Jalen Brunson's Season-High Night Leads Short-Handed Mavs Past Hawks, 123-100
On a night where the Dallas Mavericks (30-19) were without Luka Doncic (ankle sprain) and Kristaps Porzingis (load management), sophomore point guard Jalen Brunson posted his best game of the season, helping Dallas end its two-game losing streak with a 123-100 win over the Atlanta Hawks (13-37) at American Airlines Center.
Brunson put his stamp on this one early, as he put up a career-high for points in a half with 19 points in 15 first-half minutes. He finished with a season-high 27 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from deep. Brunson also dished out eight assists and grabbed four rebounds as well.
“He was ready. He played extremely well,” said head coach Rick Carlisle of Brunson’s performance. “He did the things that we need to do for about all our perimeter players, which was put pressure on their defense, to put pressure on the paint, on the rim. You keep attacking.”
Trae Young, who only played 26 minutes due to an ankle sprain he suffered in the second half, finished the game with 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting to go with six rebounds and one assist. Although his night was cut short, though, it was already clear who had won tonight's battle of the 2018 NBA Draft point guards ... not the guy who was selected at No. 5 in the lottery, but the guy who slipped to No. 33 in the second round.
Dorian Finney-Smith gave Brunson a lot of help by scoring 22 points, which tied his career-high, on 7-of-13 from the field and 4-of-7 from deep. Finney-Smith also chipped in across the box score with seven rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block. All season long, Finney-Smith has proven to be an integral ingredient to the Mavs' winning formula. He brings endless energy and hustle every single night and is shooting a career-high 39-percent from three on the year.
This win was a special one, as it was head coach Rick Carlisle's 500th in Dallas. Carlisle is now the 13th coach in NBA history to win 500 games with just one team. Given Carlisle's resumé, there's no doubt he'll be in the Hall of Fame one day. For now, though, he'll keep racking up wins in Dallas in hopes of eventually adding another banner to the AAC rafters.
And if, by some chance, you’ve forgotten just how unique Rick Carlisle is as a coach, just ask recently acquired center Willie Cauley-Stein, who finished with seven points in 26 minutes, while also grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking two shots in his third game as a Maverick.
“I think the hardest thing is there is structure, but also freedom on the offensive end,” said Cauley-Stein of adjusting to Carlisle’s system. “I’m used to looking at the coach for what play we are going to call every time down the floor, and this is just so free playing.”
Former Maverick Vince Carter, who is retiring at the end of this season, played his final game at AAC on Saturday night, putting up 10 points and five rebounds in 24 minutes. Carter was a Mavs fan-favorite during his time in Dallas, and his three-year stint with the franchise will always be highlighted by the buzzer-beating three-pointer he hit against the San Antonio Spurs to win Game 4 in the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs.
And of course, you knew there would be a warm-and-fuzzy moment at some point, with Dirk Nowitzki in the building to take in his friend and former teammate’s final game at AAC.
As a team, Dallas shot 20-of-39 (51-percent) from deep for the game. The Mavs improved to 11-0 this season when they hit at least 18 threes. The win was the Mavs 30th of the season. To put that into perspective, Dallas didn't win its 30th game until March 23rd last season.
The Mavs will now hit the road again and take on the Indiana Pacers (31-18) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Monday night. Dallas has the fourth-best road record in the entire league at 16-7.
