After defeating the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, the Dallas Mavericks(33-26) knew that defeating the Lakers(35-25) in the second game of their two-game set at American Airlines Center would be difficult on Saturday night, especially without Kristaps Porzingis(ankle).
The Lakers started fast and led by as much as 17 points in the second quarter and took a 58-46 lead into halftime.
Los Angeles did a great job of trapping Luka Doncic in the first half, and he had three turnovers in the second quarter. Dallas made adjustments, and Doncic, who finished the game with 18 points, had 10 of his 13 assists in the second half, and Dwight Powell, who was 11-12 from the field, scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half as the Mavericks defeated the Lakers 108-93 to sweep the two-game set.
The Lakers, who were led by Ben McLemore’s 20 points, were without LeBron James(ankle) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope(ankle). Dennis Schroder added 16 points and 10 assists.
Basketball is a game of adjustments, and the Mavericks made adjustments, which opened things up for Doncic and Powell.
“We weren’t spaced well enough in the first half,” Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said after the game. “In the second half, our spacing was better. Our angles were better. He was just really on point in the second half. The things that we changed made the game a lot easier for him and Dwight [Powell] and Willie [Cauley-Stein] and all of the guys rolling. That was big.”
According to Doncic, who experienced double teams in Europe, the wider NBA court made it easier to break the traps.
“I mean, they were double-teaming me,” he said. “In Europe, I used to do this a lot, and I know how it goes, but here the floor is wider, and so it’s kind of easier.”
Powell added: ‘”We’ve got to make ourselves available. We know he’s going to make the right reads, so we’ve got be ready for whatever opportunity comes our way, whether it’s a shot or a drive or another pass to off the assist, or whatever it may be. So the biggest need is showing up your hand when they’re sending two guys at him, having his back and taking advantage of those opportunities.”
This was Powell’s third game as a starter for Dallas, and the six-year veteran, who ruptured his Achilles tendon last January, is back to his previous form, according to Carlisle.
“Dwight [Powell] ‘s one of the best rollers I’ve ever seen in this league,” Carlisle said. “He has great timing; he has great feel; he has great hands. He’s not super tall, but he really gets up. This is also a strong testament to the amount of work he put in over the last year-and-a-half-plus to recover from an injury that is extremely difficult for high-level athletes. But I look out there now, and I don’t see any difference now from the Dwight Powell before the injury, and that just speaks to an amazing amount of work put in.”
With the win, Dallas is in sole possession of the sixth seed in the West and moved to 1.5 games of the fifth-seeded Lakers. Dallas wants to avoid the Play-In Tournament, so this was a big sweep for the Mavericks.
Dallas is on a three-game winning streak and begin a three-game road trip starting on Monday night against the Sacramento Kings.
Notes:
-The 17-point deficit the Mavericks overcame was the largest comeback of the season.
-The Mavericks improved to 17-5 when Doncic records a double-double and 12-1 when he records between 10 and 14 assists (the Mavs are weirdly 0-4 when he gets over 14 assists).
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The Cleveland Cavaliers(21-38) continued their playoff push on Friday night in Charlotte(29-30) against the Hornets, a team they had beaten twice this season, and for most of the game, it appeared the Cavaliers could do it again. Cleveland led 55-48 at halftime but was outscored in the third quarter by seven, and the game was tied at 78 entering the fourth.
Charlotte’s Terry Rozier scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth; Miles Bridges hit two dagger corner jump shots and scored seven of his 25 points in the fourth, and P.J. Washington also scored seven of his 25 in the final quarter as the Hornets avoided the season series sweep by the Cavs and won 108-102 at Spectrum Center.
Cleveland was led by Collin Sexton’s 28 points and Darius Garland’s 27.
“Give them credit; they made plays down the stretch,” Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who returned after missing Wednesday’s game due to personal reasons, said after the game. “Bridges hit big shots, Washington hit big shots. We weren’t able to get enough stops down the stretch.”
Turnovers were an issue for the Cavaliers on Friday night. Cleveland committed six of their 16 turnovers in the third quarter, and they got beat up on the glass. Charlotte had 15 offensive rebounds and 18 second-chance points.
