Mavs Start Road Trip With Easy Win Over Warriors
The Dallas Mavericks have struggled in their home building this season.
The road, however, has been another story, with the team sitting with the third-best road record in basketball at 13-5 after their 124-97 win over the Warriors at the Chase Center on Tuesday night.
“I liked our concentration, effort and focus defensively," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “We made enough plays on offense to get a lead and get out of here alive."
It could be a trend that bodes well heading into the playoffs in a few months, but for now, Dallas will count it as a much-needed win coming off of a disappointing six-game homestand in which the Mavs went just 3-3, with a couple of inexplicable losses along the way.
On Tuesday, however, the Mavs were able to find their groove once again, taking control of the game early on behind the play of Luka Doncic, and the efficient supporting action of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dwight Powell.
Doncic played just 27 minutes but scored 20 points to go along with eight rebounds and two assists, as he helped stretch the gap quickly and bury the Warriors in the first quarter.
While Hardaway added 12 points in 24 minutes, it was Dwight Powell who led the Mavs in scoring, finishing the game with 21 points and six rebounds on a perfect 9-of-9 from the floor.
Boban Marjanovic also completed his first double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds off of the bench in 20 minutes of action.
Maxi Kleber also finished in double figures with 11 points and seven boards, while J.J. Barea had 11 of his own, and five other players scored at least six points in the game.
In fact, Carlisle cleared the bench on Tuesday, with Courtney Lee ending the game as the only scoreless Maverick player.
The Mavs now end the season series with the Warriors with an average margin of victory of 31.7 points per game and scoring an average of 135.7 points per matchup.
Following the win, it will be a quick turnaround for the Mavs (25-15), as they head north to take on the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night to cap off their road back-to-back... hopefully, with Kristaps Porzingis back in the lineup.
“The win is great,” Powell said, ‘but it's a quick, jam-packed road trip so we're on the bus ready to go for another one tomorrow.”
