PHOENIX — Remember after the 99-93 Game 1 loss to Utah at American Airlines Center how Spencer Dinwiddie uttered these prophetic words:
“If anything, this should be encouraging for the fan base, in my opinion.”
He was referencing the fact that the Mavericks didn’t have Luka Dončić but still had a chance to win the game and held the Jazz’s potent offense under 100 points. He ended up being right.
After Game 1 against Phoenix in the Western Conference semifinals, it’s a little tougher to glean any such optimism.
It was a jolt of reality for the Mavericks, who fell behind by double figures early and never recovered, eventually losing 121-114 when a late comeback from 21 points behind made the score look respectable.
If you’re looking for bright spots, though, we have two.
First, it’s not a best-of-one. The Mavericks have time to regroup, something they have excelled at this season.
Secondly, Dončić continues to look like he’s in vintage playoff form.
The superstar point guard poured in 45 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and had eight assists. But the most important number might have been the 44-plus minutes he played.
Remember, Dončić played all 24 minutes in the second half of the close-out Game 6 against Utah last week.
That wasn’t necessarily by design, but it was a clear sign that coach Jason Kidd is ready to ride his horse as long as is required.
“I feel great,” Dončić said postgame. “I felt a lot worse in Utah, maybe because of the altitude. But I’m feeling great now.”
Dončić had a strained left calf muscle that forced him out of the first three games of the playoffs. When he returned, the Mavericks watched his minutes.
But that shouldn’t be a problem against the Suns. It certainly wasn’t in Game 1.
“He got whatever he wanted,” Kidd said. “I thought he played great. He did everything to help put his team in position to win on the road. We just got to get someone to join the party.”
Kidd said he’s come to grips with the fact that Luka simply has to be on the court virtually all the time. And at 23, he’s still young enough to handle it.
“Some of it he doesn’t want to come out, ever,” Kidd said. “He believes he never gets tired. But when you look at Game 6, we continued to talk through the timeouts and the circumstances of where we were and what we were trying to do.
“And we left him in the second half. And he delivered. He played extremely well. He was probably one of the freshest players out there because he didn’t join the series until the halfway point.”
Kidd said Luka was convinced that his teammates could carry the Mavericks in the Utah series until he was able to return. That proved to be true as the Mavericks were 2-1 without him against the Jazz.
Now, they are in a 1-0 hole against the Suns. The good news is they haven’t lost anything on their home court yet. They still know they will need a win in Phoenix to have a chance to win this series.
But with the way Luka played, perhaps Dinwiddie’s message has a kernel of believability in it for this series, too.
Kidd explained why he’s got confidence that this series has a long, long way to go.
“I’ve been with these guys all year,” he said. “They tend to bounce back. That’s what we believe. There was a lot of good things we did. But we got to rebound the ball.”
If they can do that, and find a sidekick or two for Luka, the Mavericks have no reason to push any panic buttons yet, even after Dončić got inadvertently kicked by Phoenix’s Jae Crowder in the south-of-the-border region.
Phoenix gets bench boost: The Mavericks like their depth, especially when Maxi Kleber comes off the bench to shoot 5-of-8 from 3-point range and score 19 points.
But the Mavericks got only a 30-30 tie in scoring among the two team’s reserves.
Cam Johnson had 17 points and Cam Payne had nine. Even JaVale McGee, who like Payne is a former Maverick, had four points including a steal of Luka that led to his dunk.
It was part of an important break-even night for the Suns’ bench.
“Man, Cam Payne and Cam Johnson, that’s our energy,” said Deandre Ayton, who was a beast with 25 points and eight rebounds. “When them dudes are going, especially on both ends of the floor, that’s our heart and soul right there – especially when we’re getting threes from them.”
The Mavericks are hoping Spencer Dinwiddie can get a few more opportunities after firing just eight shots in more than 30 minutes played in Game 1. He had eight points and hit two of his four 3-pointers.
2018 was a very good year: Three of the top-10 picks from the 2018 NBA draft are playing in this series.
Deandre Ayton was taken No. 1 overall by the Suns and Luka Dončić went third to Atlanta, which quickly traded him to the Mavericks for the fifth pick, Trae Young, and the Mavericks’ 2019 first-rounder, which ended up being Cam Reddish.
Then, Mikal Bridges went 10th to the Suns.
Tack on Jalen Brunson, who was the third pick of the second round (33rd overall), and the 2018 talent grab is well represented in this series.
If everybody had a mulligan in that draft, Brunson would have been a lottery pick for sure.
“That draft was pretty stacked,” Brunson said. “A lot of great players, difference-makers. It’s a really cool group to be part of. I’m happy with what happened with my situation.”
Brunson, by the way, was part of the Villanova championship machine with Bridges (and fellow first-round picks in 2018 Donte DiVincenzo and Omari Spellman). Eric Paschall, also a member of the 2018 Villanova championship, was a second-round pick the following season.
Twitter: @ESefko
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