“I think the offensive rebounds hurt us for sure,” Bickerstaff said. “We gave up 15 offensive rebounds, and they won the turnover battle, so if you are given them extra possessions on the offensive boards, and you’re not taken care of the ball, that makes it difficult.”
Charlotte’s Bismack Biyombo was huge on the glass. He finished with 11 rebounds, including nine on the offensive glass. According to Jarrett Allen, that’s on him.
“I have to do a better job,” Allen said. “That falls on me. On my matchup, he got way too many offensive rebounds, which turned to extra possessions for the Charlotte Hornets, which led to extra threes on their end, so just put that side on me.”
With the loss on Friday night, Cleveland falls to five games behind the 10th-seeded Wizards, who the Cavaliers will play in D.C. on Sunday night. Washington has won seven straight and playing their best basketball of the season. There are 13 games left, so if Cleveland wants to make the playoffs, which is a long shot at this point, they have to beat Washington on Sunday night.
The Dallas Mavericks moved up in the standing after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 115-110 at American Airlines Center on Thursday night. With the win, Dallas(32-26) and Portland(32-26) are tied for the sixth spot in the Western Conference.
Dallas, who have won two straight, concludes their five-game homestand when they play the Lakers(35-24) in the second game of their two-game set on Saturday night.
Luka Doncic again led the way for the Mavericks with 30 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, and three steals. He now leads the NBA this season with 18 games of 30-plus points, five-plus rebounds, and five-plus assists.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Lakers with a season and team-high 29 points, including six threes, and Dennis Schroder added 25.
After the game, Doncic reacted to moving on up to sixth-seed in the Western Conference.
“I think that’s great,” he said. “We’re just trying to get into the playoffs. No matter how we’re not trying to be in the Play-In Tournament. We’re trying to keep moving up.”
While they got the victory, not all was good for the Mavericks. Kristaps Porzingis, who had 19 points and six rebounds, left the game in the third quarter due to a left ankle sprain.
Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle is hoping the injury is not too severe.
“[Kristaps Porzingis’] left ankle — he rolled it [and we’re] uncertain as to the severity,” Carlisle said. “We’re hoping it’s not too severe. I don’t think he’s been ruled out for Saturday yet, but with ankles, a lot of it’s about how the player is feeling the next morning. We’ll see where he is tomorrow. He was in pretty good spirits After the game. He is walking. He’s not in a boot or anything at this point, although he has it wrapped with some elastic tape. Anyhow, we had a lot of guys contribute.”
While Los Angeles was still without LeBron James, Thursday marked the return of Anthony Davis, who missed 30 games due to a calf injury. Davis finished with four points and four rebounds in 17 minutes.
“I felt fine,’ Davis said. “My wind felt better than expected. I had looks that I missed, but I felt good out there to give the team some juice. Going through the second half was tough watching everything that was happening and not being able to play, though.”
Defeating the Lakers on Thursday night was not easy, and beating the Lakers on Saturday night will probably be even more challenging for Dallas, especially if they don’t have Porzingis. But, if they want to continue to move up in the standings, they have to keep winning.
Trae Young, who left last night’s loss to the Knicks due to a sprained left ankle, was diagnosed with a lateral left ankle sprain, the team announced on Thursday.
Young had an MRI on Thursday, which confirmed the injury after an X-ray taken at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night came back negative.
According to the team, Young will be listed as out for tomorrow’s game vs. Miami and Sunday vs. Milwaukee, and his status will be updated as appropriate.
Young, the Hawks leading scorer, is averaging 25.3 points, 9.6 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game.
At 32-27, Atlanta is the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.
On Wednesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers played a complete game against the Chicago Bulls. Cleveland never trailed in this contest and routed the Bulls 121-105 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Cleveland led by as many as 33 points and was led by the backcourt of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland. Sexton had a game-high 30 points, and Garland had 25. The two combined for 55 points and 11 assists on Wednesday night.
Cleveland went into this game without their head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who did not coach against the Bulls due to personal reasons. Assistant Greg Buckner stepped in for Bickerstaff on Wednesday night and got his first NBA win as a head coach.
