The Mavericks won Wednesday for their 23rd road victory of this season, which is a serious accomplishment and proof of just how comfortable and gritty they are in hostile environs.
That said, they’re thrilled to be on the verge of assuring that they won’t have to take another trip until the third game of the playoffs.
As they spanked the youthful and shorthanded Detroit Pistons 131-113 at Little Caesars Arena, the Mavericks trimmed their magic number for clinching a home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs to one. Another victory, or a Utah loss, clinches home-court advantage in round one.
They could have it secured as soon as Friday against Portland at American Airlines Center. It would be the first playoff series they’ve started at home since the 2011 championship run, when three of the four series began at AAC.
By beating the Pistons, the Mavericks also reached 50-30, the first time they’ve won 50 games since 2014-15 and their high-water mark of the season at 20 games over .500.
Luka Dončić, who had four fouls by the early part of the third quarter, led the Mavericks with 26 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds. The fourth-year point guard fell short of topping the 30-point barrier, something he had done in each of the previous five games. That left him one game shy of the franchise record for consecutive 30-point games, owned by Mark Aguirre, who did it in 1983.
The Mavericks with 50 wins was pretty much unthinkable before the new year. They were languishing at 16-18 after Christmas.
And now, they can revel in being one of the top teams in the Western Conference.
“I think it’s pretty impressive,” said Dončić. “I know we started the season a little bit slow. But in the end, it’s 82 games. It’s a long season. You’re going to have ups and downs. But I’m proud of how we played and hopefully we’ll get to 52.”
Coach Jason Kidd called it “a great accomplishment” to win 50 games.
“Those guys in that locker room can’t take that lightly,” he said. “It’s not easy to do. We truly believe we’re a team. We play offensively together and defensively, we help each other. We understand that Luka is a big part of this team, but the guys are playing their role at a very high level.
“It’s not easy for just one person to win 50 games. It takes a team. And that’s what we have in that locker room. Guys play their role, they trust each other, they hold each other accountable and they have fun. And that’s what it’s all about.”
Jalen Brunson, who was very sharp in supporting Luka with 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting, said that finishing strong to ensure a home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs now is the singular goal.
The fact that the Mavericks didn’t win a home game in the seven-game playoff loss to the Los Angeles Clippers means nothing this year. But home court does.
“It means a lot. It means a lot to our fans,” Brunson said. “I know last year we weren’t able to win a game at home, but I think that will be a little different this year. No matter what, we got to take care of home court. After we worked this hard to get it, you got to take care of it.”
Dončić had loads of help from Brunson. The Mavericks also got three consecutive 3-pointers from Davis Bertans early in the fourth quarter to help salt away the game.
They took charge when they hit 14-of-17 shots in the third quarter. They piled up 34 points in the third quarter and had 30 or more in all four quarters.
“There’s a lot that happened tonight,” Kidd said. “We scored 30 points in four quarters. We were focused. This wasn’t the Washington game. We didn’t fall into that trap. We played well on both sides of the ball. And going 3-1 on this road trip shows the character of this group.”
The Mavericks’ success on the road this season has been ultra-impressive. They finished with a 23-18 record away from AAC.
“That’s always a goal, to try to finish over .500 on the road and protect home,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We’ve had some big wins on the road against very good opponents and we’ve had some bad losses against teams that are a little bit below .500.
“We know as we grow together, we started this journey on the right foot, understanding that winning on the road is hard . . . even harder in the playoffs. But we feel comfortable on the road and hopefully that’s something we can draw on to have success going forward.”
The Pistons (23-57) were not expected to pose much of a threat. Several of their key players – Jerami Grant, Kelly Olynyk, Cory Joseph and Marvin Bagley among them – were out with various ailments.
As coach Dwane Casey said before the game, it was an opportunity for young players “to get more playing time in a real NBA game.”
That included several players who are working on 10-day contracts, but was highlighted by rookie of the year candidate Cade Cunningham, the Arlington native who was the top overall draft pick last year out of Oklahoma State.
Cunningham flashed his promise by finishing with 25 points nine assists and seven rebounds.
Twitter: @ESefko
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