The Dallas Mavericks won their third straight game with a 103-89 victory over the Denver Nuggets Monday night at the American Airlines Center.
The victory is also Dallas’ fourth in its last five games and gives the Mavericks the season series win over the Nuggets. This season, Dallas went 2-1 against Denver, meaning they would hold the tiebreaker if both teams end with the same record.
Dallas (19-18) relied on defense for the win, which was successful. The Mavericks set the tone early, forcing the Nuggets into seven turnovers in the first quarter alone and 26 turnovers overall. Dallas scored 28 points off those turnovers and held Denver (18-17) to just 37 points at halftime.
“Twenty-six turnovers, that means your hands are active, you’re in the right spot, you’ve covered one another,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said postgame. “Our defense right now is playing pretty good.”
Dallas has been playing lights-out defense, holding each of their last four opponents under 100 points. In those four games, the Mavericks’ defensive rating of 104.5 is good for fourth-best in the NBA.
“We’re starting to be able to apply things from [scouting reports] and working with each other,” said Dallas center Dwight Powell, who had 15 points and was often tasked with being the primary defender on the league’s reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic. Jokic is rarely contained; he finished with 27 points and 16 rebounds.
“Our chemistry on that end of the court has definitely improved,” Powell added. “Especially with the next man up mentality, we’ve kept with kind of the chaos of this time of the year with everything going on, guys are playing extremely hard, and following the scout, so good things are happening.”
Dallas put together the excellent defensive performance without Kristaps Porzingis, added to the COVID-19 list early Monday. Porzingis became the 11th Mavericks player since mid-December forced to miss time due to the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
“It’s just the nature of the season right now,” Kidd said. “We’re trying to get to zero [cases], but it seems like there’s one [new case] a day.”
Fortunately for Dallas, Luka Doncic was back for his second straight game after a ten-game absence due to injury and COVID-19. Doncic looked in better shape than in his first return to action, finishing with a solid stat line of 21 points, 15 assists, and 8 rebounds. His shooting, however, was rusty, as he made 7-of-18 shot attempts, including just 1-of-6 from three-point range.
Overall, the Mavericks’ offensive responsibilities were spread out evenly. Six Dallas players scored in double-digits, and the team had 23 assists. Doncic and Jalen Brunson combined for 19 of the assists.
“I think just our communication was the key, and our effort,” Doncic said. “I think we talk more, our effort is [greater], and that’s our key.”
Dallas will play its next game on Wednesday at home against the Golden State Warriors. After the game, the Mavericks are scheduled to retire the jersey of team legend Dirk Nowitzki.