These two teams last played on Saturday night in Chicago, where the Bulls defeated Cleveland 106-96. In that game, Chicago outscored Cleveland in the first and third quarters by 17 points.
According to Buckner, the team told him that they were going to play well against Chicago, and they did.
“Luckily for me, we played Chicago a couple of games ago that left a nasty taste in their mouth,” Buckner said. “They all came to me and said, ‘We got you today, coach. We’re not going to allow them to come on our court and take care of business,’ and that’s what they did, especially defensively in the first quarter. It may have been the best defense we played all year for an entire quarter.”
The first and third quarters have been an issue for Cleveland this season, but it was a different story on Wednesday night. Cleveland led by 22 points after the first quarter and outscored the Bulls by 10 in the third quarter.
“They proved that they can do it, both quarters,” Buckner said about the team playing well in the first and third quarters. “Normally, we’ll do one quarter or the other. so they proved they can do both quarters.”
Sexton was happy with the team’s ability to bounce back.
“It was a good one as a team to show that we can bounce back from the last Chicago game, where they pretty much got out on us and got a really good start,” he said. “It shows that we can play like that; we can move in the right direction.”
This was a good bounce-back win for Cleveland. The Cavaliers, who are now four games behind the Wizards for the 10th and final spot in the playoffs, begin a three-game road trip on Friday night against the Hornets. After Charlotte, Cleveland has the Wizards and Raptors. Two teams that are ahead of the Cavaliers in standings, so this a big stretch. We’ll see how they respond.
Notes:
-Lauri Markkanen led the Bulls with 16 points. Chicago was again without their leading scorer Zach LaVine, who missed his fourth game due to health and safety protocols.
-Earlier in the day, the Cavaliers announced that they had signed Mfiondu Kabengele to a second 10-day contract. Kabengele has played in three games with the Cavaliers after signing his first 10-day contract with the team on April 10.
-The team also announced that former first-round pick Dylan Windler underwent successful left knee surgery. According to the team, Windler will be out indefinitely.
Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff will not coach tonight’s game against the Chicago Bulls at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse due to personal reasons, the team announced.
Assistant Coach Greg Buckner will serve as head coach tonight.
According to the team, Bickerstaff is expected to return on Friday, April 23rd at Charlotte.
The Cavaliers(20-37) are currently on a three-game losing streak after falling to the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
On Tuesday, a jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
Chauvin’s bail was immediately revoked, and he is expected to be sentenced in eight weeks. The 45-year-old ex-police officer faces a maximum of 75 years in prison.
After the verdict, teams around the NBA and WNBA released statements on the verdict.
Cleveland Cavaliers:
“The horrific images of George Floyd’s murder still ring true and clear in our minds and today’s verdict represents an important measure of justice for he and his family. We will continue our deep desire and commitment to see and support equality, compassion, respect, unity, healing and peace for all. Especially in moments when it might be the most difficult to achieve.”
Atlanta Hawks:
“Today, inside a courthouse in Minneapolis, our nation saw legal justice served. While this verdict can never fully bring solace to the loved ones of George Floyd, it is a start in their healing and that of the entire Black community that continues to grieve his loss and countless others at the hands of senseless brutality. Last summer, the Hawks made a commitment to stand against racism and injustice and to continue denouncing the broken systems that contributed to this moment. We remain committed to being a part of the solution and using our platform to move us toward a more accepting, anti-racist society.”
Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury:
“As Americans, as athletes, as business and community leaders, as role models with a platform, and as every day citizens focused on just doing the right things, our work as shepherds of social and racial justice never ends nor does our commitment to being a force for change, fighting injustice while celebrating and embracing diversity.
The Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury will continue to invest in communities of color, listen to leaders in the space of racial justice, and use our organizations’ voice and platform in the pursuit of an equal and peaceful society.”
