Another chapter in the Spurs vs. Mavericks rivalry ended in exciting fashion once again as it took an overtime to decide a winner in the first matchup of the two franchises. Despite an incredible effort from the young guys in Doncic and Smith Jr, DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points on 57% shooting from the field in the overtime victory.
Stat of the Game: The Mavericks are 25th in the league in turnovers averaging just over 16 a game. Tonight, they recorded 22 turnovers.
Mavs Box: The young guys led the way as Luka Doncic finished with 31 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field. Dennis Smith Jr. tallied 22 points and four assists as Harrison Barnes finished with 18 points and six rebounds. DeAndre Jordan’s double-double streak ended, but he did pull down 19 rebounds.
Out: Dirk Nowitzki, Devin Harris
Read full game recap here.
For the first time this season, the Mavs traveled to LA to face a LeBron-led Lakers team. On Halloween night, Luka Doncic faced his self-proclaimed idol for the first time in LeBron James. The Lakers took charge by scoring 38 points in the first quarter, but never quite put away the Mavs until the final seconds of the game.
After a game tying shot from Luka Doncic under 20 seconds to go, James would be fouled by Matthews in the final possession where he would go on to hit one free throw to seal the game.
Stat of the Game: The Lakers, not known for their three point shooting, shot 58 percent from behind the arc.
Mavs Box: Wesley Matthews led the way for the Mavs with 21 points while Harrison Barnes scored 19. DeAndre Jordan recored another double-double and Luka Doncic’s stellar fourth quarter stretch helped him finish with 14 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. The bench combination of Finney-Smith, Barea, and Powell combined for 36 points.
Out: Dirk Nowitzki, Devin Harris
Read the full game recap here.
Losers of five straight, the Mavericks went home looking for a win against a 2-6 Knicks team without Kristaps Porzingis. It was a moment to get back on track, but the Mavs had 18 turnovers and allowed the Knicks to shoot 54 percent from the field.
It was a rough loss all the way around.
Stat of the Game: New York Knicks guard Alonzo Trier scored 23 points off the bench. He is also on a two-way contract.
Mavs Box: Dennis Smith Jr. led the way with 23 points while Luka Doncic finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Dorian Finney-Smith had a stellar performance recording 19 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Out: Dirk Nowitzki, Devin Harris
Read the full game recap here.
Luka ties it up! This play at the end of the game was last night's @PlainsCapital Moment of the Game! #MavsMomentum pic.twitter.com/ilSd6GQVIT
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) November 1, 2018
With the game on the line, Rick Carlisle put the ball in Luka Doncic’s hands for the biggest play of the game. Down by two with under 20 seconds to play, Doncic drives to the left for a hanging shot over the defender that tied the game.
It might not have resulted in wins, but Luka Doncic continues to impress early in his rookie season.
In the first game of the week, Doncic recorded a new career high in points by finishing with 31 points and eight rebounds while shooting 11 of 18 from the field. He became the second Mavs rookie in history to score 31 points in a game.
🎥: @luka7doncic set a new career high in points scored and becomes only the second Mavs rookie ever to pull that off in a single game. Check out his highlights from last night! pic.twitter.com/Uy7kSalAIK
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) October 30, 2018
In the second game of the week, Doncic faced off against his idol in LeBron James. Doncic started off the game cold, but finished the game on an incredible fourth quarter streak that tied the game in the final seconds of the game. He would finish with 14 points, seven assists and four rebounds.
In the ugly loss to the Knicks, Doncic finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
He is now averaging 19 points, six rebounds, and four assists a game.
The mood after the Knicks loss was a somber one to say the least. It was the sixth straight loss and Carlisle took the time to address the media about the team’s shortcomings. He talked about how the team didn’t play with a certain “pride” in the second half and touched on what needs to happen with the team right now. With two practice days before welcoming the Wizards to town on Tuesday, the Mavs now look to get back on track.
🎥: An update from @swish41 at the @LympoApp shootaround in LA! pic.twitter.com/Qkx00cUAik
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) October 31, 2018
As far as excitement, the Doncic game tying shot in Los Angeles would take the award. But since that play is mentioned above, I’m going with Dirk Nowitzki addressing the media for the first time in weeks on his injury rehab and timeline. Nowitzki has yet to play a game in his 21st season, but seems to be pushing closer to a season debut.
🎃 The Nun Kobe ADs 💀
To start my 2018 halloween run I made these for my bro @WessyWes23 to hoop in for the @dallasmavs 🔥 pic.twitter.com/sMrHYbRpq1— Kickstradomis (@Kickstradomis) October 30, 2018
This week’s must-read Mavs story in the media is from The Athletic’s Tim Cato and his profile on the journey of Al Whitley. Al is a dear member of the Mavericks organization that has worked his way up through the organization and has been there for a lot of the mountain top moments of the past 20 years.
Cato does a great job detailing Whitley’s journey while telling some entertaining stories along the way.
You can read the full piece here.
Sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Wizards have gotten off to a rough start to the season…much like the Mavs have in the West. Both teams are looking to get back on the right track as the backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal come to Dallas.
The Jazz won the first battle in Dallas earlier this season, but now the Mavs head to Utah on a second game of a back-to-back.
In the first meeting of the season, Russell Westbrook and the Thunder head down the highway to Dallas for what should be another good game.
Share and comment