Grant Williams, Tim Hardaway Jr. Lead Dallas Mavs to 4-0 Record with Clutch Win Over Chicago Bulls.
Although the Dallas Mavericks have many different roster pieces than they've had over the last few years, we still expected Wednesday's matchup with the Chicago Bulls to be a tough one, given Chicago's six wins over Dallas in its last seven tries.
For most of the game, that was the case, as the Bulls gave the Mavs all they could handle, but Dallas ultimately came out on top, 114-105, improving to 4-0 on the season with a fourth consecutive clutch win. With the victory, the Mavs are now the only undefeated team left in the Western Conference.
Coming into tonight's game, Luka Doncic had averaged 22.8 points, 8.8 assists and 8.5 rebounds in eight career games against the Bulls while shooting just 41.4 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from deep. On Wednesday, he finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists while shooting just 5-16 overall. On this night, Doncic's teammates picked up the slack for him.
Grant Williams led the Mavs in scoring with 25 points on 7-9 shooting from 3-point range. The 24-year-old also had five rebounds, one assist and one steal while being a +13 on the night. Tim Hardaway Jr. added in 24 points of his own off the bench. It's still extremely early in the season, but Hardaway has certainly thrown his name into the Sixth Man of the Year hat.
“We have, what, 78 more games to go? I’m not focused on the 4-0,” Williams said. “I’m focused on Denver on Friday, but we have a lot we can continue to learn with. That's the mentality of this team. We can’t get comfortable, because as you know in this league, you can win four and then lose four. So, be mindful of that and understand that we have to take it one game at a time and that we have to make each other better every single game.”
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic takes flight as three Chicago Bulls look on.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Rookie big man Dereck Lively got his third consecutive start in this one, and he finished with seven points on 3-5 shooting. He also had career-highs with 13 rebounds — seven of them offensive boards — and six assists while adding two steals and a block as well. He was a team-high +15 on the night. The 19-year-old still has a long way to go, but he's certainly on the right track, and the Mavs are pleased with the progress he's made since Summer League play in the offseason.
“He wants to do the right thing. He wants to learn. He wants to help his team win,” Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said of Lively’s performance. “It's not running a play for him. It's about doing the little things. He understands Luka [Dončić] and Kai [Kyrie Irving] and his teammates are going to find him on the roll. Again, his IQ is high.”
Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic led the way for the Bulls, scoring 22 and 21 points respectively. DeMar DeRozan pitched in with 16 points, but Chicago's "Big 3" wasn't able to lock down defensively when it mattered most.
The Mavs were without star point guard Kyrie Irving for a second consecutive game, as he continues to deal with a foot strain he suffered in Dallas' win over the Brooklyn Nets last weekend. Although the Mavs were able to put away the Memphis Grizzlies with relative ease on Monday, tonight against the Bulls was a different story, as Doncic was hounded from start to finish while not having his co-star to turn to.
Next up, the Mavs will have their biggest test of the season so far, as they'll take on Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on the road on Friday night. The Nuggets suffered their first loss of the year on Wednesday in blowout fashion against the Minnesota Timberwolves, so they'll the defending champs will be highly motivated to get back on track with the Mavs in town this weekend.
