Mavericks guard Luka Doncic swooped in at the last minute on Tuesday and buried a dagger 3-pointer that put the finishing touches on a 120-114 victory at the Minnesota Timberwolves to help Dallas sweep a challenging, early-season back-to-back.
The busy Mavericks will play their third game in four nights when they host the Houston Rockets on Thursday.
Dallas has shown that it doesn’t need Doncic to be otherworldly from the opening tip to enjoy success. The Mavericks beat Minnesota despite Doncic missing 17 of his 27 field-goal attempts. His 33-footer with 1:04 seconds left was his lone made 3-pointer on eight tries.
Fellow guard Kyrie Irving did the heavy lifting for Dallas on Tuesday, particularly in the third quarter, when he tallied 16 of his team-high 35 points. P.J. Washington paired 17 points with eight rebounds and Daniel Gafford chipped in 14 points.
Doncic shot a combined 15-for-49 (30.6 percent) from the floor in the back-to-back against the Utah Jazz and the Timberwolves. He also missed 15 of 17 shots from behind the arc during that span.
And yet, the Mavericks won both games courtesy of their timely defense and offensive depth, a fact that should concern the rest of the NBA.
“Yeah, it’s insane,” Doncic said. “Our team is so deep. Obviously, we got Kai (Irving) and we know what to expect from him every night. But I think this team is very deep. I don’t think I’ve had a good shooting day yet, but we are 3-1, so it just explains how good of a team we are.”
The Rockets meet Dallas after Monday’s 106-101 win over their other in-state rival, the San Antonio Spurs.
Guard Jalen Green drilled seven 3-pointers and scored a season-high 36 points in the victory. He entered Wednesday tied for eighth in the NBA in scoring average with 28.8 points per game.
Green, who signed a three-year, $106 million contract extension with Houston earlier this month, has picked up where he left off last season. He averaged 24 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists after February to lead a playoff surge that came up just short.
The 22-year-old has made significant headway in learning how to exploit defenses. His late-season run a year ago offered a showcase of his development, with Green no longer attacking the rim with reckless impatience.
Drafted No. 2 overall by the Rockets in 2021, Green has benefitted from sharing the backcourt with veteran point guard Fred VanVleet. Still, plenty of that growth is tied to Green understanding how to utilize his gifts, and how his skill set serves as the foundation for what Houston aims to accomplish offensively.
“That’s a big part of it,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “Fred obviously is out there. He’s kind of helping as well even if he’s not handling the ball, getting guys in their spots, and getting guys to the matchup we want. We want to hunt certain players.
“So Jalen is recognizing it. Fred is obviously helping … but the other guys as well. We understand who we’re going after. When they try to pre-switch or do some things we can still hunt the matchup and get the right one. I think everybody is improving in that way.”
