The synergy Mavericks superstar guards Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving displayed during Wednesday’s 126-97 triumph over the
Portland Trail Blazers was off the charts.
In 31 highly productive minutes, Dončić was 13-of-21 from the field – 4-of-7 from three-point land – and finished the game with 41 points, six rebounds and five steals. In 29 equally highly productive minutes, Irving was 10-of-19 from the floor – 4-of-8 from behind the three-point stripe – and collected 29 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals.
The show-stopping performances from Dončić and Irving was why – even before Wednesday’s matchup – Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was describing the Mavs’ backcourt duo as one of the best the NBA has to offer.
“Absolutely,” Billups said. “I don’t think any coach will sit up here and tell you anything other than that.”
As they have on numerous occasions, Dončić and Irving treated the American Airlines Center sellout crowd of 20,077 to a phenomenal show. Now only did they combine for 70 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. But they also did all of their damage in three quarters, because they didn’t play in the fourth quarter.
In fact, by halftime Dončić (30) and Irving (22) had combined for 52 points. At that juncture the Blazers only had 47 points.
“Luka had a special night,” Billups said. “Kai had a special night.”
Dončić (3,089) was so special that he passed Rolando Blackman (3,083) and moved into eighth place on the Mavs’ all-time rebounding list. He also has 34 career 40-point, five-rebound, five-assist games, which only trails James Harden (40) since Dončić entered the NBA in 2018.
Irving, meanwhile, has scored 20 or more points in one half five times this season. Together, Irving and Dončić have been able to make life absolutely miserable on the court for anyone trying to contain them, as was the case again on Wednesday.
“A lot of great performances by our two stars to get us started,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Kai didn’t wait tonight. He was aggressive. And then Luka was Luka.”
Here are the three takeaways from the Mavs’ 29-point win over the Blazers.
OFFENSE WAS AT A PREMIUM: The Mavs’ offense was at a premium on Wednesday. Not only did the Mavs shoot 50 percent from the field and 43.3 percent from beyond the three-point arc. But they also scored 78 points in the first half – their highest scoring output in any half this season – and their 31-point halftime lead is just the ninth time they’ve held at least a 30-point lead at the game’s midway point in franchise history. In addition, the 29-point margin of victory was the third time this season the Mavs have won a game by at least 25 points. The last time the Mavs won three or more games by 29 or more points during a season’s first 35 games was during the 2019-20 season when they had three such games.
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE: Nearly one-fifth of the Mavs’ points came via Portland turnovers. The Blazers committed 21 turnovers and the Mavs turned those into 25 points. Dallas scored 11 of those points – thanks to eight Blazers’ turnovers – in the first quarter. “Deflections,” said coach Jason Kidd, referring to the Blazer turnovers the Mavs forced. “We were active. Everyone had deflections or were coming up with steals. Understand (Blazers guard Anfernee) Simons is a tough cover and trying to make it tough on him. Our guys did a really good job of trying to keep him in front.”
A 20 PLUS/MINUS GAME: By the time Wednesday’s game was history, the Mavericks amazingly had six players finish with a plus/minus of at least 20 points. And oddly enough, reserve guard Seth Curry led the way with a plus/minus of plus 28. And Curry was actually scoreless in 15 minutes, which says a lot about the team’s production when he was on the court. Also, Luka Dončić, Derrick Jones Jr. and Dereck Lively II each recorded a plus/minus of plus 23. Lively also was scoreless in 19 minutes before leaving for good five minutes into the third quarter with a sprained left ankle. In addition, Josh Green’s plus/minus was a plus 22, and Kyrie Irving’s plus/minus was a plus 20.
X: @DwainPrice
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