On Tuesday night, the Dallas Mavericks(3-4) went into Houston(2-3) and got a much-needed victory over the Rockets. Behind Luka Doncic’s triple-double, 33 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists, and Tim Hardaway Jr’s 30 points and seven rebounds off the bench, Dallas defeated Houston 113-100.
Doncic returned after missing Sunday’s loss against the Bulls with a left quadriceps contusion. Hardaway Jr, who started the first six games for Dallas, came off the bench last night for Dallas and was on fire. He shot 11/14 from the field, including 8/10 from three-point range and 13 points in the fourth quarter.
After the game, Hardaway Jr. reacted to coming off the bench.
“It’s a coach decision,” he said. “You gotta be a pro. I said from day one, I’m ready to help this team out any way I can. Coach called someone else’s number, and I just had to make sure I was a pro, stay engaged in the game, and make sure when I got in the game, make an impact.
“All my teammates did a great job of just letting me know to stay aggressive and keep that aggressive mindset going into the game. I just wanted to contribute any way I can.”
Dallas is off to a slow start, but even at 3-4, Hardaway Jr. believes that Dallas has the talent to compete with anybody in the NBA.
“There’s no hiding at this point,” he said. “Today(Rockets), against the Clippers, against the Miami Heat. Three playoff-caliber teams. It showed that we can hang with them, hang with those guys. If we’re all on the same rope, all on the same string, we could compete with anybody.
“We all gotta stay even-keeled. We can’t get too high, get too low at this point, still early in the season, still a lot to improve on. Moving forward, I know we have the group of guys to get that done.”
Dallas has the talent to compete with anybody in the NBA, but can they do it consistently? At this point, they are not doing it consistently, and maybe once they get Kristaps Porzingis back, they can become the team that many thought they could be when the season began.
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