It’s amazing what a little defense and a little rebounding will do for an NBA team.
Especially for one like the Mavericks that have incurred some troublesome moments in both departments early this season.
Fueled by Maxi Kleber’s sticky defense on Pascal Siakim and nose-for-the-ball rebounding by Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, the Mavericks started their four-game home stand with a bang and a 110-102 victory over the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors at American Airlines Center.
They improved to 7-5 overall, stopped a two-game losing streak and now own a 3-3 home record, something they need to keep improving during the rest of this home stand.
They owe it to a second half that featured heavy doses of solid play at both ends of the court. The Raptors shot just 37 percent in the second half, scored only 42 points and were outscored by 15 by the Mavericks.
After a rather blah first half, the Mavericks looked like a different team after the intermission.
“We used to talk about 20-point quarters,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “In today’s game, 25-point quarters are more of a benchmark for a good defensive quarter. We had three of them against a team that’s a bit depleted, but is still a high, high level team. It’s a great sign of progress. We stuck together and found a way to get enough stops. It got a little hairy, but they’re a team that will put you in some tough spots.”
It was a combo effort. Kleber had the majority of the defensive responsibility against Siakim, who had averaged 30 points in the first four games of this long Western road swing for Toronto, which they finished 3-2.
Siakim shot just 6-for-24 Saturday and was 2-of-12 in the second half. He finished with just 15 points (and five turnovers) in 41 minutes.
“I just tried to play him physical, make it hard,” Kleber said. “Give him more the shot than the drive. I know he likes to attack you and then spin. He had one on me in the third quarter with the left-handed layup. You just try to make it as hard as possible.
“It feels good (to hold Siakim down and get the win). That’s why I was 10 minutes in the ice bath.”
The Mavericks came into the game in the bottom half of the NBA in defensive efficiency. But that no doubt will improve after Saturday.
And then there was the rebounding. Porzingis came up big with a season-best 15 boards, as did Doncic. It was encouraging for the Mavericks to see Porzingis in particular come up big in the rebounding department.
At 7-3, he’s never been a dominant rebounder. And he said there’s a reason.
“That’s something I definitely thought about when I was out,” he said about missing 20 months after knee surgery. “I wanted to come back and grab loose rebounds. They’re there. A lot of times, I didn’t really pay attention to it. I was more of an offensive-minded rebounder, go for the putback dunks.
“Now, I’m down there. I’m 7-3. It’s not that hard to grab it, give it to Luka and run. That’s something I focused on that a little.”
Asked about whether it’s going to be hard to be a consistent double-digit rebounder per night because of all the boards Doncic steals, Porzingis said: “You said that. I didn’t say that. But you’re right.”
Carlisle said the production of Porzingis at both ends of the floor was probably the best he’s had all season.
“I love the way he moved and played within the team system,” Carlisle said. “We made some real progress as a team, especially with that first unit. And the 20 points and 15 rebounds were huge. The 15 rebounds were really big.
“KP can walk out there and get 18 or 22 (points) in his sleep. He’s that good of an offensive player. But his presence around the basket . . . was huge.”
The Mavericks took control early in the fourth quarter when Delon Wright, the former Raptor playing for the first time against his old team, had two layups sandwiched around a steal to put the Mavericks up 88-79.
Wright had 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
The Raptors charged back and got as close as 102-100. But Doncic hit a floater in the lane, Seth Curry made a couple free throws and Doncic then converted two free throws for a 108-100 advantage and the Mavericks were in the clear.
Oh yeah, about those free throws.
The Mavericks had 33 trips to the line, 19 of them by Doncic, who finished with 26 points, 15 boards and seven assists (and seven turnovers).
The Raptors tried to trap Doncic on many occasions, and he ended up passing out or drawing fouls.
“He’s a beast on offense,” Carlisle said. “They’re a team that has the ability to commit to taking the best player out of the game. They did it with (Portland’s Damian) Lillard. They made it really tough on (the Clippers’) Kawhi Leonard. They were real aggressive on (the Lakers) LeBron James. We knew that Luka was next in line.
“He did a great job of mixing in attacks that oftentimes led to fouls and drawing two defenders away and creating a four-on-three opportunity for another teammate. The balance of Luka’s game was terrific.”
And because of it, the Mavericks are off to a positive start on a crucial early season home stand.
Twitter: @ESefko
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