After a slow start Thursday, the Dallas Mavericks (46-30) put together a strong effort in the second and third quarters to beat the Atlanta Hawks (36-41) 109-95 at American Airlines Center.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for 51 points in the hard-fought victory, and Doncic finished with two assists, just shy of a triple-double (25 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists). He wasn't firing on all cylinders after coming off a five-game road swing with an extra trip to the West Coast held up by a postponed game against the Golden State Warriors. But his skill with the ball in his hands is matched only by his stubbornness, and with a little help from his friends, he makes enough plays to help keep the Hawks at arm's length. I was able to.
Bogdan Bogdanovic led Atlanta with 17 points and seven rebounds, but was hampered by the Mavs' defense, making just 6 of 15 from the field. Dante Exum and P.J. Washington's troublesome defense was able to limit Dejounte Murray (16 points on 6-of-17 shooting) all night. You can see that was a key point for Dallas.
Here are seven stats that tell the story of the Mavericks' latest win. It was the team's 12th win in its last 14 games in this important stretch run.
0-of-5, 3 turnovers: Luka Doncic got off to a slow start in the first quarter.
We're old enough to remember that Doncic made 25-of-33 shots in Atlanta in January, finishing with the fourth-highest individual scoring record in NBA history. But Thursday's game against Dallas started with five minutes of frustration in the first quarter before Doncic was ejected for two early fouls.
Doncic went 0-for-5 and turned the ball over three times before being benched a little early. The rest of the team did not perform much better than the rest of the first team. As a team, the Mavs were just 8-of-24 from the field and 4-of-13 from 3-point range.
Fortunately, the Hawks weren't much better, playing without star guard Trae Young for 20 consecutive games (finger surgery). The score at the end of the game was 31 for the Hawks and 25 for the Mavericks. Nothing has been ruined yet, but the Mavs are teetering on the edge of mediocrity.
As Mavs fans everywhere held their breath in anticipation of the floodgates opening, Doncic made a step-back 3-pointer for his first bucket with 10 minutes left in the second quarter.
Spoiler alert: The floodgates actually opened in the second quarter, which should come as a surprise to no one. Doncic put order back into the world with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists in the second, helping the Mavs take a 65-57 lead at the half. The Mavs ended the first half on a 10-0 run to take the lead.
13: PJ Washington's first half score.
As the second quarter progressed, the Mavs began to wake up, but P.J. Washington was a steadying force for Dallas in the first half. He followed up his 20-point performance against Golden State with another 13 points in the first half on Thursday. Washington went 4-of-5 from the field and made three of his first four attempts from beyond the arc.
Washington and his backup big man, Maxi Kleber, were the backbone of the defense in the first half. They made things tough with Atlanta's cutter and Hoke's back-to-the-basket post-ups. Kleber's playing time was key in the first half as Daniel Gafford picked up his third foul midway through the second half.
It would be a welcome development if Washington were ready to step into the fabled No. 3 scorer role now, but the role of the Mavs' No. 3 scorer will depend on the flow of the game. It would be safe to assume that it will also be shuffled. But he's grateful to Washington for stepping up when the team needed a steadying presence.
He finished the night with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting and eight rebounds. He has shot over 45% from 3-point range in his last six games.
“I've put in a lot of effort,” Washington said in the postgame interview. “For me, it’s all about footwork and shooting with confidence.”
3: 4-point play in the first half
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Here's a strange statistical anomaly. There were three four-point plays in the first half between the Mavs and Hawks on Thursday (two by Atlanta, one by Dallas).
Jaden Hardy hit Vit Krejci in the arm with a 3-pointer that went into the net late in the first, but he fouled Garrison Matthews on a corner 3 with 8:45 left in the second and went in anyway. If this coaching staff is going to give him more playing time, he's going to have to deal with some gritty play, especially come playoff time.
Then, late in the second, Irving took a 3-pointer from the left side and hit big ol' Jaylen Johnson in the landing space. The following free throw tied the score at 45-45 with 5 minutes and 30 seconds left in the first half. Irving scored 16 points in the first half and knocked down three boards for 26 points and five rebounds.
18 of 49: Mavericks 3-point shooting.
The Mavs gained momentum with short spurts from 3-point shots, but continued to make mistakes in the final stages of the game, decreasing their shooting percentage. Hardy went 0-for-2 on the night, Exum hit a big donut with three wide-open corner 3-pointers, and Tim Hardaway Jr. went 2-for-7 for the win.
But no smart Mavs fan would miss the forest for the trees. The good news is that the Mavs are now built to be able to withstand shaky shooting nights like this and win on defense.
40.4%: Hawks' FG shots in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.
As the Mavericks built a lead, Dallas' offense did a good job mirroring the efforts of the defensive ends in the middle of the second quarter. The Mavs held the Hawks to 40.4% shooting from the floor over the past two quarters, and had five steals and five blocks through the third quarter.
The Hawks are a better team than their recent record suggests, winning 12 of their last 20 games. The Mavs had to compose themselves and responded on both ends of the court, opening the game with a 93-81 lead. The fourth was a positive sign.
The Hawks entered the game as the fifth-highest scoring team in the league, scoring over 119 points per game.
98: Doncic scores in the 6th quarter against the Hawks.
Strange but true stat of the night: Atlanta has held Luka Doncic scoreless in two of the eight quarters they've played this season. He scored 98 points in the remaining six quarters.
— Tim McMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 5, 2024
Here's another strange statistical anomaly.This guy is coming Courtesy of ESPN's Tim McMahon. The Hawks held Doncic scoreless in both the first and fourth quarters Thursday. He scored 25 points, all in the second and third quarters, and scored 73 points in the teams' first matchup.
That's just stupid. There is no comparison when it comes to this guy.
30: 4th quarter total points
Are you ready for yet another strange statistical anomaly? This play at least has a clearer explanation than the three four-point plays in the first half. The Hawks and Mavs combined for just 30 points in the fourth quarter. Atlanta shot just 5-of-20 as Dallas' defense continued to choke down the Hawks' scorers. The Mavs weren't phased or frustrated by the fact that they made only 6-of-22 shots in the fourth, and their consistent defensive efforts showed not just the beginning of the game, but the end as well. It encouraged the home five teams.
Atlanta entered the game on the second night of a back-to-back, and the Hawks looked a little tired all night. As mentioned above, Dallas was playing his first home game in about two weeks after his recent extended road trip.
Everyone played well. Take the victory and move on quickly.
