Mavs Redeem Themselves With 138-122 Win Over The Grizzlies, Improve To 4-0 On The Road
Friday night's 106-102 loss to the New York Knicks wasn't necessarily the most ideal in the eyes of the Dallas Mavericks. Or their fans. Or Mavericks Twitter. In fact, it was downright distressing to watch those players not named Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. Thanks to some extremely questionable decisions, the favored Mavs seemed to slam into the iceberg head-on.
Saturday night would be different (they said). This night will be better (they said). Last season, the Mavericks were 2-12 on back-to-backs during the 2018-19 seasonm so while the team now has a brand new facelift this season, back-to-backs can still bring on a ripple of cringes depending on who is sitting out against the Memphis Grizzlies.
And sitting out Saturday night happened to be Porzingis. ... And yet Dallas jumped to 6-3 by registering a 138-122 win.
One of the most disappointing aspects that occurred during Friday night's loss was Seth Curry taking zero shots in the 13 minutes he played.
Here? Well, this was a little bit different for Curry.
It wasn't a shock to see that Luka had ended the first half with 10 points, seven rebounds, and five assists (aka, his usual "triple-double watch"), but the real story was Curry, who was placed in the starting lineup over Courtney Lee and ended the first half leading the Mavs with 16 points.
Even though the Mavs went into the locker room leading 68-62 at the half, the Grizzlies went on an 8-0 run during the end of the second quarter in order to cut the Mavs lead, which was as high as 14 points during the first half.
It wasn't just Curry who took the wheel during the first, but also Tim Hardaway Jr., who fans were shaking an angry fist at during Friday's loss thanks to his 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
After a mini slow start in the third after Memphis responded to a Dallas run with a 7-0 burst, Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle brought in Dwight Powell, which surged the Mavs, putting them up 93-85.
The Mavericks ended up leading the Grizz 104-91 with Luka only two assists away from his fifth triple-double of the season.
During the fourth quarter, the Mavericks managed to score their most points this season as the Grizz allowed the Mavs bench to take control of the game.
Even though Luka came out two assists shy of a triple-double, he managed to achieve 24-14-8 in only three quarters.
With the insane aid of the bench, the Mavericks pulled away with a win on the road. Hardaway Jr. finished with 20 points, Justin Jackson with 17 points, and Curry with 16 points. Oh, and Boban Marjinovic started in place of KP and was good for nine points and five boards.
For only the second time in franchise history, the Mavs have started a 4-0 on the road.
While this is certainly celebratory, the Mavs need to figure out how to close it out on their own home court. It's starting to feel like the supporting cast is starting to get the feel of each other, and let by Luka, who is proving himself to be the Dr. Manhattan of the NBA in terms of seeing moves steps in advance while his teammates appear to understand his split-second actions in a way that's not only unbelievable but incandescent.
