HOUSTON –Because of the ferocious way they’re played lately, the NBA spotlight continues to shine on the Dallas Mavericks.
And that spotlight got much, much brighter Wednesday night at the Toyota Center as the Mavs totally blew out the Houston Rockets, 128-108. It was the Mavs’ eighth victory in their last 10 games and pushed their record to 10-9.
It’s also the first time the Mavs have been over .500 since they were 2-1 over a month ago. Plus, coupled with San Antonio’s loss at Minnesota on Wednesday, the Mavs have not-so-quietly jumped into the eighth spot in the Western Conference and would advance to the playoffs if the postseason started today.
Not bad for a team that was 4-15 after 19 games last season, and 2-7 after nine games this season.
“We’re a team,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “We have really good players, but we’re a team that’s really the strength is the sum of its parts.
“And the guys have really come together with a defensive identity, and that’s who we are. We’re a defensive team and we’re a base team on offense.”
On this night, the defensive-minded Mavs forced the Rockets into missing 32 of the 45 shots they attempted from 3-point range. Additionally, they turned 18 Houston turnovers into 20 points.
Offensively, the Mavs were completely on fire as the opened the floodgates and the Rockets couldn’t find a way to stop the carnage. The Mavs shot 54.1 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point land (17-of-34), and were in such a groove that they tallied 74 points in the first half.
That’s the most points the Mavs have scored in any half this season. And points Nos. 72, 73 and 74 was a big-time dagger 3-pointer from half court at the second quarter buzzer by rookie Luka Doncic, who also drilled a pair of heavily guarded 3-pointers early in the first quarter when the shot clock was about to expire.
“I love shooting threes, I work on them a lot,” said Doncic, who finished with 20 points and six rebounds. “I always did love those shots and I’m always going to shoot that shot.”
Devin Harris also fell in love with the 3-point shot, much to the chagrin of the Rockets (9-11). The long-time veteran went through one stretch in the fourth quarter where he tallied 15 of the Mavs’ 17 points – nine of those points came via three 3-poin7ters – as the Mavs busted the game wide open with a dominant 26-8 run and charged ahead, 120-97, with 6:25 remaining.
In all, Harris went 4-of-5 from 3-point territory in the fourth quarter as he kept finding seams in the Rockets’ porous defense.
“I got the first couple to go and then I just was able to find the court in open spaces and shot the last two,” Harris said. “The second team did a great job just moving the ball and then finding open shots.”
Houston had battled back from a 77-56 deficit to inch within 94-89 of the Mavs late in the third quarter before Dorian Finney-Smith’s 3-pointer and steal – it led to a basket by J. J. Barea – was the precursor to the offensive explosion by Harris.
“I was aggressive,” said Barea, who produced 13 points and 12 assists in only 18 minutes. “The second unit did a great job – everybody.
“We’re in a good rhythm right now.”
The Mavs are in such a good rhythm that they’re 3-0 this year against three of the four teams that advanced to last season’s conference or NBA Finals. That includes wins over the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, a victory over the Eastern Conference finalist Boston Celtics, and Wednesday’s blowout of the Rockets, who were a Western Conference finalist last season.
“Obviously we’ve got a long ways to go,” said Harris, who had 20 points in only 15 minutes. “Defensively I think we’re definitely playing better, and offensively I think there’s still room for improvement.
“We’re trending in the right direction. We got off to a slow start (to the season), but we’re starting to play catch-up.”
The Mavs also started slow Wednesday as the Rockets broke out to a 7-0 lead. Then, Doncic banged in a pair of 3-pointers and jammed home a dunk before leaving the game briefly in the second half with a huge black mark under his right eye.
“I was fighting for the ball and this guy come from nowhere,” Doncic said. “I don’t know who it was, but that’s just part of the game.”
In all, the Mavs had seven players score at least 10 points. That balanced attack helped offset the triple-double by James Harden, who collected 25 points, 11 rebounds and 17 assists.
The Mavs will complete their brief two-game road trip Friday night in Los Angeles when they play the Lakers. And with the confidence they’ve played with lately, they’re expecting to complete this road trip with a 2-0 record, which would be huge since the Mavs were just 1-7 on the road before defeating the Rockets.
“If we play our best basketball we can beat anybody,” Barea said. “We’re getting better, we’re playing hard and we’re being more aggressive on defense.
“We just got to keep learning every day and keep staying together and see what happens.”
NOTES: After Wednesday’s game, coach Rick Carlisle was raving about two defensive plays point guard Dennis Smith Jr. made. In the first half, Smith ran down James Harden and stole the ball. And with 2:40 remaining in the game and the Mavs nursing a 120-102 lead, Gary Clark was flying in for a fast break dunk. But Smith never gave up on the play and subsequently blocked Clark’s dunk attempt. “He ran down, I think it was Harden, in the first half and made an amazing effort play on the ball, and got the steal and we went down and scored,” Carlisle said. “And then down the stretch he made the same play (on Clark). Teams that come together make plays like that for each other.” By the way, this was Smith’s first game since missing last Saturday’s contest against Boston with a sprained right wrist. So how is his wrist now? “It was alright,” Smith said. “I had to ice it a little bit. I’ve still got some improvements to make with it, but it’s going to take time. We’ve got a really good training staff, so I’ll be just fine.”. .Dwight Powell played 19 minutes after missing the previous three games with a left knee effusion. Powell finished with six points, three rebounds and a blocked shot. . .The 128 points the Mavs scored against the Rockets was their second-highest point total of the season, eclipsed only by the 140 points they tallied in the second game of the year against Minnesota.
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