Luka Doncic is amazing, and he showed that one more time on Saturday night against the Boston Celtics(4-6). With the game tied at 104, Doncic hit a three over Josh Richardson at the buzzer as the Mavs defeated the Celtics 107-104 at American Airlines Center.
Boston’s Marcus Smart decided to foul Doncic with 11.6 seconds to go and five seconds on shot clock as the Celtics had a foul to give, but it allowed Dallas to get the final shot.
Dallas(6-3) has won two straight and three out of their last four.
Here is the Great, Not so Great, and the Bottom Line of Dallas’ win over Boston.
The Great for the Dallas Mavericks:
-Doncic led the Mavs with 33 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, and of course, the game-winning buzzer-beater. Last season, against the Celtics at American Airlines Center, he hit a game-winning three with 0.6 seconds. Doncic is now the only Mavericks player to hit game-winning baskets twice against the same opponent over the last 20 seasons.
“Everybody knows the ball is going to 41 (Dirk Nowitzki), and he delivers,” Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said postgame. “I think everyone knew the ball was going to 77 (Luka Dončić), and he delivered. I understand he loves that moment and his teammates know that. I would say that the other team knows the ball was going to Luka, and there’s nothing they could do.”
Doncic added: “It was just a difficult shot. You know, it went in. Like, I just stopped for a second; I didn’t know if it went it. But I was just trying to get to my spot in the last .5 (seconds), and I got it.”
Watch Doncic’s buzzer-beater below:
LUKA FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!! 🪄🪄🪄@luka7doncic | #MFFL pic.twitter.com/ykrX8S7JGS
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) November 7, 2021
-Kristaps Porzingis returned on Saturday night after missing five games with a back injury. He scored 15 of his 21 points in second half to go with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. He also had a big tip dunk late in the contest that tied the game at 104.
-Jalen Brunson returned to his bench role and had 13 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Brunson is now averaging a career-high 14.8 points per game, including 23.0 points per game over his past three games.
-Reggie Bullock finished with 13 points and three rebounds off the bench on 5-11 shooting.
-First Half Defense: Dallas held Boston to 15 points in the first quarter and 40 points in the opening half – both of which are the fewest points Dallas has allowed in any quarter and in any half this season.
Not So Great for the Mavericks:
-Second Half Defense: Dallas led by as many as 19 points in the first half and never trailed in that half. However, they allowed the Celtics to score 64 points in the second half on 59% shooting from the field, including 7/14(50%) from downtown.
Second Half Turnovers: The Mavericks committed six turnovers in the first half, but nine turnovers in the second half, including five in the third, which led to 10 Boston points.
Bottom Line:
Doncic bailed the Mavericks out after a poor second half, but give Dallas credit; they did enough to get the job done against the Celtics, who had won two straight on the road before losing the final game of their three-game road trip on Saturday.
Also, getting Porzingis back and him playing well was huge for Dallas.
What’s Next:
Dallas will host the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night.
Best of the Rest:
-Boston had five players in double figures led by Jayson Tatum’s 32 points; he also had a team-high 11 rebounds. Dennis Schroder added 20 points and six assists, and Robert Williams had 16 points and eight rebounds.
Watch below as Kidd reacts to Doncic’s buzzer-beater:
