The last time the Mavericks faced the Atlanta Hawks on January 26, Luka Doncic scored a franchise-record 73 points. Dallas needed every point and still won by just five points. The Mavericks were in 8th place in the West at the time.
He didn't score a single point in the first or fourth quarters and finished Thursday's game against the Hawks with nearly nine points less than his season average. Dallas, currently the No. 5 seed, won by double digits and maintained that advantage for much of the second half.
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Dallas defeated the Hawks 109-95 at American Airlines Center on an off-shooting night in a tough but successful first game back after a five-game road trip. Doncic scored 25 points on 25 attempts. Kyrie Irving missed more than half of his shots but still scored 26 points. However, P.J. Washington had 19 points, Derrick Jones Jr. had 13 points, and Tim Hardaway Jr. was responsible for the entire second quarter. Oh, there was also defense. A lot of defense.
result? 8th win in the last 9 games and 12th win in the past 14 games. Thursday's win also meant Dallas booked a postseason return and at least secured a play-in berth. Dallas is currently in a tight race for a top-six seed in the Western Conference.
“I think we understand who we are,” head coach Jason Kidd said.
Either way, it may have been difficult to predict how Dallas would win. The last time these teams met, Doncic made history. The Hawks gave up 50 points to Detroit Pistons bench guard Malachi Flynn on Wednesday before traveling back and forth to Texas with All-Star guard Trae Young out with a torn finger ligament. Atlanta entered the game Thursday with the fifth-worst defensive rating in the league.
“Every game is a new game,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said before the game. “And Luka is Luka. He has the ability to do that and he did it that night.”
He is, but Thursday looked like it was one of those nights where he wasn't going to. Doncic missed his first five shot attempts and was sidelined for the final 6:20 of the first quarter with two fouls. Dallas made 8 of 24 shots in the first 12 minutes of the game, but the rest of the Mavericks' offense stalled around him as they trailed 31-25 at the end of the first quarter.
Doncic made his first field goal, a 3-pointer, with 10 minutes left in the second quarter. Then it started looking like one of those nights. He scored 16 points in the second quarter, giving the Mavericks a 65-57 lead at halftime. Dallas outscored the Hawks 40-26 in the second, and took their first lead of the second half on Hardaway's 3-pointer with 4:47 left in the second. Hardaway scored eight of the Mavericks' next 10 points to maintain a 53-52 lead with 3:11 left, and Dallas ended the quarter on a 10-0 run. Doncic made a circus shot — Leaning Banked 3 Pointer With two seconds left, the Mavericks' lead increased to eight points by halftime.
Irving (16 points), Doncic (16 points), and Washington (13 points) each scored double figures in the first half. Washington made 5 of 8 3-pointers, extending his recent streak of good shooting. After shooting just 29% in his first 23 games as a Maverick, he went 17-of-37 (45.9%) in his final five games.
“I'm getting more confident every game,” Washington said. “Obviously they went in tonight, but I'm certainly not saying they're going in every night.”
Not that the Mavericks expect that to happen.
“We want him to do that every night,” Kidd said. “But we don't criticize him for making threes. We love what he's done for us on the defensive end.”
The Mavericks led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter, and Doncic hit 3-pointers on Dallas' third consecutive possession to take an 84-68 lead with 5:15 left, giving them a commanding lead and ending the game. I got the flow.
But while Atlanta cut the lead against the Mavericks to single digits three times in the fourth quarter — the last on DeAndre Hunter's 3-pointer to make it 100-93 with 6:35 remaining — Dallas They kept the Hawks scoreless until the end. Bogdan Bogdanovic hit two free throws 45 seconds into the game. The Mavericks went on a 7-0 run during this timestamp to stop the game, holding the Hawks to just 14 total points in the quarter.
“It was a beautiful fourth, 14-16,” Kidd said. “If you can’t shoot, you have to play defensive end.”
they needed it. The Mavericks (averaging 48.3%) made just 40.4% of their shot attempts. That was the third-worst shooting percentage in a win this season, outpaced rebounding, and nearly matched the Hawks in paint points and second-chance points. But Dallas forced 21 turnovers (including six in the fourth quarter) and held the Hawks to 40 percent from the field.
“That’s exactly what we try to do every night,” Jones said. “We aim to be a destructive presence on defense.”
The Mavericks played against the Hawks without guard Josh Green (ankle sprain) and center Derek Lively II (knee sprain). Green has started 32 games this season, but hasn't played since March 14 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kidd said Thursday that the team hopes the 23-year-old can return by the end of the regular season.
“Hopefully the goal is to get him on the floor next week,” Kidd said.
Kidd said Lively, who sprained his knee Sunday against the Houston Rockets, was still on crutches as of Thursday.
“Given his age, I just hope he heals quickly,” Kidd said of the Mavericks' 19-year-old center. He said: “I hope he has a chance to play before the season ends.”
Home Cooking: See photos from the Dallas Mavericks vs. Atlanta Hawks win at American Airlines Center
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