Mavs Pound Pels 108-92 in Another Home Victory
DALLAS - After riding the game-winning shot Luka Doncic hit to take down the Boston Celtics on Saturday, the Dallas Mavericks looked to continue their home success vs. the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday. Without Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram in the rotation, such a task didn't seem difficult at first glance.
Ultimately, after a scrappy performance from the Pelicans, the healthier Mavericks won 108-92 and ran their record up to 7-3 through 10 games.
A chronological look …
The Pelicans did fight their way to making Mavs fans sweat. Frustration built in the American Airlines Center as Dallas found itself on the wrong side of a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter that trimmed the Mavs’ big lead to single digits.
Doncic shot just 1 of 4 in the first half, mainly missing on his floaters. Meanwhile, his frontcourt teammate Kristaps Porzingis went 0 of 2 from deep early in the game.
Fortunes changed when Dallas went to its bench. Shortly after entering the game, Reggie Bullock (sporting green hair - “It is my own little thing I have going on,” he said) converted on two baskets. Mavs sixth man Jalen Brunson continued his tough shot-making with a layup and a heavily-contested fadeaway. And Porzingis found his rhythm from beyond the arc.
Although Dallas didn't start the game well, the second unit managed to stop the bleeding. After 12 minutes of action, the Mavericks saw themselves down 27-22.
The start of the second quarter must have tickled Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal, in light of Porzingis' actions from the post. In Dallas' first two offensive possesions, he scored on a post-up shot, and found Frank Ntilikina for an open three-point basket.
Dallas ignited the AAC crowd with a 9-2 run. However, despite the much-needed effort in the paint, Porzingis found himself in foul trouble with less than five minutes of action.
Dallas shot a mere 50 percent from the charity stripe in the first half. Despite such a low conversion rate, the Mavericks led the short-handed Pelicans 51-47 af halftime.
The pick-and-roll sequences helped Dallas find open looks in the third quarter, as even a struggling Dorian Finney-Smith hit two three-point shots. Bullock converted on a wide-open shot as well.
With a fluid offensive performance, Dallas headed into the fourth period on top 78-69.
The fourth quarter kept up the theme of the third, with efficient three-point shooting as Tim Hardaway Jr. hit the first shot of the period. Dallas began with a 7-0 run and was pulling away from the Pelicans, up 85-69, without Doncic and Porzingis on the court. The barrage eventually meant a 17-4 run from the Mavericks.
Said coach Jason Kidd of Porzingis: "You can tell he's moving well; he's putting the ball on the floor, he's not afraid to make a move. … He had some great looks there early and then he started to get in a groove. We need that from him.
The Pelicans made a final push, getting the game within single digits.
Doncic finished as the game's high scorer with 25 points. Porzingis had 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting and eight rebounds. Hardaway and Brunson each scored 17.
The next game sees the Mavericks at the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
