Last week I asked: Will the Real Dallas Mavericks Please Stand Up? Sunday and Monday the Mavericks finally stood up and showed out. Sunday night’s matchup versus Eastern Conference’s first seed, the Milwaukee Bucks, was a key win for the Mavericks.
“I thought this was a game where the team showed great resilience,” said coach Rick Carlisle. “A lot of the demons of our past bubble games were staring us right in the face. Luka hits two big free throws to send it into overtime. He made big plays in overtime. Tim Hardaway Jr. made a huge shot. Dorian Finney-Smith makes the big free throw and we get the key stops when we needed them. “
Luka Dončić, Kristaps Porziņģis, and Dorian Finney-Smith showed everyone playoff worthy basketball Sunday night.
“This is great experience for us in preparation for whoever we are going to play in the playoffs,” said Carlisle.
Although Dončić, Porziņģis, and Finney-Smith did not play on Monday versus the Utah Jazz, Dallas still came on top. The Mavericks won back-to-back games thanks to the biggest comeback win for Dallas since 2016.
“I love the comeback. I love winning. I hate losing. But I love winning for the feeling that our guys get from doing something together,” said Carlisle.
Tim Hardaway and Seth Curry show. Together they put up 49 points and the two were a major part in Monday’s win.
We also can’t forget the Mavericks’ new dynamic duo, JJ Barea and Boban Marjanović.
Things were looking promising for Dallas, until they played the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night and handed Dallas a big L. Damian Lillard played insane from start to finish and scored an astonishing 61 points.
“I’ve never seen a shot like that ever,” Carlisle. “That was unbelievable.”
The Mavericks play the Phoenix Suns on Thursday. They have kept their undefeated record in bubble and will be a difficult game for Dallas. The Mavs did though play the Suns in game two and it may be possible that Dallas took the time to study and adjust accordingly for Thursday’s game
Dallas will stay in the 7th seed and will most likely have to play the Clippers in the first round.
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