'Walk In The Park': Mavs' Luka Doncic Regains Historic Form at Home
Luka Doncic began the season with nine consecutive 30-point performances before having a rough two-game road trip that resulted in losses. Between a travel itinerary riddled with issues caused by flying into Orlando ahead of Tropical Storm Nicole and a back-to-back, the same level of energy just wasn't there compared to the team's five-game homestand.
"The difference is a little bit of everything," Doncic said after the Dallas Mavericks' 113-105 loss to the Washington Wizards on Thursday. "I had a really busy summer, I think a little bit came after me. I’m just feeling more tired on the court these last two games than anything, but that’s not an excuse."
Doncic bounced back in a major way in the Mavs' start of a five-game homestand on Saturday. He led Dallas to a 117-112 win over the Portland Trail Blazers while recording 42 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. He did so with impressive efficiency by shooting 13-22 (59.1 percent) from the floor despite shooting 1-5 (20.0 percent) from the perimeter.
"He had 42 – triple-double," Kidd said. "Just a little walk in the park. He had an historic start – that's something that is special. Nothing against what Wilt [Chamberlain] did but Wilt was playing against six feet or under. I'm joking. But he's human. But again, I think losing two in a row and not playing well – I think the guys who've seen him the most, he's always bounced back. And that's what he did tonight. He could have easily taken the game off to get some rest, but he fought and put us in a position to win."
Doncic appeared more energized against the Trail Blazers and was able to get into the paint more effectively as a result. He drove the lane 28 times and scored a staggering 28 points by shooting 9-11 (81.8 percent) from the floor creating 10 of his 18 free throw attempts. His production in these situations exceeded even what he typically offered during the historic nine-game stretch to begin the season.
During the Mavs' two-game road trip, he was limited to 15 points on drives and shot 6-19 (31.6 percent) from the floor, and created 10 free throw attempts. The opposition was overloading the strong side when a non-shooting big man was on the floor, using exaggerated nail help, and being aggressive with stunts.
"I was just attacking the paint," Doncic said "You could see the last two games I didn't get the free throw line and I wasn't efficient because I wasn't going into the lane."
Doncic did a lot of damage with attacking baseline out of post-ups against the Trail Blazers. Against the zone looks that Portland deployed, it didn't make sense to attack middle into a crowd. The Mavs deployed some decoy off-ball actions at the top of the offense to help Doncic to have a clean lane baseline, and he did the rest on the drive and finish.
Another common tactic that Doncic utilized was to use his size advantage against mismatches. Whether he had a mismatch after bringing the ball up or used a ball screen to force a switch, he had significant success in mismatch hunting and making quick work getting into the paint.
With how effective Doncic was at attacking the paint, the Trail Blazers made attempted to dial up the pressure late in the game. Instead of forcing the action, he invited the double-team and got the ball moving around the offense, leading to four made 3-pointers in clutch-time. Dallas deployed a micro-ball lineup with Dorian Finney-Smith at the five, and it was clear that Portland had a tough time accounting for all of the shooting on the floor.
“They trapped Luka [Doncic]," Dinwiddie said, who made three of his six 3-pointers in the final minutes of regulation. "Luka does a phenomenal job of becoming a problem for their defense. Whether that's back downs, pick and rolls, whatever it is. He gets two on the ball and makes the right read, right pass, and then we were just swing-swing it and found me and I was able to hit a couple of shots."
A common theme for Doncic and the Mavs has been that getting feet into the paint tends to lead to good things. His scoring efficiency has been off the charts in those situations and his incredible passing ability creates no shortage of clean looks for his teammates. With more energy after a day off on Friday, he was recharged and was ready to attack downhill.
"Of course they can't make every shot," Doncic said about trusting his spot-up shooters. "But, if I draw the defense and attack the paint and then kick it out they may be open all game. Just keep shooting it. I always tell them to keep shooting it. When you're open you've got to shoot it. That's it. I'm going to keep my trust in them and that is pretty easy for me."
Kidd mentioned before the win over the Trail Blazers that Doncic could potentially sit out one of the Mavs' games during the upcoming back-to-back that starts on Tuesday, depending on how he feels. The team had Sunday entirely off and will practice Monday.
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