Mavs Extend Home Win Streak With 121-96 Domination of Grizzlies
DALLAS - After months of inconsistency, the Dallas Mavericks may have finally figured things out at their home arena, blowing out the Memphis Grizzlies 121-96
“It was an important game," Rick Carlisle said. "It is becoming a bit of a battle of attrition with some of the injuries, but the way everybody stepped up tonight was terrific. [Justin] Jackson was great, [Courtney] Lee was great and we got contributions from guys that haven’t been playing a whole lot.
With Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dorian Finney-Smith both out for the game, the Mavs entered their Friday night matchup with the Grizzlies short-handed on the wing.
After Seth Curry went down late in the second quarter, things looked even thinner for a Dallas team that had been forced to battle injuries up and down the roster all season.
Thanks to another fantastic night from Kristaps Porzingis, who is playing arguably the best basketball of his young career, the Mavs were able to cruise to an easy second half and finish their dismantling of a young Grizzlies team.
“Everyone is caught up in the offensive stats but for me, it is a combination of his offensive production, what he is doing defensively, and rebounding," Said Carlisle. "It is ridiculous, with the rim protection, shot changing, and the defensive rebounding, he has put together a tremendous three or four weeks of basketball. It has been really great to watch.”
Porzingis finished the night with a full stat line, scoring 26 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and blocking four shots, to go along with four assists and three steals.
Coming off of a career-high 45 minutes on Wednesday night, Luka Doncic played just 30 on Friday, but still managed 21 points, six assists, and four rebounds.
Courtney Lee, who got the start over the missing Hardaway, contributed 13 of his own, while Curry added 15, Delon Wright had 11, and Justin Jackson ended a nice bounce-back performance with 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
The Grizzlies were led by Josh Jackson's 16 points off of the bench, while rookie of the year leader, Ja Morant, was locked up early and often by the Mavs defense, scoring 11 points and handing out eight assists in 32 minutes of action.
The Mavs (39-25) will now take their four-game home winning streak into the weekend, where Victor Oladipo and the Indiana Pacers will await on Sunday at the American Airlines Center.
The Mavs got the better of the Pacers in their early February matchup, winning 112-103 behind 38 points and 12 boards from Porzingis.
“There for a while we weren’t really playing well at home," Justin Jackson said. "We were getting off to slow starts and wouldn’t really play as well. But, with playoff aspirations and things like that, home court is extremely important. So, we are trying to take that as seriously as we can to finish out this regular season and hopefully into the playoffs.”
