Mavs Donuts: Doncic Shines in Bounce-Back Win; NBA Roundup
Here's your fresh batch of ‘Mavs Donuts,’ where we look at 12 of the NBA's biggest storylines for today, including what's going on with the Dallas Mavericks.
DONUT 1: MAVS GET BACK ON TRACK
After falling to the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night, the Dallas Mavericks returned to their winning ways last night at the Moda Center against the Portland Trail Blazers in a 132-112 win. Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson combined for 26 assists and just three turnovers.
DONUT 2: LOSING A LEADER
Tim Hardaway Jr. is out indefinitely after suffering a fracture of his fifth metatarsal Tuesday night against the Warriors.
“Tim is a great leader for us — always vocal, always extremely competitive, always wants to win,” Porzingis said. “Hopefully, even if he is not playing, he can be around the team as much as possible, be at the games as soon as he can and be that presence for us.”
DONUT 3: KP PAYS UP
Kristaps Porzingis displayed his frustration by kicking the basketball into the stands with 8:21 remaining in the game—violating the NBA's rules about player conduct. As a result, Porzingis received a technical foul and was ejected from the game.
NBA President of League Operations Byron Spruell announced on Wednesday that Porzingis received a $15,000 fine for kicking the game ball into the spectator stands.
DONUT 4: PORZINGIS STRUGGLES VS. GOLDEN STATE UNDER THE LIGHT
Tuesday night saw the Warriors undress the Mavs on a nationally televised game. Porzingis, to this point, exhibiting his best defensive campaign as a Maverick this season, succumbed to the Warriors' defense by shooting just 4-of-15 from the field and 1-of-7 from deep for nine points.
This week's ‘Mavs Stat of the Week’ magnifies Porzingis' struggles vs. the Warriors' defense.
DONUT 5: BRUNSON TO PISTONS FOR JERAMI GRANT?
Perhaps there is something that can be worked out with the Detroit Pistons for Jerami Grant, who has been a hot name on the NBA trade market this year.
The Grant-to-Dallas smoke seems to growing. Even if the Mavs aren't able to work out a deal for Grant, the popularity of Brunson and Finney-Smith around the league should give Dallas a handful of options to sort through as February 10 approaches.
DONUT 6: SHOULD MAVS MAKE A RUN FOR BRADLEY BEAL?
The Mavs have been looking for that ‘next big piece’ for a while now, just waiting on the right opportunity to arise, and they should definitely continue to monitor Beal’s situation going forward. Other teams could offer better trade packages for Beal, but sometimes making big splashes comes down to having the right timing, as we saw three years ago with the Mavs’ trade for Kristaps Porzingis.
DONUT 7: ON THIS DAY, 1982
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Geoff Huston dishes out 27 assists in a 110-106 win over the Golden State Warriors.
DONUT 8: NBA HONORS KOBE
Wednesday marked two full years since the tragic passing of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, something that still doesn’t feel real for many people around the world. On January 26, 2020, Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others passed away in an unfortunate helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
DONUT 9: HORNETS SCORE FRANCHISE RECORD 158 POINTS
Everything was clicking for the Charlotte Hornets last night, scoring a franchise-record 158 points in a win over the Indiana Pacers. LaMelo Ball was a +45 and finished with a triple-double while Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 39 points off the bench.
DONUT 10: HEAT BURN KNICKS IN MIAMI
The Miami Heat had four players score 20 or more in a 110-96 win over the New York Knicks in South Beach. Duncan Robinson led all scorers with 25 points.
DONUT 11: HAWKS WIN 5TH STRAIGHT BY BEATING KINGS
The Atlanta Hawks won their fifth straight game 121-104 after outscoring the Sacramento Kings by 29 points in the second quarter. Onyeka Okongwu and Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 18 points apiece off the bench to lead the Hawks.
DONUT 12: UP NEXT
The Mavs will travel back home to welcome the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
