Final: Mavs 119, Nets 113
Usually after a game in which two starters score 20+, you’re going to start with them. But without J.J. Barea and Devin Harris I really don’t believe Dallas would have been able to overcome Allen Crabbe’s 3-point shooting barrage. Harris scored a season-high 18 points and Barea matched him, and together they added seven assists, five rebounds, and four steals against just two turnovers. Barea’s +9 rating in 29 minutes speaks for itself in a game as close as this one; Dennis Smith Jr. wore some tape around his right wrist, which he sprained during the Memphis game, and so I wonder how limited that left him. At any rate, the Dallas bench got off to an inauspicious start in the first quarter before doing more than its fair share of heavy lifting later on.
Harrison Barnes scored a season-high 28 points on 20 shots, hitting 5 of 8 from beyond the arc in the process. Barnes is shooting 39 percent from 3 in his last 11 games, after a couple of poor shooting nights following his return from injury. It hasn’t all been rosy for him, of course — he had a 3-of-14 night in Memphis on Monday, but the Grindhouse has claimed many victims over the years, and 4-of-14 and 4-of-13 performances in other recent losses don’t look great in the game log — but when Barnes has played well this season, the Mavericks have generally won. He’d pretty consistently been scoring in the upper-teens and lower-20s before tonight despite attempting more than 16 shots in a game just once this season (his first game back from injury, in Toronto).
Barnes’ usage rate has dropped two points this season from his career average as a Maverick, thanks in large part to the addition of Luka Doncic into the fold. He’s taking more 3s and more free throws than he ever has in his entire career. His season stats are weighed down pretty heavily by his first two games back from injury — when he combined to shoot just 8 of 30 from the field as Dallas was force-feeding him back into playing shape — but since then, on the whole, his efficiency has been pretty solid, and in some ways beyond what he was able to accomplish in the last two seasons despite receiving far more touches and shots. Barnes is beginning to find his place within the Mavs’ starting lineup offense, and the results are looking pretty good from a bird’s eye view, but the whole group will need to readjust again when Wesley Matthews eventually returns from injury. The process will continue for everyone, including him.
Luka Doncic scored 21 points on just 11 shots and we’re all just sort of sitting here thinking “Oh, nice.” Doncic’s line — 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists — are season averages of exactly three players in the league: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, and Blake Griffin. He’s consistently putting up numbers like these, collecting at least six boards in nine straight games to go along with season averages hovering right near 20 points and four assists. He’s special and consistent, which is a rare combination to find in such a young player.
Enjoy the good times. Happy Thanksgiving.
What’s Next
The Mavs (8-9) will load up on tryptophan before they take on the Boston Celtics at home on Saturday. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.
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