Just a few weeks remain in the regular season and it’s now or never for Jason Kidd’s Dallas Mavericks as they attempt one final playoff push. On Monday night, they got a victory they hope will push them back in the right direction.
The Mavs began their last road trip of the season on Sunday with a tough defeat in Charlotte, but they bounced back on Monday, topping the Indiana Pacers 127-104.
The victory moved Dallas back within a half game of the Thunder and the Lakers for the final two postseason spots in the West. Both those teams have seven games remaining while the Mavs have just six.
“The focus this morning, the talk at the walkthrough, guys were different,” Coach Kidd said. “We talked about it pregame, just being relaxed, understanding what’s at stake and going through the process of playing games that mean something. You’re starting to see guys understand what that means.”
Dallas’ tenuous position in the playoff race made picking up a win on Monday vital and they leaned on two players. One was as expected, Luka Doncic, who led the way with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists. The other was a bit of a surprise as Jaden Hardy came off the bench for 20 points, his sixth 20-point outing in his last 10 games. This time, he was remarkably efficient, making 8-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three.
The two teams played a tightly contested first quarter, with Indiana leading most of the opening frame. But Dallas took the lead in the closing minutes of the first and never looked back.
“The guys came out from the jump ball, executed, defensively and offensively. Once we got control of the game — [recently] we’ve given up leads or had leads get chopped in half — I thought the guys did a great job of building the lead and keeping the lead.”
In the second quarter, the Mavericks got 10 points from Doncic on the offensive end. On the other side, they forced six turnovers and held the Pacers to just eight made baskets, allowing the Mavs to take a double-digit lead in at halftime. As Coach Kidd mentioned, whereas recently Dallas might let a lead like that slip, on Monday they piled on in the second half. Doncic poured in 13 more points in the third and the lead exploded.
By the fourth, the outcome was no longer in doubt. The Mavs pushed the lead as high as 31 points, and cruised to a much-needed win.
Of Dallas’ six remaining games, five are against teams currently in postseason contention. The toughest of those matchups might be next, on Wednesday when they head to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers. The teams last met March 2nd in Dallas, in a game that the Mavs won 133-126 behind 40-point games from Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
“Going into playing the Sixers here on Wednesday, they’ve got maybe the MVP in Embiid, but they’ve got a heck of a team,” J-Kidd said. “Last time we played them at home, it was a good game. We’re going to need that same effort that we had tonight.”
Tip-off from Philly on Wednesday is scheduled for 7:30pm and the game can be seen on ESPN.