DALLAS — The long, cold winter days have been something of a give and take for the Dallas Mavericks.
Mark Cuban’s former team lost their first couple of games of December to go down quietly in the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament, then they saw a rash of nagging injuries crop up, only to then go on an almost defiant run in spite of their situation.
The turbulence before the triumph speaks to the attitude of their franchise player Luka Doncic, a player who seems to relish the opportunity to turn it up a level as the pressure mounts and the options narrow.
After stewing on the back-to-back losses to start the end of the calendar year, Dallas absolutely demolished the Utah Jazz 147-97 on Wednesday, winning by a fifty piece where Doncic made a new utilitarian fashion decision and promptly produced a triple-double by halftime. It’s gotta be the headband, right?
Doncic added another 32 in the 125-112 win over the Portland Blazers to close the weekend. That Doncic virtuoso performance had the Slovenian Star dropping 35 and notching the 1,000th three-pointer of his career, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to make 1,000 three-pointers while missing out on Buddy Hield’s record for fastest to 1,000 by a single game.
The wins over Utah and Portland moved the Mavericks up to the top three of the conference, and closing out the Memphis Grizzlies 120-113 on Monday has Dallas now at 14-8 and on a three-game winning streak where they sit just three games out of first place in the West.
With a range of injuries plaguing the roster, the crucial stretch has led to renewed optimism for Dallas as the bench has filled in admirably around Doncic, who has been as red-hot as his trash talk has been devastating. Players like Jaden Hardy and Dante Exum have stepped up in Kyrie Irving’s absence, and those missing their key backups, like center Dereck Lively II, have elevated their games accordingly.
Doncic is averaging 36 points per game in December, and he remains in the hunt for the top scorer in the league. Doncic’s 32.0 season average currently sits second behind Joel Embiid’s 33.4 PPG.
With Irving’s status unknown for the foreseeable future with a foot injury, the Tuesday matchup against Los Angeles will focus on Luka vs LeBron, who remains an elite scorer at 38.
Dallas eked out a 104-101 win in Los Angeles prior to Thanksgiving, but it is the Lakers who have surged in the weeks since their last encounter. James is averaging over 25 per game and was named MVP of the In-Season Tournament, for which the Lakers will unveil a championship banner when they return to L.A.
The clash draws a national telecast that will earn the league’s attention for the night, so another Headband Luka dazzler will need to be in the cards as Dallas looks for a signature win after cleaning up against the Western Conference bottom-feeders.
Looking beyond the Dallas vs. L.A. headliner is a measuring contest against Anthony Edwards, Karl Anthony-Towns, and their 1st place Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday. The surprising Wolves are built to withstand the Dallas offense, with the No. 1 defensive rating in the league.
Doncic will have a challenge inside with the Minnesota bigs, but he will be backed up by Lively, who is on the heels of maybe his best game as a Maverick to date.
Lively had a great offensive showing in the Memphis win, contributing 16 efficient points on 8-of-9 shooting, but he also came down with 16 boards and has been on a block rampage as of late. The rookie’s confidence is sky-high at the moment, but that will be challenged by Anthony Davis and Towns/Gobert over the next week. Ultimately, however, the Mavericks will be better for it.
Do you think Luka should make the headband a permanent look? Share your thoughts with Irvin on Twitter @Twittirv.
