The Dallas Mavericks are over 0.500 again, recovering and winning twice in a row, the last a 122-117 win against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.
It was an interesting game in which the Mavericks looked like world beaters for 40 minutes, a lottery team for about seven and going back to being a competitor in the final minute. Things definitely got a little bit complicated in the final moments, but the Mavericks got the stops and the marks needed to pull the finish line. Here are the important numbers of the victory.
5: Turnovers for the Mavericks
Dallas only turned the ball five times against San Antonio, a low point of the season and equaling the low point of the previous season.
Luka Doncic was the only Maverick with at least two turnovers, while three other Mavericks had only one piece. It was a big reason why the Mavericks managed to build a big lead in the beginning and stay afloat in the second half. Dallas’ attack ended a few times in the fourth period, but the Mavericks’ credits were not neglected and fueled the Spurs’ transition attack. If the Mavericks were more careless with the ball, it is probably a loss for the Mavs.
90: Mavericks team free throw percentage
The Mavericks have been fighting the line all season, qualifying in the bottom half of the league on Friday night. It was a great sign to see Dallas end the night on 18 of 20 against San Antonio, especially in a game played.
That marks Mavericks-quality consecutive free-throw shoots, which shot 82.4 percent against the Pacers on Wednesday. It is the first time that the Mavericks have played consecutive games with more than 80 percent in the charity band.
Congratulations especially to Wes Iwundu, who hit the last two free throws to close the game, with the Mavericks winning three with two seconds remaining. The Spurs had a time limit and could have had the chance to draw if Iwundu didn’t make at least one and he ended up doing both. It was nice to see, especially after he missed a three point clutch a few minutes earlier.
56.4: Luka Doncic’s throw percentage in mid-range jumpers
I’m stealing this from our employee Hank, who noticed that Doncic is now tied with Stephen Curry in third place in the league as a percentage of mid-range shots for all players who attempted more than 35 shots from that range. Very good!
Doncic showed his improvement in the medium range game against the Spurs, mixing it with a few calm steps back and some smooth reversing bench shots. It was a recovery play against LaMarcus Aldridge in the final minute that helped seal the victory.
We all know that three is greater than two and that medium-range shots are not necessarily the best, but it is great to see Doncic diversify his score so that he is not so bad when the defense closes in. That turnaround shot against Aldridge was a sight for the aching eyes when you think about how that ball possession might have ended for last season’s Mavericks (a likely bad throwback three). Learning a new trick with Doncic is fun.
50: The percentage of Kristaps Porzingis in post-match shots against Spurs
San Antonio played the odds and challenged Kristaps Porzingis to beat them at the post, putting a small handicap on Porzingis instead of defending him with Aldridge or Jakob Poeltl. The Spurs were betting on Porzingis’ bad numbers last season and Porzingis set them on fire.
Porzingis hit 3 of 6 on the crossbar against the Spurs, handling some nice twists and dribbling well. The less dribbling for Porzingis is the better and he made his plays on the post against Spurs’ smaller defenders without losing much movement. He was assertive and confident.
For the season, Porzingis is shooting 10 out of 20 in post-ups, a much larger number than in the previous season, although it is still too early. The key for Porzingis to use the crossbar upwards seems to be as long as it stays within the flow of the Mavericks attack, against a smaller defender with Porzingis wasting no time. He did well against the Spurs, scoring 21 points from 14 shots.