What a wild week it’s been for the Dallas Mavericks.
When they woke up this past Sunday morning, the Mavs were the Western Conference’s No. 5 seed and trying to do whatever they could to get to the No. 4 seed, which guarantees them homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
But three games and four days later, the Mavs now find themselves owners of the third seed out West, thanks to Wednesday’s 120-112 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers combined with the Phoenix Suns’ 117-113 win over the Golden State Warriors. The Mavs and Warriors have identical 48-29 records, but Dallas owns the tie-breaker by virtue of beating Golden State three out of four games this season.
“We try not to pay attention to it, but we’re human,” forward Dorian Finney-Smith, when asked about whether he and his teammates do any scoreboard watching. “Everybody’s peaking at it.
“But we also know we just want to finish the season playing the right way. Whoever we’ve got (in the playoffs) we’re going to be ready to play. It’s going to be fun.”
In addition to climbing two rungs up the Western Conference ladder this week, the Mavs also clinched their third consecutive playoff berth and their 18th overall the past 22 seasons. In fact, the last time the Mavs finished a season as high as the No. 3 seed was in 2011 when they were a third seed and went on to capture their only NBA title.
Here are our five takeaways from the eight-point victory over the Cavs.
DONCIC DOMINATED: What Luka Doncic was able to accomplish over the past two nights is absolutely incredible. On Tuesday night in 
Dallas, the four-year veteran point guard scored 34 points, collected 12 rebounds and distributed 12 assists in leading the Mavs to a 128-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. In that game, Doncic contributed 17 points, five boards and five assists – in the first quarter. Then on Wednesday night in Cleveland, Doncic scored 35 points, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out 13 assists in leading the Mavs past the Cavs. In that game, Doncic had eight assists in the first quarter and 20 points in the third quarter. Doncic now has more 30-point games – 20 of them – since Jan. 19 than any player in the NBA.
FINNEY-SMITH’S CAREER NIGHT: The basket must have looked like an ocean to Dorian Finney-Smith on Wednesday night. Not only did the six-year veteran pour in a career-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shots. But he also was 6-of-12 from three-point territory and finished with a game-high plus/minus of plus 18. Finney-Smith’s previous high scoring game was 27 points, which he scored on Aug. 8, 2020 against the Milwaukee Bucks inside the bubble in Florida. This also marked the fourth time in his career that he’s made six three-pointers, which also ties his career-high. Finney-Smith is the seventh member of the Mavs to score at least 25 points in a game this season.
HALFTIME TALK: Someone may want to write a book on those conversations coach Jason Kidd had with his players during halftime of Wednesday’s game. Kidd said he allowed his players to tell him what they saw happened to them in the first half before he told them what he saw happened to them. Whatever information was shared, the Mavs responded admirably. In the first half the Mavs didn’t play very well on defense and trailed, 67-61, at intermission. But in the second half the Mavs tighten things on defense and took complete control of this game, starting with outscoring the Cavs in the third quarter, 39-22.
BRUNSON IN THE FOURTH: After the Mavs took a 100-89 lead into the fourth quarter and Luka Doncic went to the bench, Jalen Brunson proceeded to put his stamp on this game. Less than six minutes into the fourth quarter, Brunson had a hand in all 12 points the
Mavs scored. That includes the six points he personally scored, plus a pair of three-point baskets he assisted on which Reggie Bullock and Dorian Finney-Smith drained. After that effort, the Mavs increased their lead to 15 points – 112-97. Brunson finished the game with 18 points, five rebounds and six assists, and was 8-of-14 from the field. He tallied eight of the 20 points the Mavs scored in the fourth quarter.
POWELL’S SOLID PERFORMANCE: Dwight Powell was very efficient – again – during a night when the Mavs were playing the second leg of a back-to-back. Currently the longest tenured Mavs, Powell was only on the floor for 22 minutes. But he made every minute count as he wound up with 15 points, five rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot. Overall, Powell was 5-of-6 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line as he continues to hold down the fort in the middle for the Mavs.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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