The Mavericks(18-16) go into the All-Star break playing some decent basketball. Dallas has won three straight and 10 of their last 13, including Wednesday night’s 87-78 home victory over the Thunder(14-21).
Dallas was without their star Luka Doncic, who missed Wednesday’s game due to lower back tightness.
The Mavericks struggled with their shot against OKC and shot only 39% from the field, including 8-40 from three-point range. In the first half, Dallas was 1-19 from three-point range, but it was all about what Dallas did on defense. They held OKC to a season-low of 78 points.
After the game, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle talked about the rough shooting night and the great defense.
“What a tough game,” Carlisle said. “It was going to be difficult, it was going to be physical, it was going to be tight,” Carlisle said. “The shooting wasn’t there, particularly in the first half. When I looked at halftime, it was hard to believe we were 1-for-19 from 3. But we just kept with the process, stepped into some shots in the second half. The defense was tremendous — maybe our second-best game other than one early on—three sub-20-point quarters. The defensive belt tonight went to the entire team, which is a bit of a departure but appropriate for the circumstance.”
Now, the focus is getting rest during All-Star weekend. The Mavericks had a lot of issues with COVID-19 in the first half of the season. Guys like Josh Richardson, Jalen Brunson, Maxi Kleiber, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dwight Powell all missed time due to health and safety protocols, but now those guys are healthy.
According to Kristaps Porzingis, who had 19 points and 13 rebounds against OKC, Dallas is starting to get a rhythm.
“I started the season late. Maxi [Kleber] and Dwight [Powell] and everyone was catching the virus,” Porzingis said. “We didn’t have the whole team playing for a while. It just took time, and also the schedule was really tough. It was a combination of things. The good thing is that we are getting in a rhythm lately and want to keep it going after the break.”
Richardson, who had 16 points on Wednesday night, added: “We have had a lot of guys in and out of the lineup. We have had six-game skids, three-game skids and have just been all over the place. But I think we are starting to find good form, and hopefully, it carries over after the break.”
Dallas is playing good basketball right now, and you wonder if the break is coming at the wrong time because this team seems to have found a rhythm. The rest should be good for this team as they prepare to make a playoff push in the final 36 games of the regular season.
Photo: @dallasmavs/twitter
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