The Dallas Mavericks are trending in the right direction after they followed a four-game losing streak by silencing their critics with a pair of
huge wins on back-to-back nights over the weekend.
After beating San Antonio (110-93) at home on Saturday and following that up with a major win in Oklahoma City (121-119) on Sunday, the Mavs squared their record at 7-7.
The victory in Oklahoma City was particularly meaningful since the Thunder had the best record in the Western Conference and the second-best record in the entire NBA at the time at 11-2. And the Mavs were playing without their best player, point guard Luka Dončić, who sat out while nursing a right knee contusion.
But none of that mattered on a night when the Mavs outrebounded the Thunder, 53-29.
“The ball was moving, guys were tired, but cheering for each other,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Just understanding, down a guy with Luka out, I thought we stayed together.
“We’ve been in some close games and we’ve lost on doing different things that don’t win games, and I thought that group did a really good job of staying the course. I thought everybody made plays.”
Kidd hopes his team will make some more plays when they play a pair of The Cup games this week, starting with Tuesday’s home game against New Orleans and finishing with Friday’s road game in Denver.
As far as the eye-popping win over the highly-touted Thunder is concerned, Kidd said: “It’s just one of 82 games. That’s what it is. They’re the favorites (to win the Western Conference). Hopefully, we can meet them in the playoffs if we can get there.
“We got to take one game at a time. Wins and losses are always going to be learning experiences. This is a new group. It’s hard to win in this league.”
Still, expectations are high in Dallas after the Mavs reached last season’s NBA Finals and tweaked their roster over the offseason by adding some quality players, including Klay Thompson.
“We’re not guaranteed to get back to the Finals,” Kidd said. “There’s a lot of other teams that are good in this league.”
But to emerge victorious in Oklahoma City sans Dončić speaks volumes. Especially in a game that was the second leg of a back-to-back.
“We come back to play the next game, the energy is high, the effort is high, and we put ourselves in position to win on the road,” Kidd said. “I think it just shows the character in that locker room that you can lose, or have a tough week, and respond quickly with two games that you find a way to win.
“And now we’ve got another big week with the Cup series. A lot of good stuff is happening in Dallas, as much as some will say it’s not.”
Here are some other nuggets surrounding Tuesday’s game between the Mavs and Pelicans.
*This is the lone game on this home stand for the Mavs before they depart for a three-game road trip. The trip starts Friday in Denver and continues with a game on Sunday in Miami and a game on Monday in Atlanta before the Mavs return home to entertain Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle and the New York Knicks on Nov. 27.
*Tuesday’s game in Dallas kicks off a two-game road trip for New Orleans. The road trip concludes with Wednesday’s game in Cleveland before the Pelicans fly back home to face the Golden State Warriors on Friday.
*Despite 31 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals from Luka Dončić, the Mavs lost their lone The Cup game last Tuesday at Golden State, 120-117. The Pelicans are 1-0 in TheCup games after they defeated Denver, 101-94, last Friday, behind 29 points, nine rebounds and seven assists from Brandon Ingram.
*Zion Williamson (left hamstring strain), CJ McCollum (right abductor strain), Herb Jones (right shoulder strain), Dejounte Murray (fractured left hand and
surgery), Trey Murphy III (right hamstring injury) and Jose Alvarado (left hamstring strain) are all on the mend for the Pelicans.
*Mavs forward P. J. Washington put on a show during the 121-119 win over OKC. In that game, Washington scored a season-high 27 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds. Washington, in fact, picked up almost as many offensive rebounds (six) as the entire OKC squad (seven) in that game.
*The Pelicans have fallen on hard times as they come to Dallas losers in 10 on their last 12 games. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Pelicans in New Orleans on Saturday, 104-99, despite Brandon Ingram getting 32 points and eight assists. Because of several injuries, the Pelicans suited up just 10 players against the Lakers. Still, a three-pointer by Ingram put New Orleans ahead, 97-95, with 2:09 remaining before the Lakers ended the game on a 9-2 run.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (4-10) at DALLAS MAVERICKS (7-7)
When: 7:30 p.m., Tuesday
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas
TV: WFAA-8, KFAA-29, MavsTV Stream,
Radio: KEGL 97.1 FM The Eagle, 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)
X: @DwainPrice
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