Entering the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks(11-13) on Wednesday night, the Mavericks(12-14) were down nine, and it appeared their two-game winning streak was about to end. However, Tim Hardaway Jr. happened.
The eight-year veteran, who spent two seasons with the Hawks, went off in the fourth quarter. He scored 13 of his 16 points, including 3-3 from three-point range, Jalen Brunson added 11 of 21 points in that fourth quarter, and Willie Cauley-Stein, who played well defensively, had 14 points as the Mavericks defeated the Hawks 118-117 to push their winning streak to three games.
Dallas had three players score 10-plus points off the bench for the first time this season. Hardaway Jr, Brunson, and Cauley-Stein combined for 51 points off the Mavericks’ bench.
According to Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, assistant coach Jenny Boucek told him to put Hardaway jr. in the game.
“Something happened in, I believe, it was the fourth quarter,” Carlisle said. “Jenny Boucek, one of my coaches, came to me during a timeout and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to give Tim a shot. We’ve just got to get him going.’ So we set up a play, we got him a shot, he banged in a three, and that kind of got the team going…
“The first three quarters were pretty frustrating for everybody, but in the fourth quarter, it was pure basketball. It was pure unselfishness offensively and pure grit defensively. I was proud of the team the way they responded.”
Luka Dončić, who recorded 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists on Wednesday night for his league-leading 7th triple-double of the season, believes the Mavericks are just getting started.
‘We got three in a row, but we’re just getting started,” Doncic said. “We keep improving every game.”
Dallas is 3-1 on their current seven-game homestand and have won four of their last five games. It’s too early to tell if the Mavericks have really turned things around, but they’re winning games, so this could be the moment where the Mavericks break out.
Notes:
John Collins continued his tear against the Mavericks, compiling 33 points (13-18 FG) and 8 rebounds. In his last four games against Dallas, Collins has recorded 32.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. This includes 55-77 (.688) shooting from the field and 8-12 (.750) from deep.
• Trae Young had 25 points, 7 rebounds and 15 assists tonight. He is now tied for the NBA lead with Luka Dončić and James Harden for the most games (2) this season with 25+ points and 15+ assists. Since entering the NBA in 2018-19, Young leads the NBA in games with 25 points and 15 assists with 9 – two games ahead of Doncic.
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