Mavs' Jason Kidd on Strong Play From Dallas' Bench: 'Next Man Mentality'
On Friday night, the Dallas Mavericks earned their second straight blowout victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, 139-103.
Despite being shorthanded without Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively II, the Mavericks came out the gate firing, scoring 38 points in the first quarter and never slowed up, led by Kyrie Irving's 24 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks.
With the Mavs undermanned, Dallas' role players and bench unit stepped up when their name was called to help earn back-to-back wins over the Trail Blazers.
"Tim [Hardway Jr.] has been Tim coming off the bench, we kept him in his role tonight. But I thought the bench was big," Kidd said postgame. "When you look at what [Hardaway] and [Seth] Curry did, what AJ [Lawson], O-Max [Olivier-Maxence Prosper] and [Greg] Brown [III] and Brandon [Willliams]. All those guys who played, again, played the right way and so it showed."
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As Kidd stated, Hardaway was his usual self in Friday's victory, leading the Mavs off the bench with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor. Lawson played one of his best games of the season, finishing with 14 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 25 minutes. Rookie O-Max Prosper finished with eight points, six rebounds, and three assists in 14 minutes.
"Again, a great team win to play like that without Luka [Doncic] and [Dereck Lively II] and the rest of the people who were out—Grant [Williams]—there’s a long list," Kidd said. "But you get my point about the injuries—but it’s been like that all season. Next man mentality and guys have been ready. I think that’s been a big thing, guys have been ready to play."
With the likes of Doncic, Lively, and Williams out, as Kidd noted, the next man up in the rotation has to step up to the plate and make a positive impact, and that's exactly what Dallas' bench unit did on Friday.
If Doncic and company are set to miss Sunday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, it'll be that same mentality needed to earn a third straight win.
