Mavs Donuts: Luka Doncic Speaks on Dallas Vs. Utah; LeBron James Injury Update
The Dallas Mavericks came out of what was a huge basketball weekend with a 1-1 split. Dallas was run off the floor against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, but bounced back to grab a huge win (and sole possession of fourth place in the Western Conference) against the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.
In today's batch of Mavs Donuts, we break down the biggest contributions to Sunday's win, do some scoreboard-watching around the NBA, look ahead to Dallas' matchup with the struggling Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, Mavs Twitter reacting to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars, and much more.
Dig in!
Donut 1: Mavs Controlling Their Own Destiny
© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
With Utah missing Rudy Gobert (right leg contusion), the Mavs locked up Donovan Mitchell in route to a 114-100 beatdown at American Airlines Center. The Mavs improved to 46-29 on the season and took sole possession of fourth place in the Western Conference standings.
With just seven games remaining, Dallas controls its own destiny for starting the playoffs at home for the first time in over a decade.
Luka Doncic struggled in his last two outings (both against the Timberwolves), but he took it to the Jazz on Sunday by putting up 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in 33 minutes of play. Doncic shot 11-of-21 from the field and 4-of-7 from deep.
Donut 2: Reggie Bullock HOT, Maxi Kleber COLD (still)
Reggie Bullock was as hot as he's ever been as a Dallas Maverick on Sunday night. He finished the game as the Mavs' second-leading scorer with 23 points on a season-high 7-of-11 shooting from 3-point range. He also played some incredible defense on Mitchell, holding him to just 12 points on 3-of-14 shooting.
Maxi Kleber, on the other hand, is still searching for his offense. Despite playing good defense in the second half of the Mavs' win over the Jazz and doing well on the boards, Kleber only shot the ball twice, going 1-of-2 overall, 0-1 from deep and 0-of-2 from the free through line. The good news is that Kleber's other attributes resulted in him being a +8 in a win. Maybe he can figure out his offense before the postseason begins.
Donut 3: Dinwiddie Keeps Rollin'
© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
© Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
© Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Spencer Dinwiddie continues to look like a real steal for the Mavs.
After scoring 12 points off the bench and being a +7 in the win over Utah, Dinwiddie has now scored double-digit points in 15 consecutive games for Dallas.
"He looks like the Brooklyn Dinwiddie to me," said Donovan Mitchell after the game. "I think it's a real bonus for them."
Donut 4: Mavs Home Cookin' is For Real
Why do the Mavs want home-court advantage so badly? Because they're now 26-12 at AAC overall, and 18-4 over their last 22 home games. Having the home crowd behind them to start the postseason would provide a nice mental edge.
“It’s always good to play home," said Doncic. "The fans are great. The fans are getting louder and louder every game. And we’re just trying to, like you said, establish the home court. We have to keep going like that and get better.”
Donut 5: Struggling Lakers Up Next; LeBron's "Horrible" Ankle
Andrew D. Bernstein | Credit: NBAE via Getty Images
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Mavs will now shift focus to the struggling Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. The Lakers have lost two games in a row and seven of their last 10 after falling to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday. The Lakers are now sitting at 10th in the West, just one game ahead of missing the Play-In Tournament entirely.
Will LeBron James play on Tuesday? After the loss to New Orleans, James stated that his ankle felt "horrible." The 37-year-old all-time great could use some rest down the stretch, but the Lakers simply just might not be able to afford sitting him right now.
Donut 6: KP, Wizards Help Out Mavs
The Washington Wizards helped the Mavs out by defeating the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night, 123-115. Former Maverick Kristaps Porzingis finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists in 31 minutes. The Mavs are now just two games behind the Warriors for the third seed with seven games left to play. With Steph Curry out, and Golden State having a brutal upcoming schedule, the Mavs jumping the Warriors is entirely possible.
“Yeah, you never know,” said Doncic. “If the Warriors lose and we win two we’re right there, and that’s even better than fourth place.”
Donut 7: Celtics Rout Timberwolves
Mavs fans should really love the Celtics lately, who just keep knocking off Western Conference opponents close to them in the standings. The latest instance of this was on Sunday, as Boston beat Minnesota, 134-112. With the loss, the Timberwolves are now four games behind the Mavs in the loss column. At this point, with just seven games to go, it would take an absolute disaster for Dallas to end up in the Play-In Tournament.
Donut 8: Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock at the Oscars; Mavs Twitter Reacts
In what was possibly the most shocking live-television moment since Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl in 2004, Will Smith walked on stage at the Oscars on Sunday night and slapped host Chris Rock after he made a distasteful joke about Smith's wife. Naturally, Mavs Twitter reacted in the only way it knew how.
We are all still trying to figure out how Rock was able to take that as well as he did on live television. It takes real commitment to keep going after something like that.
Donut 9: On this Day - Dick Motta!
On March 28, 1987, Dick Motta, who was the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks at the time, became the third coach in league history to reach 800 career wins. The Mavs defeated the Washington Bullets, 114-107. Dallas lost to the Seattle Supersonics in the first round that season before making an improbable run to the Western Conference finals in the 1988 season. The Mavs ultimately lost a thrilling seven-game series to the "Showtime" Lakers.
Donut 10: On this Day - The Big Dipper
On March 28, 1973, Wilt Chamberlain's record of 1,045 games without being disqualified came to an end... only because he retired from basketball. Though 14 NBA seasons, Chamberlain shockingly never fouled out of a game. Karl Malone eventually broke Chamberlain's streak, but even he fouled out in five games throughout his career.
Donut 11: Mavs Most-Favorable Playoff Path
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
© Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Although a lot of work still needs to be done for the Mavs to climb up to third in the West, it is definitely attainable, and that's the outcome Dallas should be going all out for. Grabbing the third seed would put the Mavs in the bottom half of the West's playoff bracket, meaning that they'd likely face the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round if they take care of business in the first. That is a much favorable outcome than staying at fourth and potentially playing the Phoenix Suns in the second round.
There is a real path for Dallas going to the Western Conference finals if they end up with that third seed.
Donut 12: The Final Word
“I think a lot. Everything," said Doncic of Kidd's impact coaching this season. "Everything a little bit, especially defensively. I think we are a way better team now. The roles are a little bit different, maybe that’s why, but he’s been great for us. He communicates with players. And he’s just been great helping not just me but everybody to see the bigger picture.”
