Luka Doncic Praises 'Great' Mavs After Win Over Spurs Amid Poor Shooting Night
DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is held to the highest standard an individual player can achieve due to his nightly consistency. Given his highly efficient 34.1 points, 9.8 assists, and 9.0 rebounds this season, greatness is practically an expectation.
At one point, it was practically necessary for the Mavs to have a chance to win games, along with the team shooting well from the perimeter. Despite his uncharacteristically poor shooting night against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, the Mavs achieved a 112-107 victory, while shooting 10-29 (34.5 percent) from the perimeter as a team. He still finished with a triple-double by recording 18 points, 16 assists, and 10 rebounds, but he shot 6-27 from the floor and 2-11 from beyond the arc.
"We got a win, man," Doncic said. "That's all that matters."
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The Mavs used moves before the February 8 trade deadline to acquire more frontcourt talent, including the additions of Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington. Both players have since emerged as starters next to Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Doncic praised his "great" team for playing hard in the victory over the Spurs.
"We have a great team. That's why we got to win today," Doncic said. "Everybody stepping on the court is playing hard, and in the end, we got a win, which we came here for."
When getting into specifics, Doncic singled out Dante Exum, Irving, and Maxi Kleber as instrumental contributors against the Spurs.
"I think Dante played amazing, and Maxi too," Doncic said. "Kai, you know, Kai carried us today, but even Dante and Maxi, down the stretch — they were big for us."
Irving scored 16 of his 28 points in the second half while generally elevating his aggression to help pick up the Mavs' offense on a night when Doncic wasn't getting shots to fall at a characteristic rate. Regardless, Doncic still made timely plays and created high-quality looks for his teammates.
Exum filled a needed third ball handler role next to the superstar backcourt, particularly in clutch time. He totaled 16 points and two assists while making all four of his 3-point attempts, including two pivotal 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and two late free throws to ice the game.
The Mavs closed the game out with Kleber on the floor in a small-ball center role after deploying him next to a center throughout the game. While he finished with only five points and one rebound, he dished out four assists, and the Mavs outscored the Spurs by a team-best 27-point margin with him on the court.
Beyond Doncic's impact, a few factors have stood out in the Mavs' recent strong stretch of play, beginning with having both superstars in the lineup consistently after previous injury occurrences. Irving has played 20 consecutive games since his return from a right thumb sprain on February 5; the Mavs have gone 14-6. The team was 11-11 without Irving before this span.
Using trade deadline additions, the team has worked through plenty of ups and downs on defense but has allowed just 108.7 points per 100 possessions since moving Gafford and Derrick Jones Jr. into the starting lineup. This ranks ninth in the NBA over that span, while Dallas has gone 6-1 in that stretch—with the only loss being Doncic's injury absence against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
