Mavs Donuts: Luka Doncic Leads Dallas to Series Win at Utah
Game 6 Dallas Mavs Donuts, as the road team registers a late, late Thursday close-out victory in Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs ...
DONUT 1: UTAH IS A BAD CITY Utah has been a "bad city'' to the the Dallas Mavericks in many ways, for many years.
But the baddest man in this series - ended with this 98-96 victory at Utah - has been Luka Doncic.
With an honorable mention to "Utah Jazz owner'' Jalen Brunson.
DONUT 2: 2-MAN GAME This best-of-seven first-round playoff bout probably wouldn't have lasted this long had Luka not the first half of the series with his calf injury. He was magnificent again, as he was in the Game 5 blowout, and now Dallas has won a playoff series for the first time since the 2011 NBA Finals.
Pop Champagne? No, not yet. But enjoy the moment with Doncic (24 points, nine rebounds, eight assists) again getting help from pals like Brunson (also 24 points).
It's been a while. Enjoy this.
DONUT 3: D FIRST Some of us laughed at old pal Jason Kidd when on his first day as coach he promised he would morph the Mavs into a defensive-minded team.
How? With this personnel?
Kidd's answers are in the results.
In Game 5, Dallas created for itself a timely season-best defensive performance, holding the Jazz to 77 points in a 102-77 win in Game 5. The Mavs held Utah star Donovan Mitchell to as many points (four) as turnovers, marking the first playoff game in his NBA career with fewer than 10 points.
This time around wasn't quite at that level. But 96 points allowed? And Mitchell getting 23 but Utah shooting 25 percent from the arc?
Defense from Dallas. Really.
DONUT 4: JAZZ DISARRAY The Jazz announced on Tuesday that Mitchell was diagnosed with bilateral quadriceps contusions. He played nevertheless. And he gets credit for that. But Utah is a team not at all short on talent ...
And yet they crumbled at key moments, suggesting that this offseason, they might have to disassemble that thing. And yeah, if Rudy Gobert wants to land in Dallas, I'll take him.
And yeah, he can bring his bees.
DONUT 5: LUKA PLAYOFF MAGIC Through 15 playoff games, Doncic had recorded 499 points, 137 rebounds and 133 assists, making him the fastest-ever NBA players to earn those three marks.
And now, through 16 playoff games? Doncic's totals are 523 points, 146 rebounds and 141 assists.
Fast.
DONUT 6: HISTORY AND ODDS Dallas was considered - by the history of numbers - to be in a good situation after winning Game 5, as teams that win Game 5 of a 2-2 best-of-seven series have gone on to win the series 82.2 percent of the time (180-39).
Make it 181-39.
DONUT 7: THE DEFICIT Dallas was behind by 12 at halftime. On the road, down a dozen? You should maybe lose that game.
But Doncic has a trickle-down impact on this offense, which is in part about ball movement and unselfishness ...
And that is part of how Dallas outscored the Jazz 36-19 in the third to make it a game.
DONUT 8: QUOTABLE "We don't talk about the struggle, we talk about trust." - Coach Jason Kidd.
DONUT 9: BURNED The Mavs' ability to set up matchup victories was in play here. Sometimes the Jazz would double-team and get burned.
Other times?
Rudy would be matched with Luka, And Luka would win.
DONUT 10: THE HELP Luka had more than just Brunson as a helper, by the way. Dorian Finney-Smith contributed 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists - quite a line for the "defensive-minded'' Mav. Oh, and he played 46 minutes.
Spencer Dinwiddie was a key scorer, adding 19 well-timed points.
Oh, and Reggie Bullock was apparently ill but still battled for 44 strong minutes.
Said Kidd: "Luka is going to get a lot of attention, he's one of the best players in the world, but his teammates are here to protect him."
DONUT 11: DFS The DFS story, by the way, is a notable one. He has made himself into this player. In addition to the line, Finney-Smith was there to rescue the Mavs when they couldn't get anything to go down midway through the final frame, Finney-Smith came up with some big 3-point shots. He finished shooting 4-of-9 from deep.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
DONUT 12: THE FINAL WORD What's next? The Mavs will now pack their bags for Phoenix, as they'll take on the Suns in Game 1 of their second-round series on Monday night. The Suns finished off their first-round series against the Pelicans on the road as well on Thursday night.
"Fun series to watch!'' tweeted Dirk Nowitzki. "On to the next …''
Don't pop those corks. But enjoy.
