Spencer Dinwiddie was no different than everybody else when he saw Bojan Bogdanovic let fly with a 3-pointer at the buzzer that could have stunned the Mavericks with a devastating loss.
“I was scared,” he said. “I spent a year with Bogey in Brooklyn. I have great respect for his game. He’s a very good shooter . . . sometimes, it’s a make-or-miss league.”
It’s the slimmest of margins between moving on to prepare for the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference semifinals or stressing out over a Game 7 that could have happened if Bogdanovic’s shot finds its mark.
The Mavericks had a lot of heroes in Game 6, which they survived 98-96. Dinwiddie, certainly, was one of them.
He had some rugged moments earlier in the series. His shooting had been iffy, to say the least.
But he never lost faith in himself. And, as has been the character of this Mavericks’ team, neither did anybody else in the locker room.
“We’ve had guys struggle and we don’t really talk about the struggle,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We talk about trust and knowing that they’re going to get out of that struggle.
“But we truly believed he was going to have a good game for us in this series and he picked a great one to have it.”
Dinwiddie, who has spent some times on teams in his career where the chemistry was less than A-plus worthy.
Since arriving with the Mavericks, things have been different, he said. He’s had nothing but positive vibes with his new teammates, even when he was shooting 8-for-30 in the previous two games in the series played in Utah.
He redeemed himself with 7-of-12 shooting, 4-of-7 from 3-point range and piled up 19 points off the bench in Game 6.
It was perfect timing on his part to come out of whatever doldrums he might have had. The Mavericks were desperate to get out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in 11 years and Dinwiddie helped make it happen.
“I know everybody’s excited,” Dinwiddie said. “. I haven’t been here for a lot of the bad moments. The main thing I sense from this team that’s kind of unique is that everybody genuinely likes each other and that kind of makes for a sky-is-the-limit scenario.”
And winning twice in Utah will do nothing but bolster the close connection that the Mavericks have.
“It’s great for the confidence and that goes back to that chemistry and camaraderie in the locker room,” Dinwiddie said. “And that’s something they established long before I got here. They welcomed me with open arms, but that’s a credit to that locker room. Just a very special group of guys.”
Dinwiddie, Jalen Brunson and Luka Dončić played together more in Game 6 than they had in the previous two games that Luka was healthy. The three-guard lineup was effective and if the Mavericks are going to upend the heavily favored Phoenix Suns in the next round, they’ll have to get great guard play against Chris Paul and Devin Booker.
“We made shots and got back into the game,” Dinwiddie said of the three-guard set. “We were down 12 and we built the lead to seven or nine or whatever. It worked tonight. I think he’s going to continue to be flexible in what he does to get us wins.”
Things will be different against Phoenix. They have been the best team in the NBA all season.
And they appear to be healthy after Booker returned for the clinching game against New Orleans in the first round.
“Obviously formidable,” Dinwiddie said. “They’ve got two great guards, one already a hall of fame (level player) and the other if his career continues for another 10 years like it’s going probably will be in the hall of fame.
“Its going to be a fun battle. I mean, that’s what you live for, right?
Twitter: @ESefko
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