After missing the playoffs last season, the Dallas have clinched at least a spot in the Play-In Tournament following their 109-95 home win over the Hawks on Thursday night.
The Mavs (46-30) brought it on the defense; They forced 21 turnovers and held Atlanta to a season-low 95 points. Of course, on offense, they were led by their two best players, Kyrie Irving, who had a game-high 26 points, and Luka Doncic, who added 25 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists.
After the win, Irving, who Dallas acquired last season from the Brooklyn Nets, reflected on some of the reaction to his trade to Dallas, and with the Mavs in the playoffs, Irving thinks that silences the doubters.
“Shoot, man, I’ve got a meme in my photos; as you know that, professional athletes love memes that the media puts out,” he said. “ESPN gave us a grade D for the trade of me coming here. I think us clinching a playoff spot and putting ourselves in a great position definitely answers some of those questions that were asked last season by some of the naysayers and all of that stuff. It’s a great moment to again answer those questions and succeed in clinching a playoff spot…
“Life is about redemption, man, especially in sports, where anybody can say anything, and something can happen in the next day, two weeks, or few months that leads you to succeeding at a very high level or failing at a high level. It just comes with it. So, it’s always about redemption every day that you wake up and just trying to be better. So, it feels good.”
The Mavs are playing their best basketball of the season right now. They have won 12 of their last 14 games. Are they peaking too soon? Mavs coach Jason Kidd says time will tell.
“That’s a great question because you could ask that in December and January [about] peaking too early,” he said. “Understand playing your best basketball at this time of the year — March, April, May, June — gives you a chance to win a championship. That’s what we’re playing for. Now, going through different scenarios in January and December, that’s what the season’s for is to figure out and find out who you are. That’s what we’ve done. I think we understand who we are. Again, holding a team under 100 points is big. It just shows that our defense is at a high level. Again, we’re creating the open shots; we just haven’t made them. There is a theory once the playoffs start, we’re going to make all those shots and continue to play that defense. So, we will see.”
For now, Dallas, the fifth seed in the West, needs to focus on securing one of the top six seeds, and based on their play, they should be able to accomplish that goal. The Mavs get back at it on Friday night against the Warriors
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