INDIANAPOLIS – With losses piling up with too much regularity, the Dallas Mavericks went out Monday night and did
something about it.
The Mavs hammered the listless Indiana Pacers, 127-104, behind a solid all-around game from Luka Doncic, a dominant performance from rookie Jaden Hardy, and a herculean effort in the paint from seldom-used center JaVale McGee. It added up to the Mavs snapping their season-high tying four-game losing streak while improving their record to 37-39.
From the jump, the Mavs let it be known that the frustrations they’ve endured in recent weeks were not going to happen against the Pacers, who didn’t play All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton or Euless Trinity High School product Myles Turner. The stark indicator that this wasn’t going to be an ordinary game for the Mavs was the first quarter, which ended with Dallas clinging to a 29-27 lead.
That’s the first time in nine road games that the Mavs have had a lead after the first quarter.
“I thought the guys came out from the jump ball (and) executed defensively and offensively, and we had fun once we got control of the game,” coach Jason Kidd said. “I thought, again, another thing that we normally do is let leads get chopped in half, or give them up.
“But I thought the guys did a great job of building the lead or keeping the lead. Kai (Kyrie Irving) and Luka, those two set the tone from the start.”
With the tone set, the Mavs were off and running and there was no stopping them. Irving poured in 11 of his 16 points in the first quarter, and the Mavs were not going to be denied a victory this time.
And then there was Doncic.
Inspired after the NBA rescinded the 16th technical foul that he recorded Sunday in Charlotte — thus allowing him to play against the Pacers – Doncic responded with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Doncic also came up with the pass probably of the NBA season when, while double teamed and pinned in the right corner, he somehow wiggled free long enough to rifle a bullet pass across the court to Hardy, who nailed a three-pointer to put the Mavs up, 86-69, with 2:57 left in the third quarter.
“That’s just a hard pass on the baseline – there’s so many hands (for the ball to go through),” Kidd said. “But he threw the Nolan Ryan fastball, so I don’t think anybody was going to get in the way of that.
“That’s what he does. He’s one of the best passers in the league. He can find guys. He’s strong enough. I don’t know if anybody else can make that pass. Again, he can make passes most guys can’t.”
In explaining how he was able to seemingly muscle the pass through a sea of bodies, Doncic said: “I don’t really know how I did it. I think it was a difficult situation.
“It’s probably one of the best passes I’ve made. I’m just glad it went through.”
The recipient of the dart thrown by Doncic, Hardy said: “That pass was crazy. I didn’t think he saw me at first. Then, when he saw me, I didn’t think he was going to be able to get it to me. But he did.”
Even Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James – watching from afar — tweeted: “Man that’s SIMPLY INSANE!!!!, followed by nine laughing emojis.
The Mavs, in fact, turned this contest into a laugher when they led, 106-75, on a bucket by McGee with 9:45 remaining in the game. Earlier, McGee threw down a pair of dunks – including a poster dunk – that brought his teammates flying off the bench and cheerly wildly.
McGee finished with 10 points, two rebounds, two blocks, a whole lot of intimidation and appear to be the paint protector the Mavs have been searching for.
“He was everywhere,” Doncic said. “He was defending. He had (two) dunks.
“Great energy to have him out there, and he helped us a lot.”
So, too, did Hardy, who was very crafty while looking so poised in scoring 20 points on 8-of-12 shots in just 24 minutes. It was the sixth 20-point game in his last nine games, and he also was coming off Sunday’s three-point showing against Charlotte.
“I think it was a bounce-back game for himself,” Kidd said. “Tonight, I thought he did a great job of being aggressive to score, but also (he was) looking for his teammates.
“I thought he did an incredible job, him and Frank (Ntilikina) coming off the bench. I thought JaVale gave us a spark on the boards, but also being able to finish and also being a presence of changing shots.”
The Mavs shot a crisp 56.6 percent from the field, made 18 of their 37 attempts from three-point range, and also had just one turnover in the first half. All after two straight losses to the lowly Charlotte Hornets.
“We talked about that at halftime of only having one turnover,” Kidd said. “That means we’re getting looks. Make or miss, when you have that type of action when guys are making plays for one another and taking care of the ball, that gives us a shot at the basket.
“I thought the focus this morning, the talk, the walk-through, you could tell guys were different. So with that, just playing that many bodies in a short amount of time, I thought the guys did a great job.”
This was the Mavs’ first win since March 17 when Maxi Kleber’s clutch three-pointer at the buzzer nipped the Lakers, 111-110. In getting their mojo back, the Mavs also distributed 29 assists.
“I think it came from the defensive end,” Doncic said. “I think on the defensive end we were locked in, then we shared the ball.
“So it was a great experience for us today.”
Indeed, it was.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
Share and comment