Doncic, Mavs Avoid 4th-Quarter Collapse, Defeat Nuggets For 3rd Straight Win
The Dallas Mavericks knew they were in for a tough challenge on Tuesday night as they faced the Denver Nuggets on the second night of a back-to-back. Having won three of its last four games coming in, Dallas was also playing its third game in four nights.
Despite the tired legs and the high altitude, the Mavs still managed to put up a valiant effort at Ball Arena en route to a 116-115 win. The Mavs won their third consecutive game while improving to 13-11 on the year. The Nuggets fell to 14-10.
After leading 111-101 with 4:07 remaining in the game, the Mavs found themselves down 112-111 with 37 seconds after a long offensive drought. However, Dorian Finney-Smith hit a big clutch 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining to give the Mavs the lead for good.
Finney-Smith, who has struggled shooting from beyond the arc, finished with 19 points while hitting 5-10 from deep. He also had three assists and three steals in his 35 minutes of action.
The win didn't come without some tense moments late, though, as Tim Hardaway Jr. missed two free throws with four seconds remaining. Luckily for Dallas, Denver didn't have any timeouts remaining, and Jamal Murray's half-court heave missed at the buzzer.
"There’s 82 of them," coach Jason Kidd said of the win. "You’re not going to go undefeated. But you get to learn about your team through this journey. And right now, you start to see this team come together and believe."
Hardaway led the Mavs with a season-high 29 points on 7-12 shooting, including 6-8 from deep. He also played some tough defense, and his three steals reflected that. Ever since being inserted as a starter, Hardaway has completely turned his season around ... and perhaps the Mavs' as well. Over his last five games, he's averaging 24.4 points while shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from deep.
To add even more context to what we're witnessing from Hardaway recently, he became just the 10th player in NBA history to five or more 3s in five consecutive games.
Luka Doncic, who leads the league in scoring, finished with just 22 points on 5-17 shooting and didn't score in the fourth quarter. However, he recorded a triple-double with 10 rebounds and 12 assists. It was the 52nd triple-double of Doncic's career. It was also the sixth for him this year so far, which leads the NBA.
Christian Wood and Spencer Dinwiddie were the other two Mavericks to score in double-figures with 14 and 13 points respectively. Wood was incredibly efficient in his 27 minutes of actions, as he shot 6-7 from the field and also tallied six rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block while being a team-best +9 on the night.
Tuesday marked the first time the Mavs have won a game this season when Doncic doesn't score at least 30 points.
Don't look now, but the Mavs have now won four of their last five games with big wins over two of the best teams in the Western Conference. There are only four teams in the league that rank in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive rating, and the Mavs are one of those teams. The other three are the Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans.
Next up, the Mavs will get a rematch with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night. This time, though, it will be at American Airlines Center, where the Mavs are 10-3 this season. In the first matchup in Milwaukee on Nov. 27, the Mavs fell to the Bucks 124-115 on the second night of a back-to-back.
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