The 5 takeaways from the Mavs’ 122-102 win over the Philadelphia 76ers
Apr 2, 2019Dwain Price
MEJRI DOUBLING UP: After Monday’s game, coach Rick Carlisle jokingly said the only person who can stop center Salah Mejri is Rick Carlisle. Well, Carlisle let Mejri play a season-high tying 24 minutes against the Sixers and he responded with season highs in points (16), rebounds (14), field goals attempted (9), field goals made (5), 3-point field goals attempted (4) and 3-point field goals made (2). Mejri also dispensed a career-high tying three assists and blocked two shots – one shy of his season high. In all, it was the first double-double of the season for Mejri, who tallied 16 points and pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds during a Feb. 1, 2017 game against — who else — Philadelphia.
JACKSON KEEPS ON ROLLING: Don’t look now, but Justin Jackson has suddenly carved out a nice little niche for himself since joining the Mavs via a Feb. 6 trade with the Sacramento Kings. Such was the case again Monday as Jackson poured in a team-high 24 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out three assists. The lithe forward from North Carolina was 7-of-11 from the field, 3-of-6 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 from the free throw line while playing a team-high 30 minutes. More importantly, when the Sixers made their one major run at the Mavs, it was Jackson who rose up and took the baton and tallied 16 of the 27 points that Dallas scored in the third quarter.
BURKE RIGHT ON TIME — AGAIN: Trey Burke proved once again that when he’s given ample playing time, he’ll find a way to give the Mavs some substantial production that they’ll be proud to have. The sixth-year guard from Michigan finished Monday’s game with 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and no turnovers in 29 minutes off the bench while flawlessly running the Mavs’ offensive attack. Burke’s performance comes one day after he tagged Oklahoma City for 25 points and eight assists during Sunday’s win over the Thunder. In the past two games Burke has 41 points and 13 assists, and is 16-of-32 from the field, 4-of-10 from 3-point range and has no turnovers in 60 minutes.
BRUNSON IS “SNEAKY” CONSISTENT: The subject of Jalen Brunson came up Monday, and coach Rick Carlisle started discussing how the rookie guard from Villanova is “sneaky” bigger, stronger and more athletic than everyone thinks. You might want to add sneaky consistent to that list. Brunson picked the Sixers’ defense apart all night long and wound up with 13 points and a game-high seven assists in only 19 minutes. It was the 15th straight game that Brunson has scored 10 or more points. And in those 15 games he has averaged 15.9 points and 4.6 assists while shooting 55.4 percent from the field (92-of-166), 37.5 percent from 3-point land (21-of-56) and 80 percent from the charity stripe (32-of-40) in 30.1 minutes per contest.
MAVS DOMINATE ONE OF THE NBA’S BEST TEAMS: Did anyone see this one coming? The Mavs put on one of their most dominant performances of the season in wiping out one of the NBA’s best teams. From the time the Mavs outscored the Sixers, 41-18, in the second quarter to take a 68-50 lead at the half, the final outcome was never in doubt. The Mavs went on a brisk 28-8 run in the final 8:22 of the second quarter. During that span, the Sixers were 0-of-14 from the field as the Mavs’ defenders made them look totally discombobulated. Overall, the Mavs held the Sixers to 38.7 percent shooting and forced them into missing 27 of the 33 shots they attempted from behind the 3-point arc.
Share and comment