallas Mavericks’ storyline this season that they’ve almost become expected at this point. But that
certainly wasn’t the case Tuesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Mavs busted through the gate with a whopping 44 points in the first quarter and went on to walk all over the Pelicans, 132-91, before a sellout crowd of 20,077 at American Airlines Center. The victory increased the Mavs’ record to 8-7 overall and 1-1 in the 2024 Cup Nights games.
New Orleans, losers for the 11th time in their last 13 games, dropped to 4-11 overall and 1-1 in Cup games.
The Mavs start a three-game trip Friday in Denver knowing the 44 points Tuesday are the most they’ve scored in any quarter this season, and the 132 points are also a season-high.
“It happens,” coach Jason Kidd said, referring to the 44-point first quarter. “It just hasn’t happened for us a lot here in the first 14 games, but tonight it did.
“I think when you look at 
the energy of the team, the air is a lot cleaner right now for us. You can see that with the way we’re playing on the road and at home.”
Indeed, it was a dominant performance by the Mavs, who shot 52.7 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from three-point land (14-of-31). In racking up their largest margin of victory this season, the Mavs won for the third straight game and were so impressive that the 30 minutes Luka Dončić played were the most by any of their players.
“I think we’re just playing the right way, playing defense, playing with pace, and that’s getting into better starts,” said Dončić, who finished with 26 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. “We know we can do it, and we just got to keep it going.”
Klay Thompson shook off that dismal 1-of-11 shooting night he had Sunday against Oklahoma City by scoring 19 points and burying 5-of-9 three-pointers. It was 10 points by Thompson that earned the Mavs a comfortable 25-11 lead with 5:25 remaining in the first quarter.
“As a captain of the seas, I love any boating analogy I can do,” said Thompson. “If you’re going to encounter rough waters — especially on a long voyage — the most important thing is to stay the course and believe in myself. I’ve been through this now 12 years healthy and able to play, and the fact that I’m so grateful to play every night and be healthy every night, that’s why the shooting nights when I’m off, it used to really eat at me.
“But now in my 12th season, it’s easier to rebound and get in the gym and think highly of yourself, because the proof is in the pudding. I am a perfectionist. I want to be an efficient player, but at the end of the day if I give everything I have, I can live with the results.”
For the Mavs, the results by the entire team sent a strong message to the rest of the NBA that they’re back on track. And the fact that the Mavs’ bench scored 56 points and dragged down 25 of the team’s 48 rebounds were tell-tale signs that their recent four-game losing streak is far in their rearview mirror.
“(We’re) just doing our job,” Naji Marshall said about the bench’s production. “Everybody hit shots, everybody defended, everybody ran the floor tonight and that’s what you should expect out of us.
“When we do our job, it looks really good.”
Marshall, who scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, was playing against a New Orleans team he played for during the first four years of his career before he signed a three-year, $27 million free agent contract with the Mavs this past summer.
“I couldn’t sleep (Monday) night, but it wasn’t because of the game,” Marshall said. “I just couldn’t sleep. I’ve been talking to these guys since the summertime about just playing against them in a game. Once you talk about it too much it kind of gets a little boring.
“I was just really ready to jump into that fire and just play against them guys. I’d say more anxious, but it kind of calmed down when we talked so much about it. But I still had fun and I’m still blessed.”
The Mavs came out smoking as they drained 17-of-24 shots in the first quarter, including 6-of-10 three-pointers, one of which Quentin Grimes (12 points, eight rebounds) nailed at the buzzer to send Dallas into the second quarter up 44-29.
New Orleans fought back, but still trailed, 63-51, at the half after the Mavs converted just 8-of-22 shots in the second quarter. Nevertheless, it was off to the races again for the Mavs in the second half as Kyrie Irving (18 points, seven assists) and Thompson each buried a pair of three-pointers in the third quarter, while Daniel Gafford (11 points, six boards) manhandled folks inside the paint for a pair of very aggressive dunks.
Then, the fourth quarter turned into an exercise in how should the Mavs manage the score, since the Pelicans were playing without Zion Williamson (left hamstring strain), CJ McCollum (right abductor strain), Herb Jones (right shoulder strain), Dejounte Murray (fractured left hand and surgery), and Jose Alvarado (left hamstring strain).
That’s because if records are tied when every team’s four 2024 Cup Nights are over, one of the tiebreakers is margin of victory which will enable a team to advance to the knockout rounds. Kidd said everyone is talking about that aspect of the 2024 Cup Nights since it may force some coaches to intentionally run up the score, which is not something NBA coaches are prone to do.
“I’m trying to figure out what’s the right thing to do at this point,” Kidd said. “I’m not trying to embarrass anybody.
“We tried to keep the game where it was not like a run-out. We’re running our offense and we’re making shots, open shots, we’re playing with pace. But it was talked about a lot, and the game ended where it ended.”
The Mavs, who got 11 points and two dunks from Jaden Hardy, had another opportunity to at least try to score with under 40 seconds left. But out of respect for the Pelicans and the game itself, they purposely allowed the 24-second shot clock to expire without attempting a field goal.
“That’s not what this game is all about or the tournament is all about,” Kidd said. “It’s playing the game the right way.
“They’ve got a lot of injuries over there. We’re not trying to embarrass anybody. We’re not looking to score again. We scored 132 points. That’s enough points.”
X: @DwainPrice
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