G56 Battle Report: Shooting the Sun.
The Dallas Mavericks' 123-113 home win over the Phoenix Suns was a pivotal win as they look to avoid the play-in tournament and extend their winning streak to a season-best seven. The win also gave the Mavericks a 2-1 advantage over the Suns, and a loss at this point could see them slip to eighth in the West.
In many ways, the Lone Ranger and the Sun are like a reflection of each other. Both teams are driven by twin stars to try to cover up the shortcomings of the squad itself. Luka Doncic (41 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds) and Kyrie Irving (29 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) led their teams, while Devin Booker (35 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds) and Kevin Durant (23 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist) carried the heavy lifting for the Suns.
The rivalry between the two teams is real. The intensity of the game is comparable to that of the playoffs, and the expressions on the faces of the players after each score tell you how much they want to help the team win. Every game between Luka and Booker is worth booking in advance, and if the basketball gods really care about their fans, the two teams should meet in the playoffs every year. Now, let's take a look at how the game unfolds.
The first quarter of the game was all about the stars. Booker did whatever he wanted on the court, scoring 12 points and three assists in the opening game. For the Mavericks, Luka and Kyrie also began to chase points. Apart from a couple of step-back three-pointers, Luka spent most of his time playmaking. As the Suns widened the gap, Hardaway Jr. and Kleber each missed open opportunities in the bottom corner.
With 1:23 left in the quarter, Kyrie made his second foul to give the Suns a 31-24 lead, and Irving went on a personal 8-0 run, including a beautiful assist and two counter-attacking three-pointers, to give the Mavericks their first lead of the game. Devin Booker scored a basket to end the quarter and the Suns went into the second quarter with a 33-32 lead.
Luka was on the bench at the start of the second quarter as Kyrie took over possession and scored twice under the basket. After that, the Mavericks' situation became difficult to look at, and several offenses ended in Hardaway missing a three-pointer. For the Suns, Durant's time has come. P.J. Washington defended him perfectly, but Durant's height allowed him to hit back-to-back shots.
After five consecutive turnovers by the Mavericks, Luka returned to the court with seven minutes left at halftime and a 49-41 deficit and unleashed a wave of offensive surges, including two tough 2+1s and top shots. The Mavericks were lucky to go into the halftime with a score of 63-60.
Booker was on fire in the third quarter, scoring 29 points in less than three quarters. It was his outstanding performance that kept the Suns from being completely crushed by Luka. Luka hit three three-pointers and assisted two at the start of the third quarter. The 15-0 run gave the Mavericks a 75-63 lead, after which the Suns quickly called a timeout. For the rest of the quarter, the two teams went on the offensive against each other. At the end of the third quarter, the Mavericks led 96-91.
The Suns were cold at the start of the fourth quarter, scoring just five points in four minutes. The Mavericks once again relied on the play of Luka and Carey to score back-to-back points. They were able to get into the paint to create open opportunities for their teammates, which allowed the Mavericks to extend the margin to 12 points midway through the fourth quarter. For the rest of the fourth quarter, the score didn't change much. As the whistle blew, the Mavericks eventually outscored their opponent 123-113.
Eastern Europe's Manufacturing Shooting Capabilities:
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are the great shooters in history. Luka and Carey are the great (difficult) shot makers of all time. If the other players had shot like the two of them, they would have been pressed to the bench by the coach. However, the shooting of these two people has become like a natural law, and it is easy to take it for granted.
Kyrie had a very special layup in the first quarter and had to go through replays to really understand how ridiculous it was. He often bumps into much taller players and then hovers in the air against body contact to make difficult shots. And Luca is still Luka, nothing special, we've seen it many times. I can't find the words to describe his performance in the third quarter. It's a real treat to watch them play.
Unstable Kleber:
The Maxi Kleber we all know and love will eventually leave us. Injuries have made him not as good as he used to be, and it's fair to say that the Mavericks have played even worse when he's on the floor. Defensively, he used to be tasked with defending big wings and small lineup centers. Now he simply can't do it. At one point, Nurkic hit a back-to-back shot straight to the basket and scored an easy layup. Other times, he was powerless to stop the other party's breakthrough penetration.
On the offensive side, he lacks self-confidence. He is no longer a confident shooter, his shot is too long and he doesn't have enough willingness to shoot, which makes defenders more inclined to stay under the basket and make it difficult for Eastern Europe's offense. When Luka got inside the three-point line, the Suns did a good job of blocking him and rotated the shooter well. When the fellow came on, there seemed to be six Suns defenders on the court.
A full 48 minutes of competent rebounding protection can make Kleber more comfortable, but he must be prepared to shoot if he wants to have a positive enough impact on the team.
The team needs an alternative to Hardaway:
Tim Hardaway Jr. can be super-god, but often super-ghost. As you might have guessed, Hardaway was very poor on the defensive end tonight. However, his offense is more of a problem that needs to be addressed.
Hardaway has the memory of a fish. If he misses 20 shots in a row, that's okay, and you can bet he'll still make a 21st shot with confidence. On a night like tonight when Eastern Europe is on fire, it's easy to overlook his performance in the game. Aside from scoring five straight points in the third quarter, he was a completely negative contribution.
On nights when Luka or Carey are struggling, the Mavericks need someone who can be a consistent third scorer. It's possible that the Mavericks believe P.J. Washington can develop into a third option, which is why they made this deal. Otherwise, the Mavericks' success this season will largely depend on Hardaway, which could affect their playoff endurance.
—mffl———
Here are some notable stats from the game:
Irving's score in the final 32 seconds of the first quarter: 8
Later in the first quarter, when Doncic made both free throws and sat on the bench, Kyrie Irving took over the game. He and Doncic helped the Mavericks tie the score at 29-19, but Irving exploded in the final minute of the first quarter.
With Dallas trailing 31-24, Irving scored on a clever pass from Jones Jr. to cut the lead to five points with one minute left in the first quarter. Nine seconds later, he snatched the ball back from the Suns, and three seconds later, he hit a 3-pointer at 45 degrees to make it 31-29.
Closure and p. of Daniel GaffordJ. Washington's steal was exchanged for another fast break, and Irving hit his third three-pointer of the first quarter. The Mavericks were 32-31 at this point, and at the end of the quarter, they trailed by one point at 33-32. Irving, on the other hand, has scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
First Half Disparity Free Throws: 16-5
Later in the second quarter, Reggie Miller admitted on TNT that the Suns got a "friendly" whistle at the Mavericks' home court. When Kevin Harlan referred to the 16-5 first-half free-throw deficit with 13 seconds left in the first half, Miller said, "That's why you're going to hear a lot of boos and anger in this arena. ”
Doncic had already committed three fouls in the first half, and Gafford also had two fouls. The Mavericks trailed by a wide margin 4-13 in free throw points, but also trailed by just three points at halftime. That gap was resolved in the second half, with the Suns making 24 free throws to the Mavericks' 21.
Eastern Europe in the first half of the game: 38 points.
As time went on, the Mavericks-Suns game became more and more like the balance of victory would tip on whichever duo performed better. Doncic and Irving put up amazing performances for Dallas, outscoring Kevin Durant and Devin Booker 38-28 in the first two quarters.
Irving led all scorers with 13 points in the first quarter, followed by Doncic adding 12 points in the second quarter. The pair combined for 5-of-9 three-point shooting. By halftime, Doncic had scored 21 points, and Irving had four points in the second quarter.
Commentator Kevin Harlan said at one point during the game that the Mavericks have the NBA's most explosive scoring backcourt. Doncic and Irving shone in front of the crowd, teaming up to score 70 points and win the pivotal battle.
The climax throughout the second half: 17-0
After hitting the last attack of the first half, the Mavericks scored 15 straight points to open the third quarter. Doncic either scored or assisted, and during that time, the Suns scored nilly for more than five minutes.
With 11:25 left in the third quarter, Josh Green found Doncic, who hit a long-range shot to tie the score at 63-63. Thirty seconds later, Doncic hit a step-back three-pointer from almost the same position to give the Mavericks a 66-63 lead. In the next game, Doncic found Washington at a critical moment and hit an open three-pointer to continue to hold the lead.
Then, with 9:48 left in the third quarter, Doncic stepped back for another three-pointer to give Dallas a 63-52 lead, their first double-digit lead of the night. Doncic hit five three-pointers tonight and scored 30 points at the start of the third quarter. For the remainder of the game, his three-point touch didn't last, and the Suns were able to hold on until the end, leading the Mavericks 96-91 into the fourth quarter.
Booker's performance: 35 + 8 + 5
Although Doncic and Irving scored like melons and vegetables, Booker kept the Suns in suspense with his own scores. He scored 12 points in the first quarter and another 13 in the third as the Suns struggled to catch up in the final moments. He finished with a team-high 35 points on 13-of-21 shooting from the field while diching out eight assists.
Durant's performance: 23 + 5 + 1
As we mentioned above, at some point in the second quarter, it seems that the outcome of this game will depend on the twin stars of Dallas and Phoenix. While Doncic and Irving have been outstanding, Phoenix's two superstars need to be on full fire to match them, especially with Beal out (hamstring injury).
But just like the opening game between the two teams at Christmas, Dallas' defense can at least limit Kevin Durant's offensive output by keeping an eye on him and forcing him to make tough shots whenever possible. In this loss, Kevin Durant shot 9-of-23 from the field and 2-of-8 from three-point range to just 23 points and 5 rebounds. In the Christmas game, Dallas made Durant 4-of-11 shooting and scored only 16 points.
But the most crucial statistic of this game is the "seven". The win brought the Dallas Mavericks to a seven-game winning streak and symbolized their status as the hottest team in the NBA right now.