For years the Dallas Mavericks aggressively talked about playing some lock-down defense and how that transition would help get them to the next level. Nearly midway through this season, that big talk about defense is finally coming to fruition.
Luka Doncic flirted with another triple-double and the Mavs used a flurry of three-point shots and some terrific down the stretch en route to mapping out a 103-89 triumph over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night at American Airlines Center.
In playing a home game for the first time since Dec. 23, the Mavs filled the defensive lanes and used their sticky fingers to turn 26 Nugget turnovers into 28 points while increasing their record to 19-18. It’s the fourth straight game the Mavs have held their opponents under 100 points, which is probable cause for coach Jason Kidd to celebrate.
“We’re feeling comfortable with the schemes, being active defensively,” Kidd said. “When they have 26 turnovers that means your hands are active, you’re in the right spots and you’re covering for one another. Our defense right now is playing pretty good.
“Just the communication, the deflections, the steals. We’re getting our hands on the ball.”
And the Mavs, who produced 22 steals, got their hands on ball at the most opportune time Monday.
When Nuggets center Nikola Jokic re-entered the game with 8:22 left, the Mavs were only up, 76-72. While many may have assumed the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player was going to take over the game, that definitely was not the case.
The Mavs, in fact, proceeded to outscore Denver, 19-8, and turned that slim four-point lead into a rather comfortable 95-80 advantage with 2:12 to go. And it seemingly all happened in a matter of seconds as Dwight Powell poured in seven of his 15 points during that stretch, Reggie Bullock followed with consecutive three-pointers via feeds from Doncic, and Jalen Brunson capped the loud explosion with a bucket from downtown.
“Reggie shooting with confidence is something that’s going to help us regardless,” Powell said. “He’s a major weapon for us.
“And those were definitely some big buckets that gave us confidence to lock in on defense and gave us some juice to close it out. So those were huge baskets.”
Also huge during that massive late-game takeover by the Mavs was their brass knuckles performance on defense. During that period of time the Nuggets were just 3-of-7 from the field and the Mavs forced them into committing six turnovers.
All of that attention to defense over-shadowed the fact that the Nuggets out-rebounded the Mavs, 47-28, with Jokic hauling in 16 boards to go with his 27 points. Under normal circumstances, such a huge differential in rebounding would spell doom for the Mavs, but the way they clamped down on defense made up for their lack of action on the boards.
“If we get outrebounded like we did, it’s probably a loss,” Kidd said. “But fortunately, those turnovers turned into points or possessions for us and one less shot for them.
“So these guys really believe that before the game — talking about trying to hold the opponent under 100 points. That’s the fourth time in a row that we’ve done that, so these guys really believe that we’re doing the right thing.”
The Mavs played without Kristaps Porzingis, who found out Monday morning he had to enter the health and safety protocols. But Doncic dazzled in his second game back from the health and safety protocols as he picked the Nuggets apart and finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, 15 assists and four steals.
It was seven points by Doncic, six from Brunson and five from Dorian Finney-Smith that got the Mavs off to a 24-20 lead after the first quarter. Using a 13-0 run bridging the first and second quarters, the Mavs eventually widen their lead to 31-20.
Dallas held a 46-37 lead at intermission, but it got trimmed to 69-63 entering the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, when they had to step up and fight force with force, the Mavs more than held their own against the Nuggets, who converted just 6-of-25 shots from three-point range and saw their record drop to 18-17.
“I think the whole game we were pretty solid, especially our defense,” Doncic said. “Today, I think it was amazing.
“They have a great team. They have Jokic, who is the MVP, and they’re going to make a run. We stayed together and we just played our basketball.”
Other than Doncic and Powell, the Mavs received solid contributions from Bullock (15 points), Brunson (13 points), Maxi Kleber (10 points, five rebounds, two steals) and Finney-Smith (10 points). It all added up to a pretty productive night for the Mavs, who will host the Golden State Warriors and also retire Dirk Nowitzki’s jersey on Wednesday.
“Luka causes a problem, Reggie made some big shots, Dorian made a big three, but it’s just the pace that we’re playing with on the offensive end, too,” Kidd said. “We’re not just walking or trying to iso. Everyone is cutting hard.
“When Luka is only playing 33 minutes that helps us, because that means he has a little bit more in the gas tank (in the fourth quarter). We played within the offense and took what the offense gave us.”
And along the way, the Mavs also flexed their defensive muscles.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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