This could have been a perfect storm working against the Mavericks.
They know the sand and sea are just a few days away with the All-Star break looming. They were facing the woebegone Washington Wizards, owners of the second-worst record in the NBA.
The Mavericks have been rolling lately. Maybe a bit of a letdown was to be expected.
And yet, the Mavericks survived it.
After the Wizards had them on the ropes virtually all night Monday at American Airlines Center, the Mavericks rescued themselves from what would have been a regrettable loss.
The Mavericks came alive just in time with a sharp fourth quarter and that was enough to overtake the Wizards and ring up a 112-104 victory in the next-to-last game before the break.
With a massive rebounding night from newcomer Daniel Gafford and another strong scoring night from their backcourt superstars, the Mavericks got their fifth consecutive victory, the first time they’ve won five in a row this season as they improved to 31-23. The Wizards, despite their game fight, fell to 9-44.
And a fight, it was.
“This wasn’t pretty, but we found a way to win,” coach Jason Kidd said. “It wasn’t our best. But the guys stayed together and found a way.”
The Mavericks trailed 93-82 with 10:15 left to play. In a heartbeat, and a few flicks of Jaden Hardy’s wrist, the Mavericks were within 95-94 as the second-year guard nailed a pair of three pointers as part of a 12-2 surge.
Maxi Kleber gave the Mavericks their first lead since the first half with a three-pointer with 5:31 to go, making it 97-96.
Then, Luka Dončić took over with a midrange bucket and a three-pointer as the Mavericks went ahead 103-98. The Mavericks applied some defensive grit, got a pair of stops that led to easy buckets and pushed their lead to a more comfortable 110-102 with 2:07 remaining.
“We didn’t want to allow this game to slip out of our hands,” said Kyrie Irving. “It would have been one of those losses where we would have had to look ourselves in the mirror and have a gut-check.
“We were tested, and we responded, so I’m proud of our guys.”
Said Kidd of the fourth quarter: “The energy picked up. I thought Hardy was great for us. He gave us a spark by getting to the basket, knocking down a three. That just shows the versatility of this group.”
Dončić finished with a triple-double, racking up 26 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists. It was the 66th triple double of his career and 10th this season.
Irving had 26 points. Gafford finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds, which tied his career best.
Luka’s night was punctuated by a blow to the chin on an offensive foul against Corey Kispert late in the third quarter.
“He’ll be fine,” Kidd said. “The stitches and the (broken) nose. He’s rolling with the face right now. I don’t know if he’s going to wear a mask. We’re a physical team, the Mavs. All the cuts and broken noses we have. You should see the other guys.”
After the giggles died down, he said: “Our team, everyone has been fitted for a mask. Again, our team is tough. Everyone has a mask. And then we got goggles. Hopefully we can get rid of them going into the second half (after the break).”
Meanwhile, it was a riveting finish, even if it did come against a team the Mavericks were heavily favored against.
It was quite entertaining for new Mavericks’ governor Patrick Dumont, who was sitting courtside.
It was the first game Dumont has attended since he and his family purchased the majority stake of the Mavericks from Mark Cuban. He sat near midcourt in between president of basketball operations/GM Nico Harrison and CEO Cynt Marshall.
Kidd, who has known Dumont from previous meetings, did not interact with the new owner immediately after the game, but said: “Hopefully we’ll get a chance to say that he’s undefeated (seeing us) in person.”
What Dumont saw was his fellow newcomers Gafford and P.J. Washington in the starting lineup after both came off the bench Saturday in their first game as Mavericks.
What he also saw was Gafford ripping down seven rebounds in the first five minutes, although it must be noted that there were a lot of rebounds to be had because neither team had their shooting eyes early in the game.
Gafford would finish with 14 rebounds before halftime, the most rebounds in a half by a Maverick since DeAndre Jordan had 14 in 2018.
He said the energy changed in the fourth quarter.
“There was a lot of adversity in those first three quarters, a lot of frustration,” Gafford said. “But it’s a long basketball game. You just stay locked in and sooner or later if you do it the right way, you can take a step into the right path and that’s what we did tonight. We got over every obstacle that came our way.”
With the new Mavericks starting, it meant Derrick Jones Jr. and Maxi Kleber were improving depth off the bench.
Kleber has been on a roll lately and was coming off a 12-point, 12-rebound showing Saturday against Oklahoma City.
Kidd said that since Kleber has returned from a dislocated small toe, he’s gradually gotten back to being a force at both ends of the floor.
“Our defense – I don’t want to say it’s built around him – but he’s a big part of that,” Kidd said. “Understanding what Maxi means to us on the floor, his ability to play defense, play one through five, rebound.”
Kleber also will give the Mavericks a chance to play two or even three big men at the same time, when Dereck Lively II returns from nasal surgery.
He was largely quiet – until his big three-pointer – on Monday. And while he had only five points and five rebounds, Kleber had a huge impact. The Mavericks were plus-14 when he was on the floor.
X: @ESefko
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