The Dallas Mavericks appear to have hit their stride and Coach Jason Kidd’s club is climbing the Western Conference Standings.
Dallas extend its season-best winning streak to seven games on Monday with a 111-106 victory over the Houston Rockets. Three Mavs players topped 20 points on the scoreboard, led by Luka Doncic who attacked at will and finished with 39 points, including 18 from the free throw line. Christian Wood and Tim Hardaway Jr. each chipped in 21 points in the win and Doncic added 12 rebounds and came up just short of his ninth triple-double of the season with eight assists in the victory.
The seven-game win streak is the longest for the franchise in more than a decade, dating back to the 2011 Mavericks who won the NBA title with J-Kidd at point guard.
“I’ve been part of both, that’s kind of cool,” Coach Kidd said. “The guys in that locker room, again, you could easily say the new year, being on the road, and can’t wait to get back home. But the guys came out in the second half and Luka gets going without the three-ball tonight. He trusted his teammates. We showed up in the second half.”
Dallas needed an excellent second half to get back in the game after the aforementioned factors led to a flat start that saw the Mavs trailing by double digits at halftime. But the Mavericks picked it up in the third quarter, led by Doncic who scored 19 of his 39 points in the penultimate frame. By the end of the third quarter the deficit was cut to a more manageable four points and in the final frame Dallas buckled down defensively led by Wood who posted three of his season-high five blocks in the fourth. The defensive excellence allowed the Mavs to quickly take the lead early in the fourth and they were able to pull away in the final minutes. Afterward, Coach Kidd lauded Wood’s all around excellent play.
“C-Wood, defensively, he’s blocking shots, he’s rebounding the ball,” Jason said. “And offensively he’s playing off Luka (Dončić) and he’s not forcing anything. I think the combination is a really fun combination to watch.”
The Mavs (22-16) now sit fourth in the Western Conference, just 2.5 gamers out of the top spot. Dallas will be back in action on Thursday night in one of the marquee matchups of the young season as they host the Boston Celtics in a matchup between the two leading candidates for NBA MVP, Doncic and Boston’s Jayson Tatum. Tip-off from American Airlines Center is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game can be seen nationally on TNT.