After their disappointing loss to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night, the thought from the coaching staff and team is that the Cavaliers would be much better against the depleted Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
Detroit(18-40) has the worst record in the Eastern Conference and was without seven players, including their leading scorer Jerami Grant and their top rebounder in Mason Plumlee. However, none of that mattered on Monday night, especially in the first quarter. Detroit led by as much as 23 points in that quarter, and while the Cavs(20-37) would take their first lead midway through the fourth, Detroit was able to take control down the stretch and win 109-105 at Little Caesars Arena.
Detroit’s Saddiq Bey and Frank Jackson had 20 points apiece. Bey had 18 points in the first quarter, including six threes. Collin Sexton led Cleveland with 28 points, and Darius Garland added 23.
Cleveland, who has lost three straight, outscored Detroit in every quarter after their bad start. However, according to Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Cleveland was done in by the first quarter.
“It was the first quarter that did us in,” Bickerstaff said. “To me, all that other stuff that happens afterward is irrelevant.”
The team’s approach to the game let Bickerstaff down, and according to him, it shows that the team has to grow up.
“It’s a conversation about our approach and a maturity level that we’ve yet reach,” he said. “And the thought that we wouldn’t come out tonight and play spirited basketball is disappointing…
“I love the dudes in that locker room. I think their heart and minds are in the right place, but we gotta grow up, and it’s that simple.”
Considering what was at stake regarding the playoffs, Monday night’s performance was unacceptable. However, it’s all a part of the process. Hopefully, these young guys can use this moment as a learning experience for the rest of this season and beyond.
Cleveland is now four games behind the Bulls for the 10th and final playoff spot with 15 games remaining. Cleveland will host the Bulls on Wednesday night.
The LA Clippers signed Yogi Ferrell to a 10-day contract, the team announced on Monday.
Ferrell, 27, appeared in two games for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, averaging 9.5 points. 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals. The 6-foot-0 guard also appeared in 14 games for the Salt Lake City Stars of the G League this season.
The four-year veteran holds NBA career averages of 7.8 points, 2.3 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 251 career appearances with the Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings and Cavaliers. A native of Indianapolis, Ind.,
Ferrell earned a spot on the 2016-17 All-Rookie Second Team, and in February 2017, became just the second undrafted rookie to win Rookie of the Month honors in his first professional season.
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On Saturday night against the Chicago Bulls(23-33), the Cleveland Cavaliers(20-36) got a little taste of playoff basketball. Cleveland, who was 2.5 games behind the Bulls for the 10th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs coming into this game, hoped to gain some ground.
Chicago was without their leading scorer Zach LaVine(health and safety protocols) and had lost five straight, so it appeared that Cleveland had a great chance to get the victory.
However, the Bulls got 25 points from Nikola Vucevic and defeated the Cavaliers 106-96 at United Center to snap their five-game losing streak.
All five starters scored in double-figures for Cleveland, led by Collin Sexton and Darius Garland, who both had 22 apiece.
Cleveland led 49–47 at halftime, but things fell apart in the third quarter. The Cavaliers were outscored 33-21 in the quarter and allowed the Bulls to shoot 60% from the field. Chicago would lead by as many as 16 points in the third and would take an 80-70 lead into the fourth.
Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff believes the third quarter is what sunk the Cavs.
“To me, the third quarter was most important,” Bickerstaff said after the game. “We dug ourselves a hole. We didn’t come out with the energy that we needed. Too many lackadaisical errors and mistakes… We gave them too many opportunities tonight.”
Garland added on Cleveland’s third-quarter woes: “We’ve been dealing with this all year. We still haven’t figured a way to turn up our energy in the third quarter.”
Cleveland did battle back in the fourth quarter and cut the lead to three with just over three minutes left in the contest. Kevin Love had an opportunity to tie the game but missed a three with just under three minutes to go. Chicago went on a 10-3 run to close out the game.
Love has played in and won many meaningful games in his career, including winning a Game 7 in the 2016 NBA Finals. According to Love, games like this will hurt but will be good for the young Cavaliers.
“I want it to be painful for them,” Love said. “A lost opportunity like that, it should hurt… You want it to be learning experiences, and sometimes those learning experiences can pull on your heart and be very painful. It’s a major factor for growth.”
Cleveland will travel to Detroit to play the Pistons on Monday night before returning home to face the Bulls on Wednesday night.
