'Digging Deep': Luka Doncic Helps Mavs Overcome in Thrilling Win Over Hawks
Coming off of an impressive come-from-behind win against the Philadelphia 76ers to end a two-game skid, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks looked to keep the positive momentum rolling against Trae Young and the surging Atlanta Hawks. After battling foul trouble through most of the night, the Mavs were ultimately able to pull out a 103-94 win.
After being called for a very questionable fifth foul at the very beginning of the third quarter, Doncic was forced to sit for pretty much the entire period. However, Dallas was able to dig deep with its reserves and keep the game intact until Doncic was able to return in the final quarter to finish things off.
Doncic ended up notching the 45th triple-double of his career with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in just 27 minutes. He shot 6-of-17 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Out of all the 2018 NBA draftees in the game tonight, Jalen Brunson, who was the 33rd pick in that draft, performed better than any of them. Brunson battled his own foul trouble, but finished with a team-high-tying 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 from deep. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists in his 30 minutes of play.
"Never been in that situation before," said head coach Jason Kidd about both Doncic and Brunson dealing with five fouls. "Next man up. Trey [Burke] is next. Frank [Ntilikina], Josh [Green], those guys did a great job in the third quarter keeping it together on the offensive end and defensive end.
Burke came in and played 15 minutes off the bench, finishing with seven points on 3-of-7 shooting.
"It just shows that the coaching staff has done a great job of keeping guys ready when they don't play. I thought Trey was a perfect example of that. He came in and ran the show and kept us going in the right direction."
Reggie Bullock has been on an absolute tear ever since Tim Hardaway Jr. went down with a foot injury that required surgery. That continued in a big way on Sunday night as Bullock put up 22 points of his own while shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 6-of-10 from deep. Bullock hit big shot after big shot in the fourth quarter to help Dallas put this game to bed. Bullock's nine rebounds was second only to Doncic.
“[Trae Young] is a talented player," said Bullock, who defended Young well on the night. "It's just all about trying to disturb him ... He is having a great year. He is an All-Star player. It was just up to us to stick with our defensive scheme and make things tough for him.”
Although Trae Young posted a 17-point, 11-assist double-double, he only shot 6-of-19 from the field in 37 minutes. Atlanta was led by John Collins, who the Mavs are apparently trying to trade for before the NBA trade deadline. Collins finished with a team-high 22 points and 18 rebounds while shooting 10-of-20 from the field. Do the Mavs have enough in the asset cabinet to acquire that kind of frontcourt talent? We only have four more days before we find out.
Next up, the Mavs will take on the Detroit Pistons at American Airlines Center on Tuesday in what will be their fourth game of the current six-game home stand. This one will also be Dallas' final game before the NBA trade deadline buzzer. Pistons' forward Jerami Grant has been connected to the Mavs in trade rumors over the last month, so naturally we'll be looking to see if anything comes of that.
