There is nothing better after taking a beating than a bath and massage session. That’s what happened, more or less, for the Dallas Mavericks in Portland. The Texan team had just received a severe correction from the Golden State Warriors a few days after falling, this time in the last minutes, against the Phoenix Suns. Two defeats before the first two classifieds of their conference that pawned a little the magnificent streak of results that they have accumulated for quite some time. There are 12 wins in the last 15 games for a team that then did not reach 50% wins and is now at 57.1%. And with the field advantage getting closer. Utah’s loss to the Suns leaves them two games out of fourth place.
Today’s game will not go down as the Mavs’ toughest game of the year. The Blazers, without Lillard, survive as they can and most nights not even that. This time they tried to resist thanks to the commendable efforts of Afernee Simons (23 points, 7 assists, 4/7 triples) and CJ McCollum (20 points, 6 basket passes). But it was a matter of time before the game fell under its own weight on the Dallas side, right now light years behind its rival. Jason Kidd has found a plan that is working for him. One in which defense matters more than attack, a novelty for the Mavs, and in which Luka Doncic shares many minutes on the court and a lot of the ball with Jalen Brunson. And it works.
The two had 26 assists against the Blazers. 15 for Doncic, personal record of the season; 11 for Brunson, a career high. The fact that the American accompanies the Slovenian frees the ex-Madridista a lot in creating the game, which continues to be the first offensive option of his team in an indisputable way. But now opponents can’t focus solely on him to short-circuit Dallas’ game. Brunson is proving by leaps and bounds what he had guessed for a long time. That he may be the best of all the young players that swarm around Doncic. He is averaging 15.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 0.9 steals and 31.3 minutes. All of them personal tops in his four years in the NBA.
And what about Doncic. That his 15 assists, along with the 15 points and 10 rebounds represent a new triple-double, the sixth of the season and the 42nd in total. It remains only one of Fat Lever as the tenth of the entire history. His score was not nearly as spectacular as in recent days and he returned to problems in percentages, although curiously not in triples (40% accuracy). But tonight was a team game, in which as many as seven players, including all the starters, finished in double digits of scoring. The Mavs now host Indiana, while the Jazz visit Memphis. Fourth place may be closer than ever.
