Sports Warm Winter Creation Season
G25: Remnants win the wilderness.
The Dallas Mavericks beat the Portland Trail Blazers 131-120. Luka Doncic had 40 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Anfernee Simmons of the Trail Blazers scored 33 points.
Dallas didn't seem to wake up at the start of the first quarter, falling into the back and forth with Portland. Grant and Ayton, two players who didn't play in the last meeting, teamed up to score the Trail Blazers' first 16 points. To add insult to injury, Drake Lively sprained his ankle and was forced back into the locker room. Although Doncic scored 22 points in the first quarter, the Mavericks trailed 39-36, mainly because they couldn't defend the opposing team.
Fortunately, at the beginning of the second quarter, the Mavericks were on fire from outside the three-point line. Hardaway Jr.'s back-to-back three-pointers and Seth Curry's three-pointers helped them regain their lead to seven points. The period without Luka has also been surprisingly smooth, with Dallas holding the lead. Although Levery was unable to return, Doncic's 30-point halftime output and the overall solid play of the team allowed them to lead 74-63 into halftime.
The Mavericks continued to play strongly in the second half, extending the margin to as many as 18 points in the first half of the third quarter. But Portland went on a 10-0 run under Anfernee Simmons. Dallas then gradually stabilized their position and led again to 16 points. The Trail Blazers relied on Henderson to score nine points in a single quarter and bite the score. The Mavericks went into the fourth quarter 110-99.
Things looked a little shaky for a few minutes without Luka at the start of the fourth quarter, but Dallas withstood the test and extended their lead to 13 points before Doncic rejoined. The Trail Blazers were still fighting back, but the Mavericks still walked away from Portland by double digits. It was a crucial victory for the Mavericks, who were short of major generals.
MVP-level Luka Doncic.
FC Dallas are missing their second star in this game. After the first timeout of the game, they lost another third-best player. In addition to this, there are two rotation players who continue to be unavailable. And Luka Doncic once again scored an efficient 40-point triple-double tonight to lead the Mavericks to victory. The Trail Blazers aren't a great team, but their defense is solid and they have young talent.
Luka can win away from home in Dallas with a lot of injuries, which is really commendable. He does it all year long. The MVP conversation will revolve around him;He's a statistic, he's a record grinder, and his importance to the team can't be overstated.
Exum and Jones Jr. were in no man's land under the basket.
Needless to say about Exum and Jones' progress beyond the three-point line this season, it's important to Dallas' success. But their finishing ability under the basket was also impressive, and that was well reflected in tonight's game.
This season, Exum is shooting a whopping 71 percent from within 5 feet of the basket7%；Jones also reached 647%。For comparison, Lively, who focuses on dunks and averages the league's best shooting percentage per game, has a shooting percentage of 77 in this range7%。
Tonight, the duo of Exum + Jones combined for 9-of-11 shooting from the basket. Their ability to pound the basket and finish at a high level changed the Mavericks' offense.
Big Morris stepped forward.
The Mavericks renewed Markieff Morris this summer and were ridiculed by many fans, and he was one of them. But Morris has been consistent in his playing time this season and has taken on the role of a backup centre-forward tonight following Lively's injury.
He scored 10 points, hit a couple of shots that stopped the bleeding in time, and was great at moving and playing up defense. Hopefully, Lively's sprain won't be too bad and won't be out for too long. But if he does have to be absent, Da Mo has also proved that he is capable of playing the small ball number five position in some situations. Having him as an option at the end of the rotation is undoubtedly a huge improvement over what Dallas did last season.
—mffl———
Here are some notable stats from the game:
Trail Blazers' opening shots: 12-of-15
Portland gave the Mavericks a kick-off at the start of the game, and both players who were absent in the first meeting between the two teams a week ago were all present. Grant and Ayton opened with 8-of-8 shooting and put together the Trail Blazers' first 18 points against the Mavericks' disappearing interior defense.
Subsequently, Anfernee Simons also got into the groove. He scored 10 straight points in three minutes late in the first quarter to give Portland an eight-point lead at 27-19 and force Kidd to take a timeout. The Trail Blazers opened with 12-of-15 shooting and 16-of-24 in the first quarter to take a 39-36 lead.
Mavericks' offensive response: 13-0
Dallas wasted no time responding to Portland's hot start. Including Hardaway's three-pointer in the final offensive hit of the first quarter, the Mavericks blasted a wave of 13-0 mini-climax, which continued into the second quarter.
Hardaway's two three-pointers, plus one from Curry Jr., turned the tide for the rest of the first half. Dallas went into halftime with a 38-24 run in the second quarter and a 74-63 lead.
The performance of other centre-forwards after Lively's injury: 16+10
The injury situation was compounded by Lively spraining his ankle midway through the first quarter when he stepped on the opponent's foot while grabbing a rebound under the basket with Grant of the Trail Blazers. Lively didn't return to the game in the end.
In his absence, Dwight Powell and Markieff Morris combined for 16 points and 10 rebounds in the following games. Morris' 10 points were also his highest so far this season.
If Lively and Holmes (who are out due to illness) are unable to play in the Mavericks' next game in Denver, then Powell and Morris will be completely exposed to the opponent's tallest and most talented frontcourt lineup.
Doncic's 30+ streak of games: 10
Today, Doncic set two more all-time team records. When he went over 30 again, he broke the franchise all-time record for 30 consecutive games to 10. Previously, Doncic and Dirk Nowitzki were tied for first place nine times.
And he accomplished that feat in the first half, scoring 30 points at halftime, 22 of which came in the first quarter. According to Ilias Sports, he became the 22nd player in NBA history to score 30+ points in 10 consecutive games, and the sixth player in the last 10 years to achieve this feat.
When Doncic scored 35 points with less than a minute left in the third quarter, he set another all-time franchise record, surpassing Nowitzki as the player with the most 35 points in franchise history to 79. At the same time, his 40+ triple-doubles also came to 8, surpassing Chamberlain to the fourth in NBA